Travel Tuesday: Italy: Milano

Tutt and I visited Milan back in 2014 as part of our Italian adventures. We took the train from Verona on a Sunday and had a day trip. The city was really quiet; we took an open topped bus tour: we nearly fell out over it as we waited ages and, when it arrived, it seemed over-priced to me and I didn't want to take it - I still don't know if I can recommend it, but we did see a lot of stuff; and we went to see the Last Supper, of course, of which there are no pictures. It was a marvellous piece of art but I couldn't quite get over that it was painted essentially as a canteen mural. I think da Vinci would be tickled if he realised how famous it has become.

The most imposing structure in Milan is, unsurprisingly, its cathedral, which dominates an enormous main square like a twiddly, twirly, sugar-crafted palace.

The detailing on it is incredible. Here are a few gems I found.

We wandered through the world's oldest shopping centre, the beautiful glass Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which has all the fancy shops in it and is near to the only McDonald's in the world with a non-yellow sign: the arches are white to fit in with local regulations. You can still see it from the middle of the galleria, though. I didn't take a picture.

During the bus trip we were also told a lot about how Mussolini had done a lot of building in Milan, and some of this was pointed out. It's modernist in style but with overtones of Ancient Rome, because the Fascists used it as another tool to promote their ideals. I'd taught a lot about this so it was nice to see some of it in the flesh....stone.

The train station, too, was clearly completed in this era; it had carved fasces on the walls and "Anno IX" which suggested it was completed in 1932, 9 years after Mussolini seized power. The walls are carved with the names of famous scientists of the day, as well as pictures of all forms of transport.

We had a wander in the park after the bus trip, and then went to sit in a pavement cafe, drink Aperol Spritz and eat ice cream sundaes (both just me, I should say). The table next to us had one Asian gentleman, his young daughter, and five women all wearing niqab. I was interested to see that they were all wearing designer glasses or sunglasses, and on some the arms of the glasses went inside the niqab, while on others they were on the outside. It was really interesting to see people dressed like this: I don't see many people in the niqab in Britain (although a parent came to parents' evening with one on last year) and, when Tutt and I chatted about it, she pointed out that religious head coverings like this would be even less welcome in Paris. This made me think that perhaps wealthy Muslim women who favour the full face covering come to shop and peruse the designer collections in Milan rather than any other European capital of fashion because it is more accepting of such things. I don't know why that might be; but it's sort of borne out by the existence, at the station, of a refugee help point for Syrians. I tried to take a picture of the sign but the lady sitting at the desk got quite defensive and sent me off, and then glared at me suspiciously when I tried to take pictures of the architecture of the station, until I went away completely. I wonder why there was a refugee point in Milan?

I think Milan might be better visited on a weekday. It felt a bit like a ghost town on a Sunday, although everything seemed to be open. Probably if we'd planned to do a lot of shopping, it would have been paradise, but it was surprisingly underwhelming for just wandering. There were also some people at the train station 'helping' tourists to buy underground tickets and robbing them at the same time - stealing the change from the machine, sort of thing - which made us both a little jumpy.

Blue Monday

Browsing through the Italy photos I came across this, which I took in Florence.

What a joyful bunch of mopeds!

Italy: Aida

On our first night in Verona we got dressed up and went to the opera.

We felt very cultured. We rented cushions (the stone was pretty hard) and bought wine from the friendly wine-seller who came through between each of the four acts. We studiously ignored the young men who encouraged us to move closer and closer together so that more people could squeeze in.

As it started to get dark, the show began. We'd all been given candles in little cardboard holders on the way in and we lit them as dusk passed, so the whole theatre was full of twinkly lights. Very picturesque; of course, impossible to catch on camera.

 It was a very good show. We didn't know much of the background so I'd read a quick Aida synopsis before we left. The show was four hours long, mostly thanks to the massive breaks in between acts - in the last one I would have had time to go back to the apartment to get something to eat and something warmer to wear if I'd been so inclined. But then, the apartment was very close by.

This was a real experience, very entertaining and very moving, especially in this setting. I love being in historical places where you can feel the echo of thousands of previous visitors around you, so this was right up my street.

Italy: Tuscany to Verona

Into the last few days of the trip, we drove back to Florence to drop off the hire car and pick up the train to Verona. On the way back to the car rental place, we stopped on that famous hill with the famous views for some pictures:

I don't know who this couple were but I couldn't resist taking a picture of them. It looked as though they had met at the top of the steps and were so happy to be back in one another's company.

Then we fought with Florence's one way system to get back to the rental car shop. I nearly got run off the road by an angry bus. Good times.

We were not unhappy to leave Florence.

The train journey to Verona was largely uneventful. No first class this time, and a change at Padua was required, but it was all quite straightforward. We decided to walk to our apartment, which didn't seem too far on the map. It was a bit further than anticipated, and it was very hot. But there was something good at the end.

We'd rented a two-bedroom apartment through AirBnB and it was a real gem. Very central - less than 5 minutes from the amphitheatre, with a coffee shop and beautiful fountains right outside.

Idyllic, quiet, and relatively cheap. And our first accommodation with separate bedrooms. Basically, we got there and both went into our rooms and shut the door. Tutt and I both appreciate our alone time.

Italy: San Gimignano

San Ginignano is apparently famous as the inspiration for Walt Disney's logo, although now I can't find any reference to it anywhere so I am doubting myself. In any case, it is a typical Tuscan hill town. As an aside, I have to say that Tuscany combined three things I dislike - hills, mosquitoes and British tourists....so, many, British, tourists. I think that's why, on balance, I did not like it as much as other places we went. I had just got used to ordering an espresso by just asking for a coffee, when I had to get used to asking for an espresso again, thanks to the deitalianisation of this part of Italy.

