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 April
6, 2006 - Thursday - We travel from Venice/Mestro to Milan today. It
takes about four hours on the expressway for us to arrive downtown and meet our
guide at the Castle of Milan (Castello
Sforzesco). Inside the museum is a display of one of Leonardo da Vinci's original Codeci, or notebooks.
There is a
self portrait and a page of his notes. The notes are written in Leonardo's
typical mirror reversed script.
Interior courtyard and tower. Castle of Milan |
Main gate. Castle of Milan |
Interior gates. Castle of Milan |
Moat & cannonballs, Castle of Milan |
Sculpture and fresco. Museum, Castle of Milan |
Courtyard just outside the Museum,
within the Castle of Milan |
Fresco and tapestry. Museum, Castle of Milan |
Fresco, Museum, Castle of Milan |
Tapestry depicting a pope, Museum, Castle of Milan |
Partially carved Pieta Rondanini by Michaelangelo Buonarroti. Museum, Castle
of Milan |
Leg detail of the partially carved Pieta Rondanini by Michaelangelo
Buonarroti. Museum, Castle of Milan |
A bronze bust of Michaelangelo Buonarroti. Museum, Castle of Milan |
We also see the outside of the famous La Scala opera house, as well as the
nearby super deluxe street level shopping mall: Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.
This Prima Galleria was built in 1878, and has high end shops and restaurants,
but also has Macdonalds! We also visit the second largest cathedral after St.
Peter's in Rome - the Duomo. This is the world's largest Gothic cathedral, but
the front half of it is currently hidden behind scaffolding while it is being
restored. It is in the adjacent piazza to the mall.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the Prima Galleria |
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the Prima Galleria |
Reconstruction and restoration on the Duomo cathedral, Milan |
The statue of the Virgin Mary, the “Madonnina” is covered in 3,900
pieces of gold leaf, the Duomo cathedral, Milan |
Spires, the Duomo cathedral, Milan |
Spires, the Duomo cathedral, Milan |
Rear view, the Duomo cathedral |
Main sanctuary, the Duomo cathedral, Milan |
Chapel & marble floor, Duomo cathedral, Milan |
We are not staying in Milan because our tour operator couldn't find rooms in
town. Apparently there is a large furniture designers' trade show being staged at the same time
we are in Milan.
We stay in quaint Hotel Villa Carlotta, located in Belgirate, a town 60km north
of Milan on Lago Maggiore, which is very near the Italian Alps and the Swiss
border. It was cold and rainy when we arrived.
A dark and rainy Lago Maggiore
as we arrive in Beligerate
for our last night's stay in Italy |
An aerial view out the aircraft window of the same area
as I return home to Canada from Athens, flying over: Lago Maggiore,
Beligerate, Italy. Alps - Switzerland-France |
April 7, 2006 - Friday - My group returns to Toronto today, however I am going
on to Athens. We have a 5am wakeup call and the bus
arrives at 6:30am. After we we arrive at Malpenza
Airport, our airport guide takes the group to the Alitalia check-in. He
then takes me to a
different check-in, since I'm not going to Canada/US.
After clearing security, I
use my cellphone to call
Paul the Honest Greek taxi driver
and confirm that he will pick me up at Athens
airport upon my arrival. I have carried my cellular telephone
with me on this trip for the first time. It has been very handy to call home
and to receive
calls from home. The overseas network which Rogers offers works very well,
and is not too expensive if the calls are kept short. It is also very convenient to
be able to place and receive calls while traveling. The cost averages about
$1/minute for local calls in Italy, about $2/minute for calls to/from North
America and Italy, and about $3/minute to place other long distance calls.
In Greece, the rates are about 50 cents/minute more (in each category) than in
Italy.
People watching in Malpensa Airport
 | a Russian sports team - lots of hot looking, muscular young men! |
| a woman packing her Yorkshire terrier
with her |
| a young Italian woman wearing sequined cowboy boots |
| a sports team from Tunis and another from
Italy - I thought the Turin Olympics were over... |
| young men & women at an American Express booth stopping people to sign them up
for the Alitalia gold card - a tough job |
| several African men in traditional long robes and caps |
| Dolce & Gabbana advertising in the gate lounges
featuring bare chested sexy young men |
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