Milano--in a Flash!

Wow, I know I haven't posted any entries over the past four days, but that points to how relaxed I have been over the past four days. Essentially I've been having really good food at Adam and Heather's and going into Milan with Brett to go sightseeing. It's hard to summarize the past several days, but the key themes would have been food, fun, and fellowship. But here are the highlights:

Brett and I went up to Lake Como Wednesday so Adam could study for his exam. We got there by train. Again not being able to speak Italian was a challenge, but we managed to buy tickets. Lake Como was a resort town an hour plus north of Milan. The actual lake would roughly be the size and shape of Kootenay Lake. There were boutique stores in the piazzas and luxury homes in the hills. Brett said it was a touch reminiscent of Deep Cove, but with more people and development. I was surprised to see it as developed as it was, thinking that it was more wild. We strolled along the lake and got some beer. The sun was absolutely scorching and the air humid. The cold beer was refreshing, but still did not do much to cool me down.

That evening, Brett and I regrouped with Adam and Heather. (We actually met up in the same subway car--how strange and wonderful!) We headed off to a pub in town for an apperativo, which is roughly equivalent to happy hour but you could get unlimited appetizers and hors d'oeuvres with a drink. There was a wide selection, so yours truly was really content. Adam and Heather's friends from church were at the pub so a great time was had by all.

The next day was cathedral day as Adam took Brett and me inside the Duomo, which was Milan's main cathedral dedicated to Mary. The building exterior was thoroughly ornate with many figures and statues. There was a scene depicting David and the killing of Goliath. Inside, the stain glass windows were absolutely stunning. It took 500 years to build the cathedral and one could see why when they see all the ornate work carved in marble.

We went to the Castello Sforzesco, which was the medieval castle that formed the part of the city wall. The interesting feature about the castle was the extensive use of red brick all over. There were parts of the walls that was in disrepair, but I suppose it would have been a way to emphasize its antiquity. Later on that afternoon, we stopped by another cathedral that honoured St. Lawrence. It was definitely not as grand as the Duomo, but it was refuge from the intense summer sun and heat. We also had a "McBeer" at a McDonald's, so that really was an integral part of my experience in Europe.

Friday morning, Adam drove all of us (Heather, Brett, and me) to the nearby town of Cremona. It was an hour or so away by car. The town was famous for being the birthplace of the Stradivarius violin. In fact, there was a museum dedicated to the Stradivarius stringed instruments. Adam and Heather totally went on this road trip just for me. I felt truly special. The museum had all sorts of violins, violas, celli, and double bass, as well as viols and twelve-stringed violin predescessors. Ever so cool! They even displayed the templates and patterns Antonio Stradivari used to create his lovely instruments. We also went by the clock tower in Cremona, which was the second tallest brick tower in Europe. It was hard to miss.

After we spent the morning in Cremona, Brett and I were dropped off in Milan to check out the Last Supper painting by Leonardo di Vinci. The famous painting was on a wall inside a church in Milan. I had reserved tickets to go on the tour a month or so ago because many people want to come to see the painting and they needed to restrict visitors per day. Even when I asked if Brett could come with me, the lady at the front refused. So Brett had to wait outside for me while I went into the church for the tour. The painting was actually done as a fresco on the chruch wall, but di Vinci had used an "incorrect" technique so that was why the fresco painting was deteriorating. The painting had gone through numerous subsequent restorations. The guided tour was very informative and the lady pointed out many things I hadn't noticed before. But her Italian-accented English was somewhat amusing to follow because she sounded very robotic.

Today was Brett's last day at Adam and Heather's so I spent most of the day with him. Adam also wrote his exam today as well. I took Brett to the Papiniano Market to show him all the weird-looking Italian produce. It was one of my favourite parts of town because it was a good place to see Milanese culture live. Then we spent most of the day wandering around Milan. It was really good to just walk the streets and take in the sights because it was the coolest (weather-wise) day of my stay in Milan so far.

After I bid adieu to Brett, I went back to Adam and Heather's to meet up with them. Adam had finished his exam, woo-hoo! so we had to celebrate! We met Adam and Heather's friends Nick and Adrianne for some apperativos in town. We actually went to the "party" section of Milan, which had a number of canals running through. It was very pretty and it was nice just strolling in the warmth of the evening. After stuffing ourselves with appetizers, we went to another place for crepes for dessert. The way Italians served crepes was different as it was similar to beavertails. They were folded in half and coated with icing sugar. Absolutely delicious!

So basically that was a recap of the past four days in Milan. You can fill in the gaps with gelato, broken Italian, running away from the scorching sticky heat, chilling out in parks, and more gelato. The past few days have been a blessing for me because I was very much relaxed. Oh how I will miss Milan....