Journey into the Fashion Land--Milan

Close your eyes for a moment and imagining yourself on a journey, not just any journey but journey into the Land of Fashion, Milan, Italy. Somehow, this journey reminds me of this very quote "In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." --Orson Welles

Let me take you back in time where we were on our plane flying into Milan,Italy. We arrived very late that night. We then took a bus from Milan airport to the downtown, where our hotel was. The bus took quite awhile to move its behind, as if it was waiting to be kicked.The bus driver wanted to leave with full bus, intending to pocket as much profit as possible. I guess! --But still, what a wait!  

After we arrived at the downtown, we wanted to take a taxi, but instead we were met by this guy with his trolley. Apparently, he helped people hauling their luggage. Silly me! I made a mistake of asking him whether he was the taxi driver. --Little did I know it spelled trouble! 

When I headed back to meet with my hubby after asking my way around to a policeman, the guy with the hauler insisted to take one of my luggage. After repeatedly telling him, "No. Thanks," I found myself shouting out loud ”No!” --He wouldn't budge when I told him nicely that I didn't need his help.I guess that shout did scare him away. Finally!  

We managed to find a taxi, but somehow the driver was not so happy after knowing the location of our hotel.. Something about the greater distance that translated to more euros. He was hoping to earn more if he were met with customers that needed him to driver further. --But we found the the ultimate answer: TIPS :-)

The very next day, we took a train ride to the meeting place for our tour. Unfortunately, we miscalculated our time and found ourselves late. I knew then that it was against the odd that we would make it to the most notable tour to the Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last supper painting. The tickets were sold-out and I have paid for the tour in advance as well. Quite devastating, but my hubby was calm and managed to get us there in time. --Proud of him!

I guess my lucky charm was working that day! The tour group was just around the corner. We missed first part of the tour where they visited the palace. We only managed to visit the outside of the palace. Oh .. well.. it was better than missing the whole tour especially the “Last Supper” painting. Whatever!

The bus took us to the next destination, the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Inside the church we saw the "The Last Supper", the world-famous painting of Leonardo da Vinci. It was no doubt the best painting ever! The painting was so detailed and it was such a vivid description of The Last Supper from the final days of Jesus as narrated in the Gospel of John 13:21. --I called it, The wonder of Leonardo da Vinci.

courtesy of dailygalaxy.com

 Afterward, the bus took us to viist the La Scala. La Scala is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. --My goodness, speaking of elaborate opera house!

Courtesy of operaandme.com

Later, we passed by a shopping area that has Louis Vuitton, Prada and ... MacDonald! Yes! Probably the most expensive rent MacDonald would ever paid. :-) One thing that we noticed about Milan, they have 
magnificent architectures. Their buildings are so artistic. Very remarkable! One of its kind!

Last but not the least, we visited the breathtaking Duomo. It is one of the world's largest, most striking Gothic cathedrals. Outside the cathedral, we found many pigeons! The girls love pigeons, so we spent a bit of time feeding and taking photos with them. After that, we went inside of the cathedral. OMG., it was indescribable! Amazing is probably an understatement. 

In one of the rooms, we saw many fresco paintings by one artist that is very famous. Gosh! I just couldn't recall the name. Oh...well! Pardon my tiny brain! We also found some paintings by Michelangelo. Awe strikingly beautiful! Did we have to leave? I guess...Our tummies were calling us. After filling up our bellies, we rode on a fast elevator all the way up to visit an astonishing side, the Duomo’s roof! --READ roof!

That was an interesting experience. Never thought in my life that I would have a chance to step on a roof. It was like a childhood dream came true.. Yes. It was quite a bizarre trip!

Our days in Milan was not long unfortunately, soon we needed to head to Venice for our next trip. We boarded on a train ride to Venice. It was the girls and ours first train ride in Europe. It was definitely fun. Before we know it .. we were in Venice, the world’s most romantic city! --http://journeyofmylifendestiny.blogspot.com/2012/03/our-journey-to-land-of-romance.html

I hope you enjoy this journey with me visiting Milan, the fashion town as much as I enjoy writing it.  Before you go, let me leave you with one thought, "Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life." --Anna Akhmatova 


When are you returning to Italy?

Until next stop,
Journey of Life