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Yesterday morning I woke up early and once again made my way to the Duomo. I wanted to go in when it wasn't full of tourists. I walked straight in (no waiting in line), and I had the place to myself except for a few people there to pray. What an amazing, beautiful and grand building it is. So spectacular. Mesmerising and jaw-dropping.
Then it was time for my usual calazione (breakfast), which once again consisted of espresso and a cornetto (chocolate this time). I figure I won't be having these sorts of breakfasts in Ireland, so I'm going to eat them while I can.
I decided that I really needed to do something about the weight of my luggage as now I had purchased some things for myself and others, and I really didn't need it with me. So I went back to my room and organised a pile of things to send home to myself. I figured that if I had to pay for excess luggage, or pay for a package home then I would be better off. I then found the post office, and that's when the debacle began! I won't bore you with the detail, but you know those times when things happen it makes your blood boil, and you just want to scream at someone, but you know it's the system, and not the messenger.... yeah that. But to give you the short of it, I was in the right place, got sent to the wrong place, told to go back to the right place, then get a ticket and wait for an hour (this is just to do the first step of actually buying a box mind you), only to be told I had to go over to the store (in the same building), and be served instantly. What made it worse was that I knew I was running out of time, because, hell, we wouldn't want the Italians to work beyond 1.30 now would we! And I also knew that it was a combination of not understanding Italian, as well as not asking enough/right questions. Plus, I still had to go back and pack the box and come back again.
Anyway, I got there in the end and it was a relief, both in physical weight (unloaded 4kgs), and a metaphorical weight lifted from my shoulders now that the ordeal was over.
The good thing to come out of it was that I had now explored another corner of Milan central, and what a corner it was! It seems I had stumbled upon the gourmet food area! By this time I needed lunch and I struggled to make a decision on where I should eat. But then I found a bakery, that was so full of people, that I just knew I had to eat there. I squeezed in the place and saw a bench full of baked sweets, then a bread/pizza area, then a salad/pasta area. I decided on pizza, this one had tomato, feta and olives, and when I ate it, it reminded of a the flavour of my mum's pizza. It was amazing! I'm so going to miss Italian food. But not one to resist temptation, I then went for dessert and ordered the most amazing piece of chocolate cake. Fantastico!
The baker at the rear of the bakery with his wood fired oven:
After the stress of the morning and then stuffing my face, I needed to have a siesta. I was so tired that I slept heavily for about an hour. I felt really groggy when I woke up, that I decided the best way to deal with that was to do a bit of physical exercise, and I was determined to climb the stairs of the Duomo before I left Milan (I hadn't gone up to the top of the Duomo on my first visit to Milan in 1996). From there I was going to make my way to Nadia and Fabio's house for dinner.
At the Duomo, I again realised the importance of asking the right questions. I went to one entry point, got told to go to a second (the correct one for me if I wanted to walk up), get to that one and the guy assumed I was like the people in front of me who wanted to take the lift up to the top and so went to a third entry point. Was in line for a while before being told I needed to go back to the place I just came from.
Anyhow... I went up the stairs preparing myself for a physically harrowing experience (250 stairs), but it turned out it was actually quite easy!
From the top of the Duomo I could see the entire skyline of Milan, and more of the beauty of the Duomo itself. Once again making me in awe of the architecture and design and what a feat of labour it would have been for the times. Amazing.
After spending some time on the roof of the Duomo (half of it was closed off for maintenance), I started to make my way for dinner. I planned to walk and take a route that Nadia had recommended to me the day before when I had met with her.
The first area to see was the 'Brera' district. Superb! An alternative area with funky shops and restaurants. Lots of spots for 'Happy Hour' where you pay a price and get nibbles included. There weren't many tourists around this area either. Then I found another branch of the bakery I had been to that very day for lunch. It was at this point that the storm arrived (again). That afternoon as I had headed out, I had looked at my umbrella and thought, "I don't need that anymore", as well as the disposable raincoat! What a complete idiot!!! So, what the heck, I just decided to have happy hour there! I ordered a glass of white wine and grabbed some munchies and found a spot under cover. It really poured down too, and the biggest crack of thunder and lightning scared the hell out of everyone at one point.
My view at happy hour, note in the background you can see the 'modern' area of Milan
I passed the National Library on my walked:
The wine wasn't that great so when the rain subsided I started walking again. I had with me one of those bags that roll up to nothing, so I protected my head with that. I'm sure I looked exactly like the beautiful people of Milan, not out of place at all...
I walked past a shoe shop and partly to get out of the rain I looked in there and then decided to try on a pair of boots. They were a short boot, and were great, but thankfully they didn't have my size!
I continued on, and mostly managed to stay dry, but at one point I had to cross a main road, and I was in the medium strip when this car flew past and his tyres went through the huge puddle of water near me. You don't need me to tell you what happened. Needless to say, after the day I had, the 'c' word escaped my lips out loud. Then I just laughed, what more was there to do after all.
Apparently you can even park on the kerb in Italy!
Nadia made the first healthy meal I have had since I've been on my travels Quinoa and vegetables stir fried. It was absolutely delicious, and a couple of glass of red to go with it, as well as some cheeses and Sardinian bread for starters meant that I tried some really new and amazingly good food.
My favourite part of the night though was when Nadia and Fabio started imitating their Italian speaking friends from English speaking countries. They imitated the Irish, the English and the American, and they had me in complete fits. Nadia, don't you dare imitate me now in my terrible Aussie accent, with my butchered mix of Dialect and Italian!
Nadia lived in Ireland for 18 months, so at the end of the night I was writing down all these places to haunt and eat at in Dublin. She has got me very excited to be going there! But I am quietly devastated at having to leave Milan.
To get back to my apartment, I simply had to catch the Tram which stops right outside their apartment, and dropped me about 50 meters from my apartment. I had no problem getting home at all. I followed the tram route home on my map, and when we reached the Duomo, I even knew when to press the stop button.
I feel like I have only just begun to scratch the surface of Milan, and I haven't done as much as I wanted to in Italy. I haven't got to Lake Como like I planned. I haven't eaten enough. I haven't explored enough. No, seriously, I haven't eaten enough! I haven't had enough gelati, pizza, pasta, cornetti. I haven't even eaten one canoli WTF! I haven't had enough coffee and I need more Shakeratas. I haven't had one plate of antipasto which I love. I haven't eaten enough fruit or drunk enough chinotto.
But, I have breathed in Milan and it's beauty. It is stunning. I love the ancient architecture. And I love Milan.
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