Blogs from Lombardy, Italy, Europe - page 17

Eno has arrived! Today was a fun day - not much in the way of excitement, but still a good day. My train left Lecco at 7:59 AM, and I arrived in Milan 45 minutes later. I had 2 hours to kill, and my bag really wanted to take a stroll, since he usually only gets to see stuff between the train station and the hotel. So I obliged. He has a name, now - Bjørn Ironside, after the character from Vikings. He's been through a lot and hasn't shown much wear and tear at all. We walked to the end of the road in front of the train station, next to the big garden there. Bjørn really wanted to see the Porta Nuova, one of the old gates to the city, so we took a ... read more

We enjoyed the 'and breakfast' part of our B&B accommodation this morning! Fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice, cereal and yoghurt AND scrambled eggs and bacon. While we were eating, Fabio brought our receipt out to us as we pre-paid this accommodation using PayPal. Fabio also gave us a refund of €20.00 for the breakfast that we missed yesterday morning which was very decent of him. After breakfast we caught the train to Cardorna and then walked to the Santa Maria delle Grazie church - the home of 'The Last Supper' painted by Leonardo da Vinci. We approached from the cloisters end of the church where there was a fabulous springtime image of the church taken through the blossom filled cloisters on a board outside. OK, it's not still spring, but that is a great shot through ... read more

With a 12.00 noon checkout and a train to catch to Milano at 14.02 we were able to fit in a little bit more sightseeing this morning. We completed most of our packing and then walked into the old city again to visit Castelvecchio. The Old Castle was built by the Scalinger Dynasty that ruled Verona during the Middle Ages. Construction was carried out between 1354 and 1376 and included a fortified bridge across the Adige. The building now houses the Castelvecchio Museum which consists of a number of Romanesque statues, an impressive collection of ancient weapons and an EXTENSIVE collection of mediaeval religious art. Never before have we seen so many renditions of the Madonna and child. After our visit to the interior of the castle we crossed the Ponte Scaligero to photograph the bridge ... read more

Getting to know the area where the hotel is located, John took an early walk around the streets, ending at the Duomo. Although much of the area was impacted by the allied bombing during World War II, there are many areas where the older buildings are still there, on small and narrow streets, with great personality and a sense of community. And as John came back to the Galleria and the Duomo the grand buildings took over the space. Most enjoyable. Walked some of the great shopping areas between the Duomo and the Castello Sforzesco (Milan’s old fortress) … in preparation for walking the area with crowds later in the day!!!! Breakfast was very busy – met and talked with a couple from New Zealand – and then went out to see the Duomo inside and ... read more

I saw the Pyrenees a week ago, now I'm seeing the Alps. There is quite a difference. I'm very glad I made the change in itineraries, for various reasons. But one of my favorite is that I get to see the Alps more than once on this trip. This weekend was nice and restful, but today I bit the bullet and did the touristy thing. I was rather surprised at the number of tourists around the town today, but I guess it's a holiday in Italy, so I shouldn't be all that surprised. Bergamo is not the typical tourist town in Italy, though there are plenty of quaint things to see. It has nothing particularly impressive except the views from the upper town. From there, you can see pretty far, including several snow-capped peaks in the ... read more