Milan is one of the world's centers for fashion. Where famous designers like Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana and Versace - plus scores of less familiar - have their stores. Where women - and men - dress like models in fashion magazines. Where average folks stand in line in freezing weather waiting their turn to part with hundreds of euros.
We hardly fit in. M polar fleece vest, which I have worn every day since we left Croatia, is speckled with tiny feathers from my molting 15-year old down jacket. The watch cap I picked up in Kosovo doesn't add much to the outfit, nor do my low hiking boots. And Connie is dressed in much the same - shall I say it? - fashion.
A winter's day aat the Duomo
But we are here to see, not to be seen, and there is so much to see! Milan's Duomo, the fourth largest church in Europe, boggles the mind from both inside and out. It was built entirely of marble in the Gothic style and has more than 2000 statues, countless spires and acres of stained glass.
In stark contrast, the Church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro, the oldest in Milan, is tiny, hardly worth such a long name. But it is the most intimate church we have seen, the kind of place I would attend - if I intended to attend church. It is too small to have an actual nave so Bramanante designed the nave area in 3-D to look as if it was larger. And there is the obligatory miracle attached to San Satiro, this one even less believable than most.
No cheap seats
La Scala is probably the world's best known opera venue, where works by the most famous composers have been performed by the best conductors and singers. Many changes have been made over the years including a major reconstruction after La Scala was bombed during WW II. Red velvet predominates and the stage is as large as the seating area. And there doesn't seem to be a bad - or a cheap - seat in the house. The museum includes paintings, busts and memorabilia from opera greats like Toscanini, Verdi, Caruso and Callas. It made me wish I had a better understanding of opera.
We are seldom disappointed by art museums but the Pinocotecha Brera came close. To begin with, nothing was explained in English. Many of the best paintings by the most famous artists were on loan to the Pushkin Gallery in exchange for 17 minor Impressionist works. We almost never pass up Impressionist paintings but six euros for a maximum of 20 minutes to see seventeen ho-hum works was just too much. Of the permanent collection that was actually on the walls, "Cenacolo," Reubens' version of the Last Supper was the best of the lot, followed by a couple of Venetian scenes by Canaletto.
