Milano: More Than Just A Delicious Cookie

Well, folks. I'm at it again. Crossing borders and whatnot.

But WAIT! DON'T GO ANY FURTHER! Today is my wonderful mother's birthday!!! Happy birthday mom! (I know you're reading this.)

Okay. We can continue. Sorry to leave you in suspense, but it had to be done. After waking up at 4:30 this morning, scaring my AirBnB host (she got the days mixed up and thought I was leaving tomorrow...fatal error), and getting a little lost finding the right bus stop while wandering the empty streets of residential Barcelona...I had a pretty easy trip into Milan. The only downside... it was RAINING when I got here. Now, if you've been paying attention, you know that I'm packed for an entire month. It's pretty good considering, but it's a lot to lug around. Add puddles, an umbrella, and overdosed cobblestones into the mix, and you have my walk from the metro to Elisabetta's apartment. It's okay though! I've got my own room and bathroom, both quite spacious.

I was wiped out, so I lay down for a while to see what I would do today. Milan was on my list of ddstinations for a select few reasons, so I decided to keep it short today and rest for the evening to recharge for the second half of my trip. First stop? Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" (or "Cenacolo Vinciano").

So, maybe I'm just uninformed, but I was unaware that this painting isn't actually a painting, but a giant mural on a wall. Oops. So guess what - this painting was BIG. It's deteriorating, so they are hyper vigilant about controlling the light and airflow into that room. You had to walk into pod bay doors and let them close before going into the anteroom, and let THOSE doors close. THEN you were allowed into the room to see The Last Supper.

It was stunning. I kept thinking, "There's no wayy this.is real. It must be a reproduction." Except...there has to be an original, and I was staring at it.

They were strict about not taking pphotos (with good reason), but thanks to the stealth front camera on my iPhone, I conducted missions to capture this moment. My missions were successful 5 times, but this is the best one (see photo below). The resolution, mind you, is from the FaceTime camera, so it doesnt do well zoomed in. But hopefully we are all familiar with The Last Supper by now.

I resolved to find a restaurant on my way to the other main attraction of Milan, the Duomo. I came aacross a tripAdvisor stamped place called Nota di Musica, and most of the dishes were named after classical pieces and composers. Nice. It (and one of the waiters) was absolutely adorable. The waiter had the whole tall/dark/handsome thing going with his dark brown eyes and cute little smile as he pieced together English for me. As for the restaurant, check it:

Lunch was a 4 formaggio pizze (4 cheese pizza). Not any old pizza though. I forget the fourth cheese, but the other 3 you see below are mozzarella, parmesan (the fresh thick white pieces), and yes - that is brie under everything. Dessert was this psrticular place's interpretation of tiramisu. Deeeelicious.

Then I ran across my first authentic Italian gelato place and had the best mint chocolate chip I'd ever tasted. I mean, look at this stuff!!! How hungry are you right now?

Finally, I found Piazza del Duomo. Oh my goodness. Another one of those imposing structures.

Low point of the dday followed: I'm usually alert and avoid scams, but I was ambushed....by pigeons. Yes, the street scam artists have sunk to teaming up with pigeons, perhaps forming an alliance against tourists invading their turf. A guy grabbed my hand and put dried corn into it and told me to watch the pigeons and hold my arms out. I didnt have time to think before like 15 pigeons were swarming me. Another guy grabbed my camera (NOT OKAY) and told me to smile and started taking pictures with the giant arch and Duomo in the backgriund. Meanwhile, someone kept putting corn kernels in my hands. I'll admit that this was kind of cool, but the whole time I kept thinking, "Great, they're going to want money for this." And I was correct. It's kind of a great strategy, to use the pigeons to distract someone long enough to start scamming before they can avert your eyes and say no. Jerks. One idiot shouted "100 euro!" I laughed and sharply replied, "Heck no." Normally I'd get out of there, but there were 3 or 4 nice sized guys bugging me. It was a huge open public place, but I figured since I was traveling I wouldn't push my luck. I snatched my camera back first and foremost, and talked them down to 5 euro and a small fistful of change to get them to go away.

This would have ruined my day, but a). I actually got some awesome pictures from it, and b). I saw this next:

That would be the Duomo, Catedrale di Milano. Google it - It. Is. Massive. Inside was beautiful, but the real treat was the lift to the terrace. The terrace is all throughout those towers and buttresses you see there. You get to walk around the roof and all throuhh the architecture of the cathedral. It was unbelievable. Man is capable of some pretty amazing and beautiful things. Terrible things as well - but today, I'm focusing on the good in us. Yes, its still in there, despite our mud-slinging, violent destruction of each other, and our pigeon alliances. Ambassadors may be assassinated, but beautiful and ornate structures are also built in honor of God. I wish more people would tune into their heavenly roots and use it for good and for kindness, for art and for innovation. For God.

Anyway, the day turned out to be a good one. I turned in early and made a few phone calls and rested my poor feet. My poor, poor feet.

Tomorrow comes my.most unique experience yet.... Venezia!!!