One night in Milan
Trip Start
Jun 03, 2008
1
6
23
Trip End
Oct 14, 2008
Milan,
Lombardy,
Italy
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Milan does not hold too much for visitors, unless you shop.The city is fashionable. The Dolce and Gabana store literally occupies a marble palace in city center next to the Duomo , and who but Paris Hilton flashes smile from sidewalk. Half ads in subway are in English. But in terms of dressing with taste, I'd go with Paris- maybe I should hold judge till clubbing time. By the way, next to the Duomo there is an entire grand building, glass dome and mosaic floor, devoted to luxury shops. The anchoring stores under the dome are Prada, Louis Vitton, and good old McDonald's! Never underestimate the status of golden arc in Europe.
For me the tourist, half day in Milan covers everything, and keeps things very exciting. First and formost, Da Vinci's Last Supper is here. Reservation 2 weeks ahead is the surefire way to get in. In my case, getting to the ticket office before it opens, smiling my sweetest smile and waiting with patience paid off, I squeezed in with a group and got my 10 min date with Da Vinci's celebrities. Recently restored, the fresco is shown in rather dim light which makes the features soft yet striking animated. Different from reprints on paper, and worthy seeing!
Next I visited Milan Duomo, third larget chuch in the world. It is collossal. Walking around it takes a good 10 min. With head held up gazing at the many spiral towers, this makes a fine excercise on its own. My poor camera was so overwhelmed it would not take all of the church in one image, would be a nice backdrop for an army taking picture together.In fact, so much marble was used they built a canal for the transportation. I cannot help think that if some crazy alien in future pulvanize the whole Milan city in some cosmic blender, marble powder would take a big part.
My first morning in Italy also marks my first witness of the differing price for drinks at bar and at table, 2 fold exactly for a coffee. Most locals grab a quick one on the cheap. As a result, at 8 in the morning the Milanese bars are 2 layers deep with people. Oh, I was scammed for the first time too. Someone passed me a 10c Franc coin, worthless these days, as a 1 euro coin which looks the same. Count your money carefully, it pays.
