Milan, Italy

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I arrive in Milan eager to achieve the agenda I have set forth for this city. I have a couple of very important things I wish to accomplish while here. I want to visit and view the painting of The Last Supper which was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, and I want to tour the Duomo di Milano.

I make my way from the train station to try to find the hostel that I have booked. As it always seems, I get a little crossed up with the directions, but after a fifteen minute or so walk (the directions say short walk - I suppose this is short), I find the hostel. Of course I was early, and after a pretty long wait to check in, I was told that I couldn't go to my room because my bed was not ready...so I stored my luggage in a locked closet area, and off I go to tour the city of Milan.

I go back to the train station, and make my way to the center of town. I have booked me a tour of Milan, and I wanted to find the meeting point. Once in the city center, I decide I would live some Italian pizza. Must be good - right? I found a pizzeria, and most of the pizza's have toppings on them with all kinds of vegatables and other greens. Nothing looked like just meat. Then I spotted one. It looked like it had just a ton of pepporonis on it. I asked for it as pepporoni pizza. The people behind the counter kinda laughed at me, but I thought it was just because I was a silly American. They asked me was I sure I wanted to purchase, and I said I did. I walked outside with my pizza, and I was quite hungary so I bit into it. Agggh!! If was full of half tomatoes and not pepporonis. I about gagged. I can't stand tomatoes unless it is just tomato paste. I tried to pull them off and eat the crust, but I struggled greatly to swallow. I forced myself to swallow a couple of small bites, and poof..the rest went into the trash can. Wait a waste of my money. I now had lost my appetite.

I did find the meeting place, so after checking with my clock on my phone, I realized I now could check into the hostel. I go back there and promptly do so. Once settled in, I had to quickly make my way back to the meeting point for my Milan tour which would start promptly at 2:30. I get in the que for the tour bus, enter and find a seat. I was really excited. This tour would take us through historic Milan including trips to a famous opera house, the Milan shopping district, the Milan Duomo Cathedral, and lastly, The Lords Supper painting.

We depart and go towards the opera house. We were able to go into this famous historic place and overlook the stage from what appeared to be some very important people seats. It was really beautiful. We were not allowed to take photos, or even stay in the area long for privacy and security reasons. Next we went to the Milan shopping district. This was a beautiful area with many high end stores. It was like we were walking through a tunnel, but it really wasn't a tunnel. The ceilings had beautiful designs on them, and once walking through the area, we dead ended into the Milan Cathedral which is called Duomo di Milano. This is the cathedral church of Milan dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente (Saint Mary Nascent), it is the seat of the Archdishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Angelo Scola. The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. It is the fifth largest cathedral in the world and the largest in the Italian state territory. My objective for touring was only one however. I had read that this cathedral held one of the nails from the cruxifiction of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I walked in with my tour group anxious. I searched, but I could not find the nail. I walked around looking, and I had no luck. My time ran out, as I had to meet with my tour group back at the bus. I take several photos, and out I go to the meeting place. I was depressed about this, but I thought I had just witnesssed a beautiful sight non the less.

We board the bus and go to our last stop. I was very anxious at this time. I have read about the Last Supper painting for most of my life, and I actually have a 2,000 piece puzzle replica that I put together and framed on one of the walls in my house. I could not wait. We arrive at the location of the painting, and go in. Lucky for me that I had tickets pre purchased with the tour group, for the viewings were sold out. People were asking if they could purchase our tickets, but the tour guide told them no. I would not have sold mine anyway. Only a set number of people could go in each group, and you only have about a fifteen minute window to actually view the painting. I make sure I am in the first group. Maybe I shoved a little or broke in line, but I was so happy, I just could not help myself. We were given the instructions as far as no photos were concerned, and in we go. Immediately, my mouth felt as if it dropped, and my eyes welled up with tears. There is was; The Last Supper painting of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I make my way up as far as you could go to view. There was a wall barrior about ten feet or so from the painting. I gazed for a good couple of minutes in pure joy and excitement. Amazing! I then proceed to read the captions on the wall barrior. There is a description of each disciple and possibly what they were saying in the painting. The one thing I did not know about the painting was that the bottom of Jesus feet, as well as some of the disciples around him, were cut out when a door was made into the adjoining room by some monks. We have to remember that this painting is on a wall, and that back in the olden times, maybe this was not as symbolic. Well..my time was up, I walk to the other side of the room, and there is a full wall of the cruxificition scene. I did not have the time to fully take this in, but it was moving as well. I tried to stay and gaze at this painitng, but the ushers had to kinda get on to me to leave. My entire group had left, and I was the last one in the room. They finally told me I had to go. After one last gaze at the Last Supper painting, I depart.

I board back on the tour bus, and I am taken with my group back to the starting point. I walk around a few minutes, and I tell myself that it is now or never to see historic Milan by myself, so off on foot I go up one of the main streets. I walk and end up at the Duomo cathedral. I thought that this may be my only opportunity ever to go in and see the cruxifiction nail, so I make my way back in. It was almost closing time, and I could tell that I would be very short on time, so no time to waste. I find the first worker I could find, and ask where the location of the nail was. The gentlemen was actually very nice to me, and he excorted me to a good location to view this most historic sight. He told me to look up at the glowing symbol in the ceiling. I did see this before, but I did not know what it was. I immediately fell to my knees. I was at a kneeling bench or alter looking bench, and I began to cry and thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for dying on that cruel cross for me. It was one of the most surreal things I have experienced. After several minutes, and I had collected myself, I tried to make some photos for memory sake. It was dark in the room, and my photos are a little blurry and will not do the actual sight justice. I just will have to keep this one in my store house of a brain, and just remember what I felt when I saw this. Wow!! I will never forget this moment. Well..it was closing time, and I had to go. I depart the cathedral, and I notice it is getting dark. I start to see all of the street vendors and groups of gang looking people out, and when I do this, for safety reasons, I normally go somewhere where there are a lot of people. After gazing back for one last look at the cathedral, I make my way down the walkway to the train station.

On my train ride back towards my hostel, I realize that I am one of the luckiest people in the world to be able to see and experience such historic beautiful sights. Well, back to the hostel I go. I have to get some rest, for tommorrow will be my last full day in Europe, and I want to try to make the most of it.

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