We flew to Milan for the weekend (thank you, Ryanair). Feeling like quite the jetsetters, we landed in Bergamo on Saturday morning (there's nothing like a recording of a jolly, Irish-accented voice to jolt you awake from an airplane nap), and I headed to find what I consider to be the heart of Milan: the weekend street fairs and fashions sales.
The Duomo is the center of Milan, surrounded by historic buildings, fabulous shopping, and many, many people. It is an unearthly building-- and one with a strict dress code, as I found out when I tried to gain entry wearing a skirt that was aprox. 0.5 inches above my knees. Needless to say, after that experience, gelatto (Grom!) was necessary for me to maintain my cool...
The Galleria Vittorio is right next to the Duomo, and it seems to be always full of shoppers and eaters and sightsee-ers.
The vaulted ceiling is gorgeous, allowing sunlight to filter down to the plush shops and boutiques.
The square is covered with pigeons-- and men who walk around, offering food to feed the pigeons to unsuspecting tourists before demanding payment. It's a trend around Milan-- there were hundreds of people around the city, who would tie a bracelet around your wrist before asking for 2 Euros, etc. I resorted to speaking in German the entire time I was in Italy, for many of the street people, who would speak in broken English and would harass us further if we answered in English.
We attempted to attend a ballet performance at the LaScala Opera House, a somewhat inconspicuous building (at least, in comparison to the Duomo, Galleria Vittoria, etc.) just off the main square. However, after standing in the ,,Ten-Euro-Ticket-Line" for about an hour and making friends with another random American, we were unable to purchase tickets. Again, we consoled ourselves with gelatto (thank you Grom!).
We also staged a photo shoot in the small piazza by the opera house, to the amusement of tourists, who had watched us walk by three times, each time enjoying a different kind of gelatto.
Earlier that day, I had searched for a street filled with design houses, local fashion shops, and boutiques that was mentioned in the NY Times article, ,,36 Hours in Milan" from 2007 (yes, we are research geeks!). I found it after a couple hours of searching and false starts, and it was amazing. So cool-- italian design is unsurpassed. It was also in a funky area, and I saw this edgy building. It was pure coincidence that the teenagers walking by the building were wearing tee-shirts that matched the graffiti.
Just off the main piazza, we found this bakery with a wonderful display of marzipan creations. Mmm.
We walked along random streets, finding various treasures of sights and scenes. We stumbled upon this...advertisement? Art installation? Political statement? Who knows, but it was colorful and cheerful.
This man was juggling in front of the brightly coloured building fa
çade. It took me several tries to snap a picture of him in action, and thus I was staring in his direction for several minutes. To my embaressment, according to
M, he started to wave to me and call me over, so naturally I ran away.
This image I found while walking around in the dusk of Milan.
We saw this, almost by accident. A view of a quintessential Italian street, in my opinion.
The Duomo is the center of Milan, surrounded by historic buildings, fabulous shopping, and many, many people. It is an unearthly building-- and one with a strict dress code, as I found out when I tried to gain entry wearing a skirt that was aprox. 0.5 inches above my knees. Needless to say, after that experience, gelatto (Grom!) was necessary for me to maintain my cool...
The Galleria Vittorio is right next to the Duomo, and it seems to be always full of shoppers and eaters and sightsee-ers.
The vaulted ceiling is gorgeous, allowing sunlight to filter down to the plush shops and boutiques.
The square is covered with pigeons-- and men who walk around, offering food to feed the pigeons to unsuspecting tourists before demanding payment. It's a trend around Milan-- there were hundreds of people around the city, who would tie a bracelet around your wrist before asking for 2 Euros, etc. I resorted to speaking in German the entire time I was in Italy, for many of the street people, who would speak in broken English and would harass us further if we answered in English.
We attempted to attend a ballet performance at the LaScala Opera House, a somewhat inconspicuous building (at least, in comparison to the Duomo, Galleria Vittoria, etc.) just off the main square. However, after standing in the ,,Ten-Euro-Ticket-Line" for about an hour and making friends with another random American, we were unable to purchase tickets. Again, we consoled ourselves with gelatto (thank you Grom!).
We also staged a photo shoot in the small piazza by the opera house, to the amusement of tourists, who had watched us walk by three times, each time enjoying a different kind of gelatto.
Earlier that day, I had searched for a street filled with design houses, local fashion shops, and boutiques that was mentioned in the NY Times article, ,,36 Hours in Milan" from 2007 (yes, we are research geeks!). I found it after a couple hours of searching and false starts, and it was amazing. So cool-- italian design is unsurpassed. It was also in a funky area, and I saw this edgy building. It was pure coincidence that the teenagers walking by the building were wearing tee-shirts that matched the graffiti.
Just off the main piazza, we found this bakery with a wonderful display of marzipan creations. Mmm.
We walked along random streets, finding various treasures of sights and scenes. We stumbled upon this...advertisement? Art installation? Political statement? Who knows, but it was colorful and cheerful.
This man was juggling in front of the brightly coloured building façade. It took me several tries to snap a picture of him in action, and thus I was staring in his direction for several minutes. To my embaressment, according to M, he started to wave to me and call me over, so naturally I ran away.
This image I found while walking around in the dusk of Milan.
We saw this, almost by accident. A view of a quintessential Italian street, in my opinion.
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