Abenteuer Elf: Milan

My entire life, more or less, I've wanted to go to Italy. You can, therefore, imagine my excitement on the day I hopped the 7:30 train to Milano Centrale.

The train ride itself was fascinating. One could tell instantly when we entered Italy--the architecture changed, the houses became more colourful and more run down, the color of the stone in the mountain shifted from black to sandy brown, and the dense pine trees became interspersed with palms and cacti.

The ride from Bern to Milan lasted for about three and a half hours. When we got off the train, we had arrived in the most fashionable train station I've ever seen. I felt like I was in a palace.

When we stepped outside, the effect became even more pronounced.

No wonder Milan is among the top fashion capitols of the world.

We had an approximately 40 minute walk to the city center from the train station. On the way, we stopped into a little corner cafe for brunch. What we saw inside amazed us--

croissants for under one Euro.
Restaurant food we could actually afford. 

 Compared to Bern, we felt like we'd found Narnia. I ordered chocolate pan and a cappucino, and was not disappointed.

The man in the cafe was incredibly kind and helpful. When he found out we were Americans, he insisted on asking where each of us was from, walking us outside, and giving us directions to the city center. He even tried to teach us some Italian. Almost all of the Italians we met during our stay were similarly kind and helpful. Needless to say, it made me really appreciate Italy.

After breakfast, we wandered down the street towards the city center. We walked passed a private garden in which oranges and lemons were already busily growing.

In Milan, it seemed like everyone had a garden. Gardens lined every balcony and most roofs. And by gardens, I don't mean occasional little pots of flowers. I mean full-grown trees and hanging vines so large they obscured the windows of downstairs neighbors. It was really pretty.We passed some beautiful old architecture on our way down the street, too.

I also saw a genuine European:

Finally, we reached the first stop of our day: the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, also known as Italy's oldest shopping mall. It certainly didn't look like any mall I'd ever seen.

Inside, shoppers had a wide selection of stores to patronize: Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton...you know, the kind of establishment where you have to pay a deposit and set up an appointment three months in advance just to windowshop.

The mall had four main isles. In the center, the promenade was covered by a huge glass dome.

The floor under the dome was covered in mosaics.

One of these mosaics, in particular, draws a visitor's attention.

There is a mosaic bull on the floor off to one side which is a tourist attraction all unto itself. According to local legend, if you stand on a certain--ahem, area--of the bull and spin three times, you gain good luck. This legend is so prominent that a crowd always surrounds the bull, and a three-inch deep hole has been worn into it.

Of course, Gary and I had to earn ourselves some good luck:

I would have paused for a better picture, but I didn't want to hold up the long line.

After spinning on the bull, we left the mall and came across possibly the most awe-inspiring thing I've seen in Europe thus far: the Duomo di Milano.

The Duomo began construction in 1386 and is the fifth largest cathedral in the world. Aside from being the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, it also houses the relics of Saint Charles Borromeo and one of the nails from the Crucifixion. Outside, the Duomo is surrounded by a huge square, remarkable for its thieves, tourists, and the most fashionable McDonald's I've ever seen.

In this square, we encountered the infamous friendship-bracelet men--a notorious brand of European con artist who walks around handing out "free"friendship bracelets and then charges you hundreds of dollars for the honour of having said bracelet tied onto your wrist. When accosted by one such man, I yelled no and, not speaking any Italian, continued to yell no and walk away until he literally threw the bracelet at me in frustration.

In other words, I annoyed the con man into giving me a free bracelet.

Anyway, back to the Duomo--

After the ordeal with the bracelet men, my friends and I queued up to go inside. Normally, I refuse to take pictures inside cathedrals--however, inside the Duomo, I couldn't resist snapping a few quick shots.

After a tour of the inside of the Duomo, we decided to see the top of the Duomo--for a small fee, we bought tickets to go up on the roof.

I have almost a hundred pictures of the roof of the Duomo. I'll see if I can narrow it down a little here.

The very top

After spending a couple of hours on the roof, we made our way back down to explore the streets. The road that runs behind the Duomo is obviously a pretty tourist-heavy area: food carts, souvenir stands, and street performers are everywhere. It was fun to see.

Another rosebush person

We stopped for dinner that afternoon in a lovely little cafe where we could sit out by the street and enjoy real Italian pizza and, even better, real, melt-in-your-mouth Italian tiramisu!

It's nice to visit countries where you can afford to eat.

After dinner, we wound our way back to the train station where, unfortunately, we had to catch the first train home. Luckily for us, there was still enough time before our the train to buy wine and gelato.

I liked Italy. Can't wait to go back over spring break! (More details coming soon).