Churches and Art: I Love Italy

The z is where the y is on this keyboard (the same on the keyboard of my Uncle Jim in Bern where I am updating this entry). Weird.... I started my day in Milan. I woke up and the guy who runs Amirai Hostel told me that breakfast starts at 8:30 am. I went to his room and woke him up to make me breakfast. I felt bad but he said 8:30 so that's when I showed up. There was tea, croissant, bread, and jam. He let me use his computer while I ate. I left the hostel with both my backpacks because I was heading straight to the train station and Swityerland when I finished sight seeing. It wasn't really raining but did drizzle a little bit throughout the day.

I started by riding the bus to the Duomo (picture 1). The guy told me "Take bus #54 to the Duomo. It should take 10-15 minutes." and that's all he said when I asked how to get there (he was still groggy). I found the bus and rode it for a while... There was no stop called Duomo. I finally realized after riding the bus for 40 minutes that I was probably passed it. Haha. So I got off the bus and took the same bus but back the other way. I got off at a stop where a bunch of people got off (my "follow the crowd" theory). It turned out I was only two blocks from the Duomo. Awesome. I walked through the fashion district and saw all the big names, Versace, Ralph Lauren, Dolce and Gabbana, etc (picture 2). The Duomo is really sweet. It has tons of spires with statues on top and all the needles. It reminded me of cathedral in Seville (that one had a lot of spires as well but no statues). There are over 3,000 statues in and on the cathedral!! Wow. It felt good to see a big Catholic Cathedral again. I had missed them when I was Greece. I guess the Greeks prefer small congregations and Catholics prefer big ones I hemmed and hawed and going on the roof but ended up deciding to do it (with both my backpacks no less). It wasn't that high up and I was glad I did it. The roof gave you great views over the town and of all the statued spires (picture 3). It rained a little up there but that didn't dampen my spirit. I walked over to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana next. This is the most famous museum in Milan. I saw Titian's Adoration of the Magi, Caravaggio's Basket of Fruit (the first and best Italian still life), Raphael's School of Athens, and Da Vinci's Portrait of a Musician. I really liked the museum nad all of those paintings. There was a TON of other art in the museum that I kind of had to brush over because it was getting late. There was a mosaic around a staircase that I adored (picture 4). The courtyard had some cool statues as well. It felt good to see some good art again as well. Just like with the churches, it had been a while. From the museum I went back to the Piazza del Duomo and had lunch. I ate a cafeteria type place and had some cheese stuffed noodles with a bowl of fruit. It was more than I wanted to pay but worth it. I had some gelato (I was in Italian, I had to) and walked around the square (picture 5). I took the metro to the train station and hopped on the train to Lugano, Switzerland. I really enjoyed the short time I was in Milan (except the confusing buses). I didn't get a chance to see The Last Supper which sucks but I didn't have time (it is in a small church outside the center of town and you have to have online reservations).

I rode the train to Lugano which is just barely in Switzerland. In fact, the Italian border is just across the lake that Lugano is perched on. The whole lake is surrounded by green hills (mountains I guess) and is extremely beautiful. I got lucky and it was actually kind of sunny sometimes while I was here. I got off the train and went to my hostel which was only five minutes from the train. It is located in two pink former mansions. Really awesome. There was a group of German speaking students staying there. They were loud, just like I was on trips in high school. I walked down the hill to the Old Town. I passed by the cathedral which was very pretty. I walked down the arcaded shopping streets. It was very Italian looking and the arcades reminded me of Bologna (picture 6). I walked along the streets and over to the city park. The park is on the waterfront and has sculptures throughout it (pictures 7). I walked back along the waterfront past a McDonald's and a Burger King. There were some guys outside the Burger King playing chess with big pieces on the ground (picture 8). I along the waterfront to the other side of the town where I went into a church. The church had a huge fresco of the Passion of Christ. It was painted by a guy they call "the Raphael of the North". Very pretty. Then I walked back through the town again and stopped at a department store to use internet. The biggest difference I noticed between Switzerland and Greece is that everything closes really early here. The town was basically dead by 6 or 7 pm. In Greece, that's when people just start coming out.

