Milan to Venice

July 6, 2011

I “waited” for the shower this morning: aka, napped until it was available.  I was definitely happy with an extra half hour of sleep.  It was grand.  However, note to self:  Get a towel and toothpaste today on our Milan shopping outing.
(by the way.... it was an epic note to self fail)

pretty much the view right out of the subway

Off to the subway we went, taking it to the “Duomo” stop.  We came out of the subway, and the first thing we saw was this INCREDIBLE gothic church.  Tiny spires topped the entire building like needles, giving the whole white church a really scary look.  Immediately to the left, we saw the famous indoor mall.  Apparently it used to be called “Milan’s Sitting Room” because everyone used to come and hang out there.  Name brand shops lined the covered streets, inviting high rollers into their air conditioned spaces.  I’m pretty sure they had me pegged immediately when I walked into Prada and Gucci.  Sure, some of the purses and clothes were really pretty and well-made, but there is NO way I would pay 500 euro for a pair of discounted heels.  Whatever, it was fun to look.

Susan Plus Mall

Cassie Plus Prada

Moving on, we headed out to a bar with food, and I bought a sandwich and an espresso – yay for Italian food!  Although, men in suits kept walking in, which made me feel like I was still in the wrong place.  We walked down some more streets, window shopping and drooling over the gelato, but again, there was no way I was paying 3 euros for a small cup!  Not when I know they have it for 2!  The street led us to an awesome fountain, where I saw another wedding.  I think all they do here is get married.  You see them everywhere!  Then we went into the sweet fortification behind it, which housed several museums.  The castle was built… a long time ago…. And had a ceiling painted by Leonardo daVinci and what is thought to be Michelangelo’s final unfinished sculpture.  There was an armory that had swords, guns, and old armor.  I was so excited to see the super long matchlock guns that I had learned about in my Military History class a year ago.  AND we got into the museums for free because we were under the age of 25!  Sweet!

I looked at him for a long time, and he really creeped me out.

Behold the work of Michelangelo

Scary dude in the Museum

Right outside, there were X-Factor tryouts?  I think?  People were everywhere, congregated around the X-Factor tent.  That was boring, though, so we moved on in the heat, completely wilted by the hot humidity.  Several shops later, we finally stopped for our gelato, which got us through most of the rest of the day.  We went inside the restored palace right outside the crazy gothic church, and finally entered the church after I got a sweet deal on a scarf to cover my shoulders.  It was SO dark inside, such a huge contrast to the white stone of the outside.  And there were legit dead guys hangin’ out in the church.  Seriously.  They were mummified or something, behind glass so we could see their decomposing bodies.  I really don’t care that they were important cardinals or whatever – that is WEIRD.

What is a blog post without gelato?  come on...

Crazy gothic church.  as if you needed an explanation

So dark!

i think the floors in Italy are genius

We got an ice-ee to get us a little more hydrated on our way back to the hotel where we left our luggage.  Back to the train station we went, found a train scheduled to leave at 19:05, putting us in Venice around 20:30, hopefully in time enough to find our hotel in the light.  Apparently we have to take a boat to get there – we shall see.  I am SO excited about Venice.  Out of the whole trip, it is the city I have wanted to see for the longest time.  I hope I did not build up my expectations too high, because I don’t want to be disappointed….

Have I mentioned that I really want an iPad?  That way I can play angry birds or read books the green way if I want to…. T’would be very nice.  Anybody upgrading to an iPad2 and don’t need their old one? :)