The next morning our host had set out a nice breakfast with fresh Italian coffee, eggs, bread and biscuits. He had to be at work early but he was kind enough to return home when we were ready to leave for the day and drive us to the railway station. The train into Milano took us about an hour, it is very similar to the West Coast Express but much different than the trains in India or Africa. Everyone sat quietly, keeping to themselves without even the slightest eye contact. This is quite the difference with the pumping rap music and playing children in decked out busses speeding over pot holes, or jam packed cars with people stepping over one another.
When we arrived downtown we got a similar vibe as when we were in Buenos Airies due to the buildings and the energy of the people. The architecture is very beautiful with a lot of history and yet also a modern feel. Milan is absolutely packed with tourists eating gelatos, drinking coffee, photographing the exquisite structures and most of all shopping. There are areas full of high end designer fashion boutiques and stores, most of the famous brand names originated in Italy. The shopping attracts even the most fashionless of all people, me. There are also more reasonable shops like the world famous H and M and other copy cats so the city does not have to bankrupt you.
Unfortunately both of the cameras we brought from home are completely shot so we spent the better part of our day searching for a decent replacement. It is pretty ironic that after visiting all the cheapest countries on earth, our camera dies in Italy. We were very upset about the camera and having to miss all the beautiful shots but there are very few camera shops in the fashion capital of the world so we did not find anything suitable. We decided to hold off and research some options later that night.
As mentioned, and clearly obvious to most people, Milano is famous for shopping. Since we will be taking a cruise in the next few days we tried to find some more appropriate clothing items. This took up most of the rest of the day except for the time we spent people watching. In the center of town there is a very famous area called the Plaza Duomo. Inside of this plaza is the world famous Milano Cathedral. This magnificant work of art has extraordinary details that could only be done by hand. The buidling is gigantic and it towers over the city. It is truly the symbol of the city that everyone has to see during their time here. On the very top of the cathedral, there is a gold statue of one of the Popes (I believe). Unfortunately it is currently being renovated and there is scaffolding around some of the outside but it is still a sight to see. It looks as if it has been carved out of ice and while few people take the time to go inside, the outside is worth the time. We sat down in the plaza in front of the Cathedral and ate over priced chocolate gelato sundaes from the super fancy McDonalds. This was some of the best people watching in the world. We watched as the fashionistas of the world frolicked in their glory. They were dressed in all the obsurd fashions of the runways. Most of it made no sense and half of it looked awful but we enjoyed our time watching them in awe. The time it probably took each of them to select their outfit for the day could probably cure a few diseases. Most of the females look anorexic and the size zeros disappear fast out of the sale racks. The men resemble ladies and they also could afford a couple big macs from the designer McDonalds.
Another shopping area that our host had reccomended for some of the less expensive shopping was near the railway station but by the time we got there, they were closed. We decided to go back to the house but we missed our train by one minute and had to wait another thirty minutes for the next one. During the one hour train ride we tried (uselessly) to budget for the rest of our time here. Once we made it back, we were picked up, once again, by our awesome host. His two young boys were at home playing and fighting when we arrived. They are super busy but a lot of fun. He made them go to bed while Tyson cooked us our wonderful meal of Mr. Noodles and it was great. Our host sat with us, and we ate and talked for a couple of hours. We enjoyed some home made Italian chocolate pudding for dessert that he had prepared for us. We mentioned that we needed to buy a new camera and he mentioned that he had found an older one in a bathroom that no one had claimed. He offered it to us to have and while it is not the greatest, it will serve our purposes just fine.
We had a bit of a mix up with our travel medical insurance claim for when Tyson was hospitalized for dengue fever in Malaysia so we spent some time trying to settle the issues and then slept for the night.
The next morning we slept in and by the time we ate breakfast and our host came home from work to bring us to the train station, we had missed the train by two minutes. So we waited thirty precious minutes for the next one to show up. In town, we hurried towards a Leonardo Davincci museam that we had wanted to see but once we got near, we were advised not to go there half way through the day because a full day is needed to see the whole thing. So we retraced a few of our steps from the day before to capture it all on our camera. We went to a castle near the Duomo that was built in the 1300's and we walked through it to a beautiful park that is full of monuments and historical statues. There are lovely gardens and lakes inside the park and there are many people enjoying the calm green area. It is very relaxing to take some time away from the hustle of the busy city.
We went to four museams throughout the day and they were all free. The first museam we went to was an art museam. The architecture of the building in itself was so impressive that even if it was empty I would not have complained. Each of the dozens of rooms were painted and decorated differently. They each had themes with elaborate carvings in the walls and paintings on the roofs. The detail was amazing to say the least. Each art piece in the museam was priceless, the authors were people such as the likes of Picasso. We could have spent a week inside the one museam if we had the time. Even for us who are not passionate about art, the pieces were outstanding and we were very lucky to get to see them. The second museam we went to was one about modern art. It was also a very large and impressive museam that we spent over an hour in. Our limited time was a bit of a problem but we managed ok. The third museam was one of natural history and it was very large. It was set up like a zoo but all the animals were stuffed. Every type of animal imaginable was accounted for. They were set up in their natural habitats, sometimes eating, sometimes relaxing and sometimes going about their personal business. The tiniest tick to the largest whales and dinasaurs were represented. Even though all the information was in Italian, we benefitted a great deal from the displays. It was one of the best museams we have ever seen. We got kicked out before we even finished viewing everything so we planned to go back the next day. The last museam was one of contemporary art. It was also a lot of fun and very enjoyable. It was a great size and each floor was themed with historical art pieces, media pieces, modern pieces and more. Of course there were the pieces that we did not understand, but for the most part we managed to gather enough to enjoy the work.