Food in Switzerland is crazy expensive. A Burger King meal is 10 CHF and the conversion rate is basically one to one. Ouch. I had bratwurst, tater tot things (way nicer than that sounds), and salad for dinner at a restaurant. It wasn't too expensive, for Swiss standards, and tasted really good. Bratwurst is one of my favorite foods. The rain started coming down hard while I ate so I had to scurry back up the town. I stopped at the train station and bought a little bit of chocolate for dessert (I'm in Switzerland). The chocolate was so fantastic. I ate it while I finished up reading Zorba the Greek. I liked that book quite a bit. Zorba lives each day as if it was a new one which is a very admirable quality if you ask me. I started reading The Lost World by Michael Crichton and then went to bed. The guy on the bunk above me burped a lot throughout the night. Not exactly attractive.

Tomorrow I am off to Lucerne. I will stay there until Thursday afternoon and then head to Bern.
Only 10 days till I am home... Holz crap.

Bye!

Travelin' Man

I woke up this morning and shaved (those that know me know that this is worth mentioning because it is a super big chore for me, I hate it). I had a pineapple creme pastry from a bakery at Syntagma Square (picture 1). My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I sat in the square and read from my guidebooks some more. I can't believe I am leaving Greece today! I came back to the hostel and finished up yesterday's post. I was basically waiting for 10 am to rolll around so that I could go to the Museum of Cycladic Art (it opened at 10 am). I walked over to the museum and went inside. Part of the museum is in a refurbished 19th century mansion (picture 2). That was really cool. The main part is in the adjacent building though. The floor with the Cycladic Art had a tour group so I went up a floor to the Cypriot Art (Cyprus). That said it was closed until 1 pm. Bummer. The next floor had Ancient Greek Art which was closed for refurbishing. Bigggg bummer. The top and last floor was open. It was a display of Ancient Greek Art but in a new way. They organized the artifacts into categories like marriage, war, burial, children, etc. It was realllllly interesting and there was a video showing actors acting out how the Ancients used the artifacts. One of the best displays I have ever seen in a museum. I went back down the stairs to discover that the Cypriot Art gallery was actually open. That was eye-opening as well. I had no idea that Cyprus had that much history and stuff. I hit up the Cycladic Art last. Loads of those very modern looking guys. Pictures were allowed but I didn't take any. It didn't feel right somehow. I really liked seeing all the statues though. They were carved 2000 years ago... Jeez. I ate at Everest again. It is just too good and cheap to not (picture 3). I went back to the hostel and grabbed my backpack (garden I sat in last night picture 4).

I rode the Metro to the airport and then hopped on the plane to Milan. While waiting for the flight, I met a few girls from Indianapolis who had been studying in Milan and were on their way back so that they could go home. They were cute and nice. The plan ride was pretty uneventful. I ate some crackers and read more of Zorba the Greek. Ever since Heraklion I had not really felt like pleasure reading. I listened to music or read guidebooks instead before I went to bed or rode a bus. But I was tired of reading guidebooks and was back in the mood of pleasure reading so I hit Zorba the Greek hard and was pretty far along by the time the plane landed.

I talked to a woman from Wales on the bus ride from the airport into Milan. She does yoga classes for a living and gives advice about nutrition. I did not ever tell her what my diet had been since I came to England (loads of carbs). She was really nice and in great shape for her age. She was taking the train to Venice to visit a friend that evening. The bus dropped me off at the train station (picture 5). It took a while to find the city bus I needed to get to my hostel because he bus ahd a different place to stop. The directions I got online were "take the #9 bus to Piazza Susa, the hostel is two blocks away". Um, thanks. Once off the bus, I had to ask three different people to help me find the street it was on. I had a kebab sandwich (in foccacia bread, not a pita) for dinner. I loved the different spices and the different bread. I ate it on the balcony that came off my dorm room. I read more Zorba for a while and then went to bed. Milan did not impress me on the first day because it was cloudy, rainy, and confusing. But first impressions are quite often wrong. I liked being in Italy again.

Ciao!