High-speed Trains & High-speed Days

First and foremost, I apologize for the lateness of this post. Almost a whole week has gone by since I traveled to Florence! This past week was long and tiring, mainly due to the fact that it was the last week of classes and us students are therefore preparing for finals in the coming days. I’m sure it also felt long because my day in Florence was packed with so much stuff, it in itself seemed to last a couple days.

Well, with the apology over, let’s get this post started, shall we?

Florence is southeast from Milan, about 185 miles away (which is a 3 hour and 17 minute journey by car) and it only took me 2 hours via the “Alta Velocità” train I rode.

My train got in around 11AM and the station is conveniently located very close to a church, which I used as my landmark to get back later. This church is called Santa Maria Novella. (Warning: there are several churches in this area with “santa maria” in them, so just bear with me – it does get confusing.)

I didn’t venture inside this one because I wanted to make sure I spent enough time at the famous Florence Duomo (the one with Brunelleschi’s dome), so I snapped a few pictures of Novella’s lovely face and promptly moved on.

Armed with screenshots of maps and my bettering map skills, I really began my trek through Florence. The next place of note on my list to hit on the way to the Duomo was Basilica San Lorenzo. It’s got a pretty dome, but kind of an ugly face. At least the history of it is pretty neat.

(Soon, Duomo. Soon. I see you peekin'.)

Following the basilica, I headed to the Duomo, whose full name is Santa Maria del Fiore, though it’s more popularly known as the Florence Duomo. I had been informed weeks ago of the magnificence of the cathedral and the dome by some family friends (thanks Stinar’s ;) ) and after doing some research of my own, it became clear very quickly what my main mission in Florence would be – to explore this beauty inside and out, from above and below.

So I did.

Once she came into full view, I had to stand back and admire her. How could I not?

I then went and waited in line for about half an hour for an all-inclusive ticket that only cost me 10 euro. It was well worth it. And there was a neat sketch someone had done while they waited in line, too.

I proceeded to seek out the line of people awaiting entrance to the dome, which was fortunately simple, though unfortunately long. I waited another hour before I was granted entrance. The excitement of actually being there and getting the chance to see the dome fueled my positive mood, so the waiting pace was decent and I knew it would be worth it.

The hike to the top of the dome is not for the claustrophobic or the weak-hearted, let me just say that right now. There were many stone hallways that got to be maybe one and a half people wide, as well as spiral stone staircases and hundreds of steep steps. Four hundred and sixty three of them, in fact. (Don’t forget to factor in going up AND down!)

Aside from kicking my lungs into overdrive and working my knees like I swear I’ve never done before, the only unpleasant thing was that the narrow hallways stunk so wretchedly of BO, I had to breathe through the fabric of my jacket sleeve. All of these things were swept to the background of my mind very quickly, however, the closer and closer I got to the top.

There is a walkway that rims the inside of the dome and connects one staircase to another, which allowed my lungs to suck in some fresher air as well as get a closer look at the frescoes painted on the inner dome. They were done somewhere between 1572 and 1579 by Giorgio Vasari and Frederico Zuccari. It’s hard to see in any of my pictures (dim cathedral lighting), but the entire thing depicts the Last Judgment. The figures in the paintings are massive and done with exquisite detail. “Impressive” doesn’t even cover it.

After a brief rest while admiring the frescoes, it was onward and upward. More crazy steep stairs!

Oh but the view at the top was phenomenal.

(I’ll be in that bell tower soon too!)

The trek down from the dome was much easier because it was pretty much just controlled falling. My feet were grumbling, but I couldn’t care less. And anyway, there was still so much to see!

I got in the line meant for the cathedral so I could poke my head in and see what the inside of the dome (and church) was like. The Florence Duomo is one of the top four largest Duomos in Italy (the Milan Duomo being one of those four as well), so I figured it would be big and beautiful. The line went much faster than the dome, and I got up right to the front where there were security guards of sorts. One of them eyed me up and down, caught my attention and told me “no shorts” before pointing me away.