We were a bit tired after all of the museams so we stopped at a grocery store and bought a real Italian dinner with pasta, tomato sauce, sausages and a six pack of gelato ice cream bars. We ate two of them on the train back to our host's place an hour ride away. He picked us up from the station and we went back to the house to eat and relax.
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"
When we arrived downtown we got a similar vibe as when we were in Buenos Airies due to the buildings and the energy of the people. The architecture is very beautiful with a lot of history and yet also a modern feel. Milan is absolutely packed with tourists eating gelatos, drinking coffee, photographing the exquisite structures and most of all shopping. There are areas full of high end designer fashion boutiques and stores, most of the famous brand names originated in Italy. The shopping attracts even the most fashionless of all people, me. There are also more reasonable shops like the world famous H and M and other copy cats so the city does not have to bankrupt you.
Unfortunately both of the cameras we brought from home are completely shot so we spent the better part of our day searching for a decent replacement. It is pretty ironic that after visiting all the cheapest countries on earth, our camera dies in Italy. We were very upset about the camera and having to miss all the beautiful shots but there are very few camera shops in the fashion capital of the world so we did not find anything suitable. We decided to hold off and research some options later that night.
As mentioned, and clearly obvious to most people, Milano is famous for shopping. Since we will be taking a cruise in the next few days we tried to find some more appropriate clothing items. This took up most of the rest of the day except for the time we spent people watching. In the center of town there is a very famous area called the Plaza Duomo. Inside of this plaza is the world famous Milano Cathedral. This magnificant work of art has extraordinary details that could only be done by hand. The buidling is gigantic and it towers over the city. It is truly the symbol of the city that everyone has to see during their time here. On the very top of the cathedral, there is a gold statue of one of the Popes (I believe). Unfortunately it is currently being renovated and there is scaffolding around some of the outside but it is still a sight to see. It looks as if it has been carved out of ice and while few people take the time to go inside, the outside is worth the time. We sat down in the plaza in front of the Cathedral and ate over priced chocolate gelato sundaes from the super fancy McDonalds. This was some of the best people watching in the world. We watched as the fashionistas of the world frolicked in their glory. They were dressed in all the obsurd fashions of the runways. Most of it made no sense and half of it looked awful but we enjoyed our time watching them in awe. The time it probably took each of them to select their outfit for the day could probably cure a few diseases. Most of the females look anorexic and the size zeros disappear fast out of the sale racks. The men resemble ladies and they also could afford a couple big macs from the designer McDonalds.
Another shopping area that our host had reccomended for some of the less expensive shopping was near the railway station but by the time we got there, they were closed. We decided to go back to the house but we missed our train by one minute and had to wait another thirty minutes for the next one. During the one hour train ride we tried (uselessly) to budget for the rest of our time here. Once we made it back, we were picked up, once again, by our awesome host. His two young boys were at home playing and fighting when we arrived. They are super busy but a lot of fun. He made them go to bed while Tyson cooked us our wonderful meal of Mr. Noodles and it was great. Our host sat with us, and we ate and talked for a couple of hours. We enjoyed some home made Italian chocolate pudding for dessert that he had prepared for us. We mentioned that we needed to buy a new camera and he mentioned that he had found an older one in a bathroom that no one had claimed. He offered it to us to have and while it is not the greatest, it will serve our purposes just fine.
We had a bit of a mix up with our travel medical insurance claim for when Tyson was hospitalized for dengue fever in Malaysia so we spent some time trying to settle the issues and then slept for the night.
The next morning we slept in and by the time we ate breakfast and our host came home from work to bring us to the train station, we had missed the train by two minutes. So we waited thirty precious minutes for the next one to show up. In town, we hurried towards a Leonardo Davincci museam that we had wanted to see but once we got near, we were advised not to go there half way through the day because a full day is needed to see the whole thing. So we retraced a few of our steps from the day before to capture it all on our camera. We went to a castle near the Duomo that was built in the 1300's and we walked through it to a beautiful park that is full of monuments and historical statues. There are lovely gardens and lakes inside the park and there are many people enjoying the calm green area. It is very relaxing to take some time away from the hustle of the busy city.
We went to four museams throughout the day and they were all free. The first museam we went to was an art museam. The architecture of the building in itself was so impressive that even if it was empty I would not have complained. Each of the dozens of rooms were painted and decorated differently. They each had themes with elaborate carvings in the walls and paintings on the roofs. The detail was amazing to say the least. Each art piece in the museam was priceless, the authors were people such as the likes of Picasso. We could have spent a week inside the one museam if we had the time. Even for us who are not passionate about art, the pieces were outstanding and we were very lucky to get to see them. The second museam we went to was one about modern art. It was also a very large and impressive museam that we spent over an hour in. Our limited time was a bit of a problem but we managed ok. The third museam was one of natural history and it was very large. It was set up like a zoo but all the animals were stuffed. Every type of animal imaginable was accounted for. They were set up in their natural habitats, sometimes eating, sometimes relaxing and sometimes going about their personal business. The tiniest tick to the largest whales and dinasaurs were represented. Even though all the information was in Italian, we benefitted a great deal from the displays. It was one of the best museams we have ever seen. We got kicked out before we even finished viewing everything so we planned to go back the next day. The last museam was one of contemporary art. It was also a lot of fun and very enjoyable. It was a great size and each floor was themed with historical art pieces, media pieces, modern pieces and more. Of course there were the pieces that we did not understand, but for the most part we managed to gather enough to enjoy the work.
We were a bit tired after all of the museams so we stopped at a grocery store and bought a real Italian dinner with pasta, tomato sauce, sausages and a six pack of gelato ice cream bars. We ate two of them on the train back to our host's place an hour ride away. He picked us up from the station and we went back to the house to eat and relax.
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"
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