Today was my first day in Milan with my friend Natalie! It was a long and full day. It started this morning with a 4:30 am taxi ride to the airport. We arrived in the city of Milan a little before ten o'clock this morning. We then wandered in a generally North directions until we came to Simplon Park. The sun was out this morning, so we wandered around happily taking photos and enjoying the locals. After our meander through the park and around the castle there, we walked along a pedestrian street lined with international flags (something about a 2015 EXPO) to Duomo (the Milan Cathedral), where we joined about a million other people and pidgeons on the piaza. After a while we went inside, where there was a special mass for all Saints' Day. The cathedral, I would guess is late gothic, because the architecture seems quite intricate. There were a lot of people! It was definitely a tourism stop in an otherwise not too touristy city. We decided to climb the 250 steps to get a view of the surrounding city, and a better view of some of the more intricate architectural details. It was beautiful from up there!
Then it was time for lunch! We found a little restaurant, were able to take our backpacks off, wash our hands, and enjoy a hot meal. It was a necessary pause in the day. From there we proceeded to the Roman ruins, which are in a piaza with a basilica and park. We enjoyed a leisurely walk through the park that is now surrounded by residential areas, which of course made us think about how peculiar it would be to live by such old structures. We also enjoyed our first authentic Italian Gelato!
The afternoon turned into evening as we strolled along the canal, looking in shop windows and watching the light fade on passersby. We were rather exhausted by this point, so we headed toward our hotel and collapsed on our beds for a while. Our dinner consisted of a few items from the next door markt. (How good am I at picking hotels??? Okay, it was just luck.) Then Natalie and I say and enjoyed each others' company. Now it's time for a shower and to get ready for bed! There is much more to see and do tomorrow!
Pictures to come soon!
Did you see the famous Last Supper painting in the Milan Cathedral? Interestingly, this past Wednesday evening at our mid week Bible study, we saw a short film about some people holding an open air "street meeting" (preaching) in the piazza in Milan and we saw the painting that is inside the cathedral.
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