So nice to start the day with a free breakfast and as much coffee as I want. I returned to the duomo 3 times today, just to take more shots since my camera was on a setting yesterday that turned everything this ugly salmon color. The hostel did my laundry for me today, which was awesome because I was able to go out all day and come back and have clean clothes. My first stop for the day was Basilica di sant'Ambrogio, which had a really impressive gold and colored mosaic in the apse above the alter, and a crypt below with the (real?) bodies of Sant'Ambrogio and 2 other saints, creepy mummy skeletons. Then I walked to Castello Sforzesco, checked out some of the museums. There were a couple nice paintings, I especially like the saints and the altarpieces, and there was a nice Canaletto, but overall not too impressed. I then walked through Parco Sempione all the way to the Arco del Pace, then back to the Castello. Then found my way to the Pinacoteca di Brera, which far exceeded my expectations. There were a lot of pieces I studied in college, which were cool to be able to see in person. There were just a lot of beautiful paintings, some artists I knew of, others I'd never heard of. Plus a really cool restoration room where some pieces were being held to be restored ( what a cool job!) and a couple rooms where they had all the other paintings in the collection. I think that museum was the highlight of my day. I then checked out the botanical garden, part of the palazzo Brera, which was kind of cool. Wow I'm such an old lady, enjoying the art museum, followed by the botanical garden. I found my way back to the duomo so that I could get some gelato from a place I'd spotted yesterday. I didn't go yesterday because the line out the door was insane, but it was no different today. So, after realizing I was waiting in the wrong line for 5 minutes, I got in the right line and ordered. They give you a #, and when your # is called, you order your gelato. First off, I thought I only needed my #, not my receipt, so I messed up there. Then I stumbled on my words, and couldn't speak, so the lady just helped me in