Milano!

[tamaranth]

ladymoonray and I have been to Milan! To see my friend Cinzia! Via Ryanair and a punishingly early start time, travel cost less than a trip to Plymouth to see my family. The architecture in Milan is infintely superior, as is the pink drink.

I'd previously visited Milan in January 2000 with lproven, during which visit we had walked all over the city, enjoyed several excellent meals, and failed to see Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. This time the temperature was about 40^o higher, there were far fewer people (we didn't know, when booking, that most Italian cities are effectively closed during August -- Milan apparently more than many), and due to our wonderful local guide we managed to see The Last Supper after all. I must report that it is still very difficult to actually queue for anything.

Highlights:
- the sheer range of gelati from which I had to choose:
- the basement of Il Duomo (Milan's stupendously large and ornate cathedral), in which Roman and early medieval buildings are being excavated. The archaeologists have carefully sorted mosaic stones by colour. I suppose there is nothing else they can do with them, any more: but once the order meant something.
- the railway station. Gloriously OTT monumental architecture, complete with Zodiac plaques, coloured glass and more statues than you can shake a big stick at.
- glancing down side-streets and alleyways to see collages of ancient and modern, sublime and ridiculous

Captions on mouseover, probably ...







More photos on Fotopages (free photo archiving! join now!) -- here

Comments

[zoo-music-girl.livejournal.com]

I am so jealous.

The photos look great too, looks like you've cracked the resolution thing!

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

Told you about the train station!

[red-cloud.livejournal.com]

Oo, I love photos. I love Italy. These are smashing.

[sbisson.livejournal.com]

Excellent. It looks lovely!

[gummitch.livejournal.com]

Cool pictures. Those drinks are very pink.

[adela-terrell.livejournal.com]

I hate to tell you this, but in some parts of this country that is a very very fashionable tartan. for example, my sisters handbag, her boyfriends baseball cap, and the £30 nappy cover pants that my nephew wears.

God Bless Burberry. Designer tat to the masses.

[the-gardener.livejournal.com]

headgardener and I visited Milan in May 2001, and were told on arrival by the Travel Editions tour guide that we were very unlikely to get in to see The Last Supper because it had to be booked well ahead. So why hadn't this been communicated to us well before departure, I wanted to know. I never got a satisfactory answer, then or since.

So, as you might imagine, I'm a bit jealous that you got to see it so easily!

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

Yes, lproven and I had a horrible time trying to see the painting -- it's all very well having a booking line, but not if you don't speak Italian / don't have access to a 'phone on which you can be put on hold ...

Some of the guidebooks are now giving the number, and indicating that you need to book in advance, but they don't tell you just how much bureaucracy is involved, or what you actually get for your money (a long wait in a waiting area, another wait in a cramped room (climate control #1), 15 minutes shut in with the painting -- and another fresco, Donati's 'Crucifixion' -- and the audio guide (which is very good, then another cramped climate-control room, and then the Shop.

You can buy fridge magnets of the painting in the shop. Also mouse mats, pencils, little plaster plaques, T-shirts, aprons, etc etc. I am happy to say that we didn't!

I definitely recommend the services of a native guide!

[lproven.livejournal.com]

[Envy]

Evokes some lovely memories, though. The station looks very impressive now the scaffolding's gone!