We all had a reasonable night’s sleep last night - thanks to that lovely Nebbiolo and some Tylenol PM - so we were all feeling pretty fresh, which was good because we had booked a 3 hour walking tour for 9:30am today. We’ve barely got 48 hours here in Milan so we need to go hard! The weather however, is not playing ball. Reminds me of our very soggy walking tour in Rome many years ago, and a freezing wet one in New York - do you see an unfortunate pattern here?! This morning started out at 2 degrees and rainy, with a high of 4 degrees all day - not ideal but we needed to get out there.
We did breakfast Italian style with coffee and freshly baked pastry, at the little cafe across the road. My health kick has gone out the window and I can see there will have to be a lot of walking and skiing to compensate for the eating on this holiday! The food is just too good! With breakfast out of the way, we headed to our meeting point in the churchyard of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie where the Last Supper is located. The rain was setting in making a chilly day even chillier. Both Sean and I wore waterproof coats, but Cameron’s new cashmere coat wasn’t really up to the job - we tried to keep her dry but she was cold and damp from the start. We found our guide Michaela, got wired up with headsets and prepared to enter the museum.
Love those shiny coffee machines
‘When in Milan’…
Talking to my broker right now
Did not see the pattern, not waterproof 
Soggy churchyard
In order to preserve the painting, only small groups are allowed in to the room for 15 minutes at a time, so while we waited for our turn, Michaela gave us a quick history lesson as we tried in vain to stay dry. Our turn came and in we went. Given the age of the painting, the bombing of the monastery in WW2 (leaving only two walls standing - one of which contained the Last Supper) and the insertion of a doorway into the bottom of it, I was expecting it to be in pretty bad shape. It turned out that was not the case - the painting was absolutely magnificent. I’m reading a book about Leonardo da Vinci at the moment, and I made sure to read the chapter on the Last Supper before we came and so supplemented by Michaela’s analysis I was able to appreciate what an incredible artwork it is.
The monastery housing the Last Supper
The Last Supper
Then it was back out into the rain for the rest of our walking tour - us, two young American accounting and finance professors, and Michaela. Poor Cameron was getting soggier and colder by this stage and Sean had no hood on his parka, so we figured we’d better invest in an umbrella or two. First we headed into the church at the monastery - an amazing old gothic church dating back to the 14th century, full of beautiful marble and a stunning dome. Then it was off down the street towards the Sforza Castle and, to Cameron’s relief, a quick pit stop to invest in some umbrellas. At the imposing Sforza Castle, Michaela gave us a more lengthy history lesson on Milan itself, which can best be summed up as chaotic. Milan has basically been invaded by everyone: the French , the Spanish, the Nazis, etc, it’s very confusing, and it is amazing that it’s still standing.
Sforza Castle
Sean carefully co-ordinated his umbrella and shoes
We then continued along to Piazza La Scala with its huge Leonardo statue, and of course past La Scala - a smaller and more modest building than I expected for an opera house. At this point Michaela made the grave mistake of pointing out how to get to the fashion district, and I immediately formulated a plan to come back later…which Sean doesn’t know about yet… Then it was on to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle ll, the shopping mall to end all shopping malls. Not only is it ridiculously beautiful, I could barely keep my attention on Michaela’s history lesson with the surrounding danger zone of Italian shopping heaven!
Leonardo
La Scala
This could be dangerous…
“Dad…”
Too quickly we were off for a walk around the Duomo, in all its marble glory. We went to rub baby Jesus’ head on the brass door of the cathedral for luck (upgrade Gods take note!), and then our walking tour was over. Soggy as we were, we decided that since there was no queue to go into the Duomo, now was our chance to get in. So off we went to the ticket office, where Cameron was yet again asked if she was under 17…followed by the usual surprised look from the man behind the counter. Feels like this is going to be a recurring theme…
‘May the snow be good’
‘May Dad please buy me a Prada bag’
‘Could you please speak to the upgrade gods?’
We took the lift up to the roof of the Duomo - where you can actually walk on the roof, which is spectacular! Except none of us gave any thought to Sean’s fear of heights, so it wasn’t the most comfortable experience for him and he was pretty happy once we were on the way down. Cameron and I marvelled at the intricate marble work on the spires, sculptures and gargoyles, seems to be never ending maintenance with marble probably not the best choice of materials. The rain had dissipated and we were able to get a good view down to the piazza below and across Milan.
Top of the Duomo!
Inside the cathedral was equally spectacular and imposing, more marble, artworks and a huge pipe organ. Hunger and cold were taking over, so we left the cathedral and headed back to the Galleria for lunch of pizza for Cameron and I, and Milanese risotto for Sean. Plus a nice glass of Chianti each to warm up from the inside. I realised that no one seems to question Cameron’s age when it comes to drinking…
Inside the Duomo
More Galleria…
Lunch - I was allowed to take photos in the restaurant this time…
After lunch, Sean decided to head back to the hotel - he is not feeling 100% unfortunately so wanted to have a nap. Cameron and I, like the sympathetic individuals we are, agreed that we would go to the fashion district so he could sleep peacefully. Cameron and I powered to the shops, ogling the couture, shoes, bags, and fabulous jewels, as well as the passing parade of fashionistas on the street. My ski trip wardrobe packing is not up to this standards here! We happened to accidentally drop into Diptyque where a bottle of perfume happened to fall into my bag… However generally we managed to restrain ourselves. It was getting late and the soggy conditions caught up with us, so we turned for home.
Arriving home we found Sean comfortably napping and so we too chilled out for a while catching up on email and of course working on this blog! Conditions weren’t improving and our hotel has an excellent restaurant so we decided to eat in this evening. The restaurant is Argentinian which means the menu comprises steak, steak and more steak. So, we ordered…steak…and a nice bottle of Argentinian red, and settled in for dinner. The steaks were large, perfectly cooked and delicious, so we could not fit anything else in. Full, tired and knowing we have a big drive to the Dolomites tomorrow, we called it a night.
I have no idea what this wine was but it was great
Sean’s steak 3 ways
Anyone for some sugar?
This featured blog entry was written by Redsole from the blog The Italian Job.
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