Milan, Italy March 23rd

On my final day in Milan, I planned on seeing Da Vinci's last supper - anyway possible. The reservations were sold out weeks in advance but there is a bus tour of Milan, that guarantees a viewing. For 50 euros, I better get in.

I walked to the Duomo early. I had about an hour to kill. I figured out where the bus would pick up and saw a few other tourists waiting. Did I stick out, as a tourist, like they did? Half of the plaza was roped off, while they set up for 'festival weekend.'

The bus pulled in and I made my way across the plaza and attempted to board the bus. The driver explained that I have to buy my tickets in advance. Why the brochure didn't say that, I'll never know. Tickets were sold at the Tourist Office. My heart sank as I envisioned the only view I had of that office - a locked door. It is 'festival weekend' after all, they could be closed.

I made my way back across the plaza as fast as my legs would take me. The whole time, I'm thinking that the bus is going to leave without me. I was surprised to see that the office was open. I bought a ticket, it came with a travel pouch and a cd. I hurried out and saw the bus still waiting. I broke a sweat (both physical and from freaking out) and climbed in the back of the bus door.

The tour guide was talking about the city of Milan - its history, its accomplishments, its (weekly) festivals... Once I got settled in and the sweating subsided, we exited the bus, for our tour of the Duomo. After all my running back and forth and we are getting off the bus?

The Duomo in Milan took hundreds of years to build. It took so long that the architectural style changed over the years. It is massive. I think its the third largest cathedral in Europe. Only Rome and Seville are larger - I think.

Nice view???



The guide pointed out the huge stain glass windows, which told stories from the bible. There were a lot of illiterate people, hundreds of years ago, so the windows told the stories. They start at the bottom and the story continues upward:







There is a reason why this cathedral took hundreds of years to build. Attention to detail:



Marble floor design:



The last row:



The guide told us fact after fact... Largest this and oldest that and how many tons of this rock and ... I thought nothing could top the Dom in Koln Germany, I guess I'll have to go to Rome to top this one.

We exited and stopped in front of the main doors - which are closed. This allows better crowd control, though the other smaller doors. At first all you notice is that the doors are HUGE.




Then you see the intricate metal work on the door:









We headed west into a shopping area. "The most expensive land in Milan..."

Prada to the left and Yves Saint Laurent to the right:



Our group looked around like we've never been out in public before. After strolling past stores that I have no desire to see, nor could I afford, we made our way to the infamous opera house, La Scala. This was Verdi's home stage. Aida debuted here. If you want to see pictures - search the web.

Opulent boxes. Silk worked to feel like velvet. Perfect view from every seat. I really, really wanted to ask where they keep the fat lady - but then that would have identified me as low brow - best to keep that hidden.

After La Scala, we boarded the bus again. This time they drove it around. The guide showed us where Verdi died. The day before, I couldn't find the geocache hidden there. He showed all sorts of things that we quickly drove past on our way to the next thing that I would soon forget about.

Our viewing of The Last Supper was at noon and 1215. Only 15 (???) people at a time were allowed in and you only get 15 minutes to see it. This was originally a dining hall and Da Vinci painted the last supper as something to cover the walls for the monks who ate here. He used incorrect paint for the job. The church was bombed in World War Two and it was left exposed to the elements for a brief period of time. What I'm getting at is that it is a miracle that it survives at all. Only by the grace of God does it exist today.

As we make our way through the various staging areas, (very high security - The door behind us has to close before the door in front of us opens, to allow us to the next waiting area.) the guide starts to tell us that he feels that he is an extremely lucky man. He gets to see this painting many times a week and sometimes multiple viewings a day. He said that as a boy, his school class came here. His life was changed forever. He warned us that it is a very emotional thing for him to see.

The door opens and we enter 'the mess hall.' He starts to talk about the painting at the other end of the hall - no one cares. I didn't. I moved toward what we all came to see. A couple people follow me and in a minute, the guide gives up and joins us. Because of the time constraints, the facts come much faster.

Look at the zoomable website:
The Last Supper

He talks about what Da Vinci was trying to tell us. What each of the apostles are doing, how and why they are grouped just so. When he says that this was attempt to capture the moment when Jesus announced that he has been betrayed and that one of them is the betrayer. At that moment I began to weep. I couldn't control myself. Where was this coming from? Tears flowed, I sniffled and I tried to smile at my fellow tourists.

I stared at this deteriorating masterpiece and listened the best I could. The guide was right - it is very emotional. A speaker announced that our time had expired. As we made out way out, the guide quietly said to me that he has felt the same way many times.

As we waited for the other half of our group to view it, I pondered my emotional state. As quickly as it came over me, it was gone. When you understand how many elements Leonardo packed into this work and how lucky we are to still be able to see it - you will shed a tear too.

How it looks now:


As it might have appeared before the deterioration:



The moment.
This was my third painting, of my trip, that attempts to capture this moment. The others were nice - but this is the only one you need to see. The guide had also talked about how Jesus was shown in The Last Supper. He was a man and he was about to become a god. He did not want to die. Who does? Even with the promise of eternal life he was not totally at peace, with what was to occur. He is wearing red and blue. The red symbolizes him as a man and the blue represented him as a god. The hand on his red side is stressed and moves nervously. The hand on the blue side was at peace and calmly rests. I could go on and on about what Leonardo packed into this mural.

By the way - Dan brown is full of crap. Its not Mary next to Jesus. This doesn't stop anyone from using the famous book as a way to get cash from the tourists though. References to the Da Vinci Code, were in most of the 'touristo' shops.

Once the second group joined us outside, we made our way back on to the bus and were returned to Piazza del Duomo. I gave the guide and driver a tip and thanked them both for a wonderful tour.

We had also visited Sforzesco Castle in Milan - well it was used as more of a prison than a castle.










It was around 1300, so I stopped at the autogrill for lunch. If it was good enough for Samantha Brown, travel channel, well it would be damn good to me. Italy's version of fast food. It has a Panani counter, a pizza counter - I stopped here. Half of small pizza, salad and cola for seven dollars.

I went to my hotel and dropped all the booty I accumulated during the morning and headed out to see Leonardo Da Vinci's Museum of Science and Technology. I had visions of recreations of machines that he drew, maybe some of his actual notes or a replica of his workspace. What a disappointment. They did have some replicas of his inventions, small ones. Most of the museum was full of educational displays for children. How to smelt metals, how hydraulics work and similar displays. YAWN!!!


I walked back to the Duomo for sunset. While watching the people and entrepreneurs a man approached me. Anotello was his name. His broken english was so much better than the 4 sentences I knew in italian. I thought he said that he was going to perform on the stage they were building. What he said was that he was going to attend the concert in two days. He asked me about my life in America and I learned about his.

He was from the countryside outside of Florence, Italy. He said that the big city of Milan was not to his liking. In his town, everyone hangs out at the plaza, at the cathedral, to talk. Everyone gets to know each other. In Milan, no one has time to chat - they are too busy going somewhere to do something. He had been in Milan for 2 months and could not find work. He has no college degree so there is no work for him. Tourist Alert - Tourist Alert!!! Here comes the pitch - How much is he going to ask me for? The pitch never comes. He did not ask for anything. After some more chit chat he announced that he had to go meet his roommate for dinner. "Chow" Now that I think about it. I didn't have one person ask me for money, in Milan. How refreshing.

That night I returned to the same restaurant, as the previous night. This time I splurged for dessert.


Next Stop Bern, Switzerland!





.