Milan 11,12October onto Colico

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Milan 11, 12 October to Colico
Jane and I went shopping again this morning while Ken did men things and this afternoon we went on a Personal guided tour of Milan with Valaria. She showed us some of the lesser known parts of Milan including the remaining canal systems and churches from the 2cnd, 4th and 7th century. The changes in architectural style intrigue me, not being what one could call a practising christian I am pretty ignorant of lots of said history, mind you I think i would have to be a serious practising catholic of Italian background to know how and why of the influences in church architecture. One of the first things an invading region would do is to steal the relics of the invaded region and display them in their major cities. This influenced the pilgrims' routes and hence the economic and cultural development of the cities involved.
The canals are pretty destitute and in need of restoration. There is an ongoing argument between the government and the people of Milan of what to do with the remaining port which is just about in the centre of Milan. What is left is small and run down and the government wanted to turn it into a car park. The people have said no, they want it retained for its historical and cultural value. Many of the canal systems were designed and some built by Leonardo di Vinci. So far the people have won but no funding has been provided for its restoration so there it sits and most Milanese and tourists would not really know what it is. Valaria told us that the canals once linked waterways right through from Milan to Switzerland. With the advent of motorised transport their usefulness decreased and many were filled in or covered for roads and pathways. We also found a disused section designed by Leonardo, with three gates/locks, near our apartment.
Valaria also took us to china town where Chinese businesses sit side by side with traditional Milanese businesses. It has worked so far but there are stirrings of discontent. Part of the business area has been pedestrianised - ie paved and made not a mall - and the existing Chinese businesses are not happy as this has negatively impacted there trade. As a protest they have refused to hold public celebrations for Chinese new year. The new businesses however are more up market so are attracting a different clientele, charging more for their products etc so they are happy! The area has also become too expensive for new Chinese immigrants too live in so they are moving to traditional Milanese areas. Seems that some of the traditions of the two do not coincide! However, Milan has been a multicultural metropolis for a very long time now so am sure they will cope with this newest change too.
This was our last night in Milan so we had a progressive dinner - main course in the old city, dessert at a caffe closer to our apartment, then stopped off at our local bar for a nightcap, or two! We had however learnt our lesson and were very constrained! It was the barman who told us of Leonardo 's canals, they guys are really very interesting to talk to, even with the language difficulties.
Once packed in the morning we went to the bar for brekky and a final goodbye, or so I thought. As we headed out to Colico I realised I had left my hand bag at the bar so we headed back again, it took a very long time given the hour of the day etc. can't say Ken was very impressed, cant say I blame him! So glad we had decided to garage the car and use shanks'pony and taxis while in Milan.
Ok, finally on the road and off to Colico we went. Felt a bit funny in the Tum which got steadily worse over the next couple of hours. I had found a cure for constipation - food poisoning!!!!
My first day in Colico was not fun but improvement was rapid, I am however still eating lots of soup when out!

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