Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Who needs to sleep? I'm in Milano!!

Arriving in Milan on Friday, May 18th, I was met by Meredith and we set out to do the town! Her theory was that if she kept me moving and awake until a normal bedtime for over there I could counteract the six hour time difference. So, off we went. First we went to our hotel to drop off my luggage and some of hers. It was a quaint little place, Hotel Kennedy, on a main street but up on the seventh floor. It came with an adorable terrace filled with wonderful flowers and plants.

















It felt good to sit down but that rest was short-lived.




















That sweet smile belies the fact that she was about to make me climb to the top of the Cathedral roof and walk all over central Milan.






The Duomo, the second largest Gothic cathedral in the world




















The buttresses are gorgeous and as soon as I stop gasping for air I'm sure I will enjoy them.
















What do you mean we're only part of the way there?


























Ok, yes it was worth risking cardiac arrest to get here.























Why do so many of the statues and pictures have little kids crawling all over the adults? Can't they control those little buggers?






















The view from the top is breathtaking!
























Such a flaming tourist!!





















My theory: Some REALLY big guy who fell off the roof a very long time ago and it was too hard to move him so they just left him there until he turned into a skeleton.






















A great start to the Mother-Daughter Italy/Spain extravaganza!!












Next stop: The Galleria (The Maine Mall's [very] rich cousin)...



















Home to a Mercedes-Benz store...

















...Louie V...










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..My pals at Prada...














...and...wait!...Mickey D's???? Since when is Ronald McDonald doing the designer circuit?

















Designer alley...no bargain basement clearance deals here. You need an appointment to even walk through the door so they have time to check your bank account to ensure you can afford them.






Time to catch up with Meredith's friends Kyle and Whitney for some refreshing gelato from a little place called Chocolat.




And it was the most a-MAY-zing gelato I've ever had!!! It really hit the spot on a very hot day. (The sugar boost kept me conscious for a little longer too!)



Then it was back to the hotel to refresh with a much-needed shower. I discovered that the shower was the entire bathroom so I could multi-task! So cool! We then went to a great place for Apertivo, a type of Italian happy hour. One drink buys you access to a wonderful all you can eat buffet of salads, appetizers and great munchies. We sat outside and people-watched on a gorgeous early summer night. The perfect end to my first day in Italy.

Tomorrow: more of Milan including a fantastic outdoor market and the Castello.

5 comments:

KNIT A NEW DREAM said...

When I was in England a few years ago, the architecture just blew me away. So glad there was no cardiac arrest involved in seeing this gorgeous view! Gelato - MMMMMMMMM! You and Meredith look fantastic! Glued to my computer for the next installment, Sue

Carol said...

It is such a joy to read of your adventure...I am looking forward to more.....Did you find any yarn???

Busymom51 said...

Thanks, Carol! I saw a yarn store in Madrid but it was closed since it was late at night. I did a walk through of another one on the Plaza de Mayor in Madrid but didn't see anything very exciting and couldn't figure out how to convert kilograms to any usable amount. Yarn seemed to be very expensive there, even the brands that we have here. Perhaps that was because of the prime location of the store and the high exchange rate. But it was soothing to go into the store and get that wonderful yarn-store feeling!

carlita dee said...

What's the first largest gothic cathedral. I suppose I could Google it, but I'm too lazy.

I've the Notre Dame and I don't think it's the largest. Hmmm...

Goodness, that gelato! Gotta get to Italy.

How sweet is Meredith? Good for her, seeing the world!

carlita dee said...

And what does one buy at the Mercedes Benz store? Benz fanny packs and T-shirts? Kidding. But gee, isn't the car enough?