Day 2
Exploring Milan, Italy
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
Buongiorno,
We're in Italy!
That was the first thought we had when we woke this morning. It is a pretty damn exciting feeling, we can tell you, when you wake up rested and refreshed and ready to explore a new city.
The first step was to figure out how we were going to travel around the city. We'd seen metro stations, we'd seen trams and we'd seen buses. How do we get tickets and timetables? We used the internet!
It was actually Grandma who found a very helpful YouTube video explaining how buy tickets and use Milan's ATM network of trains, trams and buses. It was so easy compared to our first time trying to figure it out in Paris. And we did it from the comfort of our apartment while eating breakfast.
On our first adventure we had to figure it out what to do in a busy underground station in Paris using one of the machines that sold tickets. The ticket machine preferred cash and the instructions were never clear regardless of the language they are written in. The whole time you were arguing with the ticket machine, a queue of grumpy locals was impatiently forming behind you.
There are still ticket machines in each station, but you rarely see people using them. Because now you use an app on your phone. An app, but of course there's an app! And if there's an app, then there's usually a QR code not far away.
The app has been a great time saver. We want to be zipping about and exploring the city, not wasting time trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B. It shows how much the use of mobile phones has made little things like this easier in just eight years. We get the feeling that our phones are going to be chock full of apps by then end of this adventure.
Duomo di Milano
It's our first day in Milan, what are we going to do first? Visit the Duomo, what else!
Walking up the steps from the underground metro station into Piazza del Duomo, the Duomo itself just abouts slaps you in the face. The sheer scale of the thing is breathtaking. And yet for all of its sheer size, there is so much intricate detail. The exterior is covered with acres of finely detailed stonework. Everywhere you look is another mini masterpiece.
The Duomo took 600 years to build, which is roughly the same amount of time that it will take to ever build an expressway between Auckland and Wellington. But when you see the level of detail, just on the exterior, you can understand why it took so long.
The Duomo is undergoing a bit of restoration at the moment. The left hand side of the building is covered in a wrap. That ugly bright blue rectangle you see in the picture is one of those horrid digital billboard displays. Presumably it will be removed once the restoration is complete.
We arrived at the relatively early hour of 9:30am, so the piazza was not too crowded. Throughout the morning the crowds quickly grew. People watching became more entertaining than looking at the sites within the piazza.
Koro couldn't help but laugh when he saw the policemen on horseback. Wherever we go in the world, it never takes Grandma long to find herself a horse to pat!.
Later these horses were walking around the Duomo area, and Grandma noted the high action of their step as they walked. Both horses wore shoes. Grandma could tell how carefully both horses were walking so as not to slip on the uneven and slippery cobblestones. This is something they are obviously trained for.
On the Northern side of Piazza del Duomo is the entrance to the stunning Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. In New Zealand speak, it's a shopping mall. But, you don't see shopping malls like this in Hamilton.
The fancy shops in the galleria are plastered with famous brand names. Koro wondered what sort of rents these brands were paying for their retail space. How many €2,000 handbags do they have to sell to cover the overheads? Most of the people in the crowd were there to gawk rather than to shop. You get the feeling that the people who actually shop in these stores are not the sort of people to shop online at Shein.
Buzzy Bee was not impressed by the flocks of preening Instagrammers, all jostling for the best location to have their picture taken in front of the Duomo, or in front of their favourite "bougie" luxury brand. Buzzy Bee thought it was all so clichéd. "Think of something original", he buzzed.
OK, so you fly half way around the world and you're standing in front of the Duomo di Milano. What else are you going to do? Buy a ticket and look inside, of course!
Once again we were reaching for our iPhones. Scan the QR code printed on the information sign in the piazza, tap, tap, tap, buy two tickets online, swoosh, the tickets land in our email inbox, and we store the QR codes allowing our entry into our digital wallets. Three minutes start to finish. Wow. Eight years ago it would have taken the best part of an hour as we searched for the biglietteria, then queued up to buy paper tickets.
We won't bore you with the details of our walk through. It was a ginormous church.
Huge stone pillars bolding up parabolic arches? Check.
Enormously intricate stained glass windows? Check.
Sculptures and artworks aplenty, often portraying the suffering of a saint? Check.
Inappropriately dressed and disrespectfully behaving tourists? Check.
We do not want to belittle the Duomo in anyway. It is an absolutely magnificent cathedral. By any measure, it is a spectacular masterpiece of engineering, art and craftsmanship. If you are ever in Milan, please come and see the Duomo and you will not be disappointed. Actually if you are ever in Milan you can't help but notice the Duomo, it makes itself known to you.
This is more of a David and Denise problem. If you read the stories of our previous adventures you will know we've seen lots of cathedrals. So while we wandered around the Duomo, looking at more of the same stuff we’ve seen before, we promised each other we were not going to spend the next six months visiting any more churches. An announcement that will no doubt have the followers of our stories breathing a sigh of relief.
The Last Supper
Leonardo di Vinci's masterpiece The Last Supper is located in Santa Maria delle Grazie, which, according to Google Maps, was only a half hour walk from Piazza del Duomo. We're glad we did walk, it was nice way to see more of the city. Unfortunately when we arrived, tickets had sold out. And when we checked online (which we should have done in the first place, or even a few weeks ago) tickets were sold out for the next month. C'est la vie.
Our Supper
By this time we'd done a lot of walking, we were still a bit jet lagged, and the afternoon was getting very hot. So we opted to head back to our apartment for a rest before dinner.
We are staying in La Milanese apartment which is located on Piazzale Lagosta. One block over is Via Pietro Borsieri, a lovely quiet little street lined with restaurants and bars that come alive in the evening. In the heat of a Milanese summer's evening it is far too hot to dine inside. The sidewalks overflow with tables, all beautifully laid for al fresco dining. The air swirls with the sounds of vigorous conversation.
The tables are placed so closely to the roadway, it feels like the passing cars are only centimetres away from you. Which gives the illusion that they are travelling much faster than they actually are. Koro spent ages getting this shot just right, The other diners probably though he was some sort of weirdo with his camera. Grandma certainly did.
Love to you all from Grandma, Koro and Buzzy Bee.