What.

I couldn’t believe it. It was upper-70s out and my shorts weren’t that short. I stiffly walked off a little ways away and stood in disbelief mixed with tiny twitches of frustration. There was no way I traveled that far just to be turned away from seeing the marvelousness of the cathedral because of my shorts. I would get in, oh one way or another.

I stood for ten minutes in front of the church under the guise of admiring the façade, when really the gears were turning in my head and schemes were being schemed. I was determined to strut into that cathedral, someway somehow.

The final idea I rested on was to wrap my long jacket around my legs like a skirt, then use my messenger bag to cover the slit of space where the jacket couldn’t reach. Like so:

Abra cadabra, alakazam! I have a skirt, but it’s all a sham!

I got into the cathedral without a fuss. (:

The cathedral was indeed huge and gorgeous. I was able to get a better look at the frescoes under the dome, too, which was nice. Thankfully the dimness didn’t make all my pictures look like junk.

After traipsing around, staring at the ceiling for most of the time, I chose to go down into a basement sort of area under the church where they had original flooring and other very old artifacts.

Following that, I decided to power through the hike up to the top of the bell tower (Giotto’s Campanile) mentioned (and seen) earlier. (For you AC gamers, this campanile as well as the church can be found in ACII!) This tower has 414 stairs and no lift. I was huffing and puffing at the top again, though I easily paid it no mind once I saw the view. (This must be what Ezio felt like.)

 

(If you look closely you can see people on the top of the dome. They look so itty bitty, it provides a good way to gauge just how massive this dome really is.)

Gorgeous. So gorgeous.

I was so worn out by the fall down, though already thoroughly satisfied with what portion of Florence I had seen. I spent four and a half hours alone on the Duomo and the things associated with it. Was that too much? Not at all. Was it worth going up and down nearly 900 stairs? Heck yes.

The Duomo was easily the highlight of my Florence trip. I was intoxicated by it in all its marvelous glory. It could have started pouring and my mood wouldn’t have shone any less.

There were still a few sights left to see before I headed back to the train station, so I dragged my weary feet in the general direction of Piazza di Signoria, where a replica of the David stands alongside many other statues. I saw Palazzo Vecchio, too, which is located in the same piazza. It was pretty neat, but really nothing could compare to the Duomo.

I took just a few minutes to wander inside Palazzo Vecchio’s courtyard before deciding to walk to a famous bridge nearby, called Ponte Vecchio. The bridge itself was quite a sight, but the view from the bridge was also beautiful. I love the warm colors that are sprinkled all over Italy in the way the Italians paint their houses.

 

The Chiesa di Santa Maria del Carmine was up next on my list, so I wandered there. It was a more secluded area, much more off the tourist-beaten path, which was nice. I’d had my fair share of being bumped against by strangers in dimly lit hallways. She’s got a bit of an ugly face, but on the inside she’s beautiful.

Very close by was the Basilica di Santa Maria del Santo Spirito, which looks much different than the previous church. I was only able to snap a few pictures of the outside since tours through the inside were closed up for the day, but I wasn’t dismayed by this. To come and see these churches at all was a great experience.

One last church. This one was called Basilica di Santa Croce, and looks very similar to Santa Maria Novella, the first church I saw. She’s a bit of a stiff looking structure, but still very pretty.

My legs and feet determined that I was done for the day, regardless of whether I had any other sights to see. Thankfully I did not, so I followed the signs as well as my own maps and wove my slumping way through the streets to the train station. I passed by the Duomo one last time and said my goodbyes.

I wandered through a street full of shops and passed one that was playing “That Don’t Impress Me Much” by Shania Twain. I couldn’t not smile. Who expects to go to Florence and hear Shania Twain? Certainly not me. It’s comical because Shania Twain’s music was very prominent throughout my childhood, so the songs hold more meaning for me than someone just passing by. It’s also funny because the entire day in Florence I had been impressed by everything. Well played, shop owners, well played.

