Europe 2010 – Milan
So I had finally met up with Derek in Milan, Italy. My first time in this country and I was so excited! We waited for Derek’s co-worker and his wife in the lobby and then we were off. The true center of Milan was only a short walk from where our hotel was located and the weather was perfect for walking. To get to Piazza del Duomo, we walked past a small outdoor market where they were selling nothing but cheese, meats, olive oil and of course olives! Everything smelled amazing!
We stopped in a little Trattoria for lunch and got sandwiches. When I got mine and looked at it I was fearing the worst. No dressing on it, only a piece of prosciutto, cheese and a sad looking piece of lettuce. This was going to be awful. But when I took the first bite, I was in heaven!! It was honestly the best sandwich I had ever tasted! The flavor was just amazing, without mustard or anything we drown our sandwiches in here. I can still taste it!
We continued walking through the high class shopping district, with its many, many stores, turned a corner and there it was. The Duomo. I have been to many cathedrals and churches in both Spain and England but this was amazing. Sagrada Familia is unbelievable too, but we couldn’t go inside that when we went with the Chamber Choir from Buffalo State. This cathedral was just beautiful! The detailing on the stone was incredible, especially when viewed from up close on the roof!
That is exactly where we headed – to the roof, which was impressive to be on. You would swear you were walking through streets way up there! There were doorways and steps taking you to different levels and to different sections. Every inch of the stone walls were covered with gargoyle heads, leaves, shells, snakes, lizards, and strange creatures thought up by the imaginative carvers. You think you are seeing a lot from down below, but up there on the roof it is a completely different world!
The inside of the church is very impressive too. There you can see how tall it really is, and the carvings and decorations were amazing as well! It is so massive, that there was a mist hanging over the alter! The quiet and peace a church brings you always stuns me. A very beautiful place to worship. Which we were able to do two days later.
That night we had an amazing dinner at another Trattoria. Yeah, pasta in Italy is just mouth watering. Yes, I had meat sauce on a Friday in Lent. Sue me.
The next day Derek and I walked to the Casetllo Sforzesco and went through all the museums housed there. Derek only wanted to see the Musical Instrument museum, which we couldn’t find, but we DID get to see up close and personal some actual mummies from Egypt, some impressive crypts, AND the last work of Michelangelo – the Rondanini Pieta. This was the piece he was working on when he died, and is unfinished. Walking through these museums pretty much took us through late afternoon after which we headed to St. Ambrosio church and saw his bones lying in the crypt there. Pretty creepy, but nice in a morbid Catholic way, I guess. 🙂
The next day was Sunday and we went to Mass with Mark and Ann at the Duomo, then packed up our things, and met Sandro to drive us back to the airport and got onto a flight to Germany!
To be continued…..