We're here! It's been a 2 gelato day...

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September 10th 2016

Published: September 7th 2017

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Wendy2017

Our Viatour guide "Charles"

Geo: 45.4637, 9.18813

Just a quick note, we made it fine yesterday. The great host picked us up from the airport, etc... Will fill in the details later.
Where else in the world can you open your kitchen window and eat breakfast while hearing a man sing opera someplace outside? Also, love the church bells ringing at different times! Now a woman is joining in the singing, fantastico!
We are about to leave to go see the famous "Last Supper" fresco painting by DaVinci.
Loving our adventure after a decent nights sleep, was only up for about 2 hours from 12-2 am but that is par for the course, got up about 8:30 showered and had a good breakfast and we packed a lunch. The plan is to eat dinner out tonight and hopefully finally get a gelato ;-)
Will fill in the rest later,
A presto,
Wendy

6:49 PM
To catch up we're back at the apartment taking a break, it's very HOT and humid! Think dripping sweat ;-) pretty I know...
Anyway, it's been a great day, after walking over to meet our guide through Viatour, and he was great, humorous but very knowledgeable, really made it a nice 2-hour tour. We started in the Piazza

The crucifixion at the Church of San Maurizio

Della Grazie where we met the guide, then went in to see the "Last Supper" or in Italian "Ultima Cena" (I believe) it was really cool to see it in person after seeing it so many times in books or on TV, this and the painting across the room of the crucifixion were both mostly undamaged by the accidental bombing of the building during WW2.
We then were taken on a walk with the guide giving us further details of various things around the area, we went to another church that had lots of amazing art, Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio, and Santa Maria San Satyro? Some pictures of both are included here.
Not as up on the details, as I usually am, Jim did more research for this trip than I did, and I'm just not up as much on the history of Milano as some other places. I did enjoy the history of the Sforza/Visconti family a bit with the Castile and they are then mentioned in the histories of some of the other places and churches we've been to as they were the most influential families of the day...

When we went to tour the Duomo, they started shutting areas

Detail of the Crucifixion

down because the Cardinal and lots of priests were going to have a ceremony of bringing out of one of the supposed nails of the crucifixion that is saved up on the ceiling of the church. Once a year the cardinal goes up in a beautiful cloud like "balloon" (pictures to follow) he then brings it down and it's put in another cross and put on display for 3 days (until this Monday) and then he takes it back up and puts it away for another year. This is the most important event for this area so we stayed and sat through the ceremony. After this, we tried to go to the roof top but the line was at the 90 minute waiting for mark so we'll try to hit that in the morning first thing, this was the line for the elevator the walking up the several hundred stairs line was empty ;-).

We will try to get in to see the Duomo Museum tomorrow also as they are all part of the ticket purchase. Trying to see everything, we wanted to visit the archeological area under the church, went up to one of the guards and asked

The Last Supper at Church of San Maurizio

where it was, he said it was inside the church, you only get one visit to each of the areas. I said we had already been inside... He said no problem and told us to go skip the long line to get back into the church and see it! Very nice!! On our way out I took a picture of one of the guards and was told no and to delete it very nicely, they are not supposed to be taken, he was very nice about it and we did delete it. The Duomo has been a target of the terrorists and every back is searched and you are "frisked" with a wand, not sure if frisked is the right word they don't touch you but have the wand look you over, metal detector I guess. Some of the guards, really they are military, have machine guns and mill about keeping an eye on things.

Our Viatour guide mentioned that Milan was kind of another Venice, filled with canals that have now been covered over with roads, they have not been filled in but they are under there still, it's what helps make this area so nice and humid! The

Detail of the Last Supper

current mayor I heard wants to uncover them, will see if this ever happens.

The apartment is very comfortable, we have air conditioning in the bedroom and a washing machine which I've already made use of, and no doubt will again, with this heat. We're in a convenient location so it's not a bad walk anywhere we want to go.
Will post the pictures, I did take some videos but they seemed to have disappeared. Will post them if I find them...
Please excuse the spelling, etc... In a hurry and if I try to make this perfect won't do it as I'm on vacation...

A presto,
Ciao,
Wendy
p.s. Will try to get Jim to post, so you can get his impressions.

11:26 PM
Update number 2
We just returned from our evening in the Navagli District, it is the happening place, we were heading out at 11 and lots of people were still heading that way! We're the oldsters I guess (know), this area is along the canal and Jim had read about it and found a Greek Fusion place to eat at, definitely popular we had to wait, and then you get a table and then you go wait in line to order and pay,

Again

you give them your table number and then they bring you your food. The wait was long but the food came quickly after we ordered. Delicioso! I had the beef meat ball gyro and Jim had something else, he said it was good, don't remember the name of either. After ward, we walked (purposefully) the "wrong way" to find the "best gelato" our host recommended to us. We walked and walked, finally stopped some people walking that had gelato and asked them if where we were going was close, and it wasn't! We then asked where the best gelato was on the way going back to our apartment, they showed us on the map, a place called LatteNeve on Via Vigevano 27, AMAZING gelato, anyone reading this and in Milano needs to go there. I had cicolatto peperoncino and limoni with bascilicato super good!! Jim had straciella with the same cicolatto peperoncino, no doubt I'm spelling them all wrong but you get the idea. Who would think chocolate with red pepper in it would be good? Or lemon with basil? But it was... so steps for the day for Wendy are as of this moment 23,589 not sure it will

Long view of the dining hall where Last Supper is

cover 2 gelato's, a gyro, and a sandwich on a roll or not but, when in Milan....

So off to bed fairly soon, will need my second shower of the day, no alarm in the morning, but we'll try to do the things mentioned earlier for tomorrow plus try the metro system to get to a monument a bit farther away and do a trial run to catch our train for Verona on Monday.

Will attach photos from our evening!
Ciao
Wendy

p.s. Have had a bit of fun practicing my Italian on unsuspecting people that humor me. FYI, still, no word from the school, trying not to be stressante about it!

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