I arrived at the train station (note: I didn't get lost the entire day!) with a good bit of time to spare, so I sniffed out a place to sit and collapsed onto it. Though I was tired and achy out of my mind, I was happy. The day took quite a bit out of me physically, but mentally it was reinvigorating. It made the last two weeks of my time in Italy seem like an even bigger piece of cake to take on.

My day wasn’t over yet, however. When I got on the train, I happened to sit next to an Italian who knew some English and happened to be the founder of a design company based in Milan that makes furniture. (http://nabladesign.it/#/our-team/ He’s the first one, Giordano.) He saw me flipping through my Florence pictures on my phone and commented on how beautiful they were, in Italian, of course. He quickly found out that I was American, and we ended up having a conversation using my broken Italian and his English for the duration of the ride. It was quite unexpected, to say the least, but very amusing.

Once we got to the station, we both determined we were using the metro to get home, and it was late and dark outside (about 10-11PM), so he made sure to walk me to the metro entrance, saying on the way there that he wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving me by myself so late at night due to the nature of the station. That was something I hadn’t thought of when I booked the trip, honestly, but I’m really glad I was able to find a kind soul to help me out in that small way.

He told me to send him some of my pictures because he could possibly use them in his 3D models of the furniture he designs, and we parted with that. I dragged myself through the metro and down the street to my apartment, where I promptly fell in a heap onto my bed.

It had been a long, long day, but every second had been worth it.

Now, almost a week later, I only have six days left in Milan. It’s seriously ridiculous, but I’m ready for it. It’s been an amazing three months, but it will be so nice to be back in familiarity. All that stands between me and that plane ride home are finals. Woo!

This will most likely be my last Italy-related post, though it’s possible I’ll write about my trip home. Depends on how interesting it is. Well, in any case, thank you to those of you who have followed my trip via this blog – I hope I have provided you with some entertainment! It's been quite a ride!

Till next time,

V xoxo

Spring Break Wanderings in Milan (With Pictures!)

Buongiorno, tutti!

Yesterday my lengthy spring break finally came to a close. This is probably the first time in a while where I haven’t felt cheated by thinking the break wasn’t long enough – it was time to get back to work and finish this semester out strong.

Though I stayed in Milan for the duration of break (with the exception of Easter with my professor in Laveno), I found this a great opportunity to get to know the city I was living in a little better, to explore what all it had to offer. So, I took one lazy day of rest after the two-day Easter fun (Tuesday) and woke up Wednesday with maps in hand and a game plan.

Let's start with Wednesday. I took the long way to the metro entrance to stop by a humble monument called Casa del Pane (House of Bread) and snapped some pictures. It’s not that impressive, but it was labeled as something special on my Maps app, and it was so close by – I figured why not.

 

 (Ignore the five-headed motorbike driver.)

My main destination was the Duomo, or the Milan Cathedral, which I’ve visited before, but I hadn’t yet had the chance to go inside or march up to the terraces on the roof. So that’s what I did. It was 7 euro to go up onto the roof. I think that’s a bit steep, but at the same time it was worth it; at least the view was decent. (I’ve been spoiled by the tall towers I’ve climbed in Verona and Venice, I admit.)

 

After stretching out to nab a little sun on the terraces, I wandered back down into the square and headed north. Located very close by to the Duomo was the Teatro Alla Scala, which I have been told is definitely a place to visit while in town (thanks, Sara ;)). The exterior of the building was a little disappointing considering it’s an opera house from the 1700s (though I understand it’s been through fires and renovations), and though I haven’t ventured inside (the cost of a tour is temptingly decent, but I’m still not sure about it), from what I’ve seen, it is exquisite.

(credit to http://3d-top-event.info/culture_102_Mailaender_Scala_Teatro_alla_Scala.html)

 On the way to the metro, I traipsed inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II, which is much more amazing on the inside then from the outside looking in.

