Ravioli Rocks!

Day II ; 1.6.2010
9th floor, Milano

Breakfast: Hot chocolate, bread, yogurt, banana(gasp!)
Lunch: Ham patty with lemon, salad, Ravioli(=amaziiing), Fruit Salad (I avoid; there’s only SO much fruit you can kid me into eating)
Dinner: Soup, cheese with ham wrapped around it (kind of like, the antithesis of pigs in a blanket)

Today, we visited Central Milano. We took the metro and here we were, in this beautiful part of Milano. Riding the metro is so much FUN!! Too bad, I’ve never done it back in hamari dilli, though. I love ogling at people in the trains. There’s always such an interesting assortment of people travelling; makes you wonder where they’re going, why they’re dressed up etc. Good fun.
And then you realize that people dress up in Italy to go to the supermarket and you feel severely under-dressed and then its not so much of good fun anymore.

But anyway, we walked down this boulevard (you will notice a lot of French trespassing in the accounts of Italy) and there was Prada here, and Chanel there and an ancient building on your right and an ultra-moderne one on your left. The old and the new, all seamlessly bound.

THEN, we reach this square, probably Piazza del Duomo since the Duomo was right in the middle of it. Now, Duomo is Italian for Cathedral. And apparently, the Duomo di Milano is one REALLY famous Duomo. We’ll see why soon enough. But, before we go to the Duomo, we turn into the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele which is basically a covered area with almost ALL of the famous international brands.

Galleria Vittoria Emanuele

Oh and, Italians LOVE Louis Vuitton. Even though he’s French. Amusant, innit?
The Galleria is beautiful, there is a dome and the floor is covered with mosaics. There is this wishing place here; not a well, its in fact a hole in the floor. What you have to do is stick your ankle into the hole, make your wish as you turn a full circle. Apparently, your wish comes true if you believe in it sufficiently.

After having satisfactorily window-shopped, we go to the Duomo. Inside is nothing extraordinary. On the outside, its absolutely spectacular. Its a strange way of mine, but I prefer to look at Rose Windows from outside. Even though all the stained-glass painting is inside, I judge my Rose Windows by how pretty they are from the outside.

The Rose Window

I was spellbound by this Rose Window, but evidently, there was better to come…

We climbed (well, the lift climbed) to the top if the Duomo. And oh, was it incredible?! The view was ordinary, but the Cathedral is SO incredible.

Roof with a View

There are more than 2000 sculptures on the roof and each of the spires(?) is topped by a priest. It was truly breathtaking. Also, on the highest spire is the Madonnina, like the Italians like to call her: a tiny Madonna made of gold.

The Madonnina

I am seated right now in the cosy window ledge in our room, looking down (from the 9th floor- I can’t get over it!!) on a park that’s empty (!). Its a grey, cloud-laden sky this evening, looks like our lucky two-day break of spotless skies is over…

Or is it? ;)

Category : Italy Travel Diary
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