But I digress. We were extremely fortunate to be in the area for San Gimignano's annual wine festival, Calici di Stelle. The landlady at the villa explained the system: you go, pay 7 euros for a glass, and then drink as much wine as you like while people serve you snacks. It sounded too good to be true, but we went up there anyway.

We had a browse in some shops and went for dinner first. The town is very picturesque.

We thought we were on the main square and there were no wine stalls set up, so we nearly left. However, we thought we'd wander for a bit. We came across a street festooned with white paper moons and stars, so we followed it. And then we found the event!

It's tough to see, but each local vineyard had half a table and offered tastes of their different wines. I think we tried 6 or 7 in all, but there were probably 30 different wineries exhibiting. Marvellous. Meanwhile, waiters circulated with trays of meats, cheeses and breadsticks. There was even free ice cream. And a light show.

It was really rammed with people and it took us a while to get a table, which we then had to guard jealously for the rest of the evening.
We got to keep the glasses, which came in a little shoulder pouch for easy carrying. Genius.

What a lovely evening! We felt really lucky to have been in the area at just the right time.

When we got home I fed Rachael's friend Louise Vin Santo and cantuccini, because she was terribly keen to have a dessert wine. She did not care for it, at all. It is still a memory that tickles me: the look of abject horror as the flavour hit her tastebuds. I think Vin Santo is lovely. Clearly not everybody agrees.

Italy: Toscana, the villa

We really lucked out with our choice of villa. It was just outside a tiny town called Casole d'Else, in the middle of a triangle created by Siena, Volterra and San Gimignano. It was the top floow of a farmhouse that had been converted (or built) for guests, and it had a private swimming pool.

Getting there required us to drive past the vines.

Always with roses at the end of the vine. There must be a good wine-growing reason for that. More bees?
From the villa verandah, we had this view.

The farm was organic. There were hundreds of flowers and plants and their accompanying insects for us to look at.

There was even a free one of these. He was very friendly.

Our matching rental cars. The path down to the pool is just behind them. It was not overlooked by anything, so I did enjoy a private dip in the morning a couple of times.

 You can just about see the edge of it from the balcony.

It was a very idyllic place to be staying, that's for sure.

Italy: Siena

I really loved Siena.

My only complaint was that it was difficult to work out where the best place to park was. We ended up parking on the street some distance from the town and walking in. But it was busy anyway, because it was nearly time for the Palio. Everyone was out in their team colours.

Aperol Spritz at 11am - YES ITALIAN LADY.

There was some kind of team lunch going on in the square, and we were treated to a dance.

I really loved the pageantry of it. I don't think I would be keen on the race, but the build up and team spirit was great, as were all the little temporary wooden stands.

We tried to go up the tower but we'd missed out by being there too late. Probably not sorry to avoid all the climbing, to be honest.

More stripey church:

Shopping was done. I bought another amazing Gabs bag, a bigger one that I can take to job interview with a folder in it. And I bought a grown up wallet, for the first time ever. Time to wave goodbye to the little zip-up coin purses I've been using my entire life. It reeled me in by being many beautiful shades of blue. And, anyway, Italy is famous for its leather so, who wouldn't?

There was even one of these -

I was not allowed to go in.

Florence: Overheard at the Accademia

Tourist: An adult and two children, please
Clerk: How old are the children?
Tourist: 17 and 21
Clerk: .... 21 is not a child!

English lady: We have to queue to change the tickets...
Husband: Yes...
Lady: It's just incredibly badly organised, like everything else in Italy!

To be fair to the Accademia, this was actually one of the better organised systems for queuing that we came across. Although the line for people who had pre-booked was long, it moved very quickly.

I loved this statue of the Rape of the Sabines.

I haven't visited an enormous number of art galleries in my time and so I was a bit disappointed to find most of the blurbs were about the painting/sculpting methods or how to work referenced/influenced other works, rather than sharing any insight into the subject matter. This left me a bit non-plussed. Also, there was an awful lot of religious art, though I don't think that should be surprising. We didn't go to the first floor.

I liked David, but I might have liked Michelangelo's partially completed statues more. So much potential!

One of them was carved from a block that had been reclaimed from a building. Michelangelo: recycling before it was cool.

So, we did venture back to Florence. It was humid. After our visit to the Accademia we had lunch and struck up a conversation with a Harvard student who'd been on an archaeological dig to Iceland (I think...it was a long time ago. Somewhere in northern Europe) and was having a bit of travelling before going back to America.

Then we had a wander around and looked at Stuff. The Cathedral was quite impressive. I've never seen a green and white striped church before, but after a few trips in Tuscany, stripey churches turned out to be the theme of the area.

It was impressive, but it just made me think of the Medici trying to buy their way into the Church, and the opportunism and corruption of Renaissance Italy. And Savanarola, who had no time for any of this stuff. Clearly I've read too much historical fiction about this period.

After tramping around Florence (which we didn't love - I think we were still burned by the hire car thing and it was very humid) we got the bus back to Colle di Val d'Elsa, the nearby town with the big bus station, and walked back to the car park up this hill.

Tutt and I still have a hand signal we created when walking up this hill, to denote its steepness. It is generally now used to refer to any kind of hill. We did watch a woman push (lower?) a baby buggy down it, though - you can see her to the right of the picture.

We didn't spend much time in Colle di bloo di blah, but I did eat one of the best ice creams of the trip there. I think it was labelled as chocolate meringue flavour, but it was basically like chocolate ice cream with a pavlova folded into it - cream and all. And there were cats. Lots of cats.