On the way home, I hopped off the metro to take a look at another humble monument called Porta Romana  (Roman Door/Gate). It doesn’t seem to get much love, as it’s plopped right in the middle of an intersection, but I made sure to give it some.

Thursday I again set an alarm for a decent time and headed out with my lunch packed. I visited the Cimitero Monumental (Monumental Cemetery) which is the second largest cemetery in Milan, ranking in at 2,700,000 square feet. Yeah. Monumental indeed.

This is the entrance alone.

This is what you immediately see through the entrance.

And the map, so you don’t get lost. (I was genuinely afraid of getting lost as soon as I set foot inside the intimidating place - don’t let me fool you.)

It was established in 1866 and there are many graves to show for it. I would say most of the ones I saw were from the 1800s and early 1900s.  Almost every one was adorned with some sort of monument or statue, and all of them were marvelously done. (Lots of Jesus and angel statues, which is no surprise.) They all looked either utterly distraught or so serene it was painful. Lots of emotion contained in stone.

It was a hauntingly beautiful place and the atmosphere was not that of a typical cemetery somehow. (I visited in broad daylight and can only imagine what it would be like in the dark, though I still don’t feel it would be creepy. I’m probably very wrong, but alas, I’ll never find out! The cemetery closes well before sundown every day.)

I need to go back and see the cemetery again, though. I was only able to spend a little over an hour there and that was not nearly enough. I need to go when I have a whole afternoon free in order to properly see everything without rushing. I hope I can manage to do that before I leave (in 31 days – crazy!).

My next stop was the Sforza Castle and Parco Sempione nearby the building I go to for class, but I had spent most of my time in the cemetery. Still, I found a nice patch of grass and plopped down to eat my grapes and chips while listening to the chatter of conversation and birds around me. I need to go back there when I have more time, too.

The highlight of the day was yet to be had, though. I scheduled an appointment for a viewing of The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci. Yes, the actual thing, where it was actually painted in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie back in 1494 – 1498.

(I’ve been to the Convent itself before, but Thursday I was there for the painting, not the building.)

We got fifteen minutes to appreciate the masterpiece, up high on the wall with the huge dimensions of 15 feet by 30 feet. It was magnificent and massive, to say the least. The experience was surreal, almost, while standing under the grand piece. The Convent was less than half a mile from the building I go to school at and it was only 8 euro to book an appointment. It seemed too easy, almost, but regardless, I just had to seize the opportunity. It was so close by and so affordable, I knew it would be something I’d kick myself for later if I hadn’t taken the chance! I am still in awe of the great painter’s work, sitting here days later. Leonardo hadn’t even used the traditional fresco technique – he was experimenting with a new medium in this piece. Experimenting. And that is the result?! Simply amazing.

As far as highlights in Milan go, this one definitely takes the cake.

The rest of my spring break I spent doing homework and otherwise taking it easy, not worrying about bedtimes and essentially staying in my pajamas all day. It was a good end to a fantastic week.

And through all my adventuring, though I had drawn myself detail directions on screenshots of maps, I never once got lost. I strayed from my intended path a couple times, but without worry always managed to get back somewhere I recognized. That was a marvelous feeling, especially compared to my two-hour wandering around, utterly lost over two months ago.

Today marks the 71^st day of my being in Milan with only a month remaining. Time has been rolling by like a locomotive – it was slow going at first, but now that it’s up to speed, the days are flying by. I’ve loved my time being here, though there have been some tough things to deal with, I’m sure there will be things I’ll miss about Milan (and there will be things I’ll happily leave behind, too), but all in all, I’ll be glad to be home on May 31^st.

My next fun trip is Florence on May 19^th, so I don’t think there will be a blog post from me until around then. For the next couple weeks I’ll be focusing on final exam preparations and wrapping up the semester in the best way I can.

Until then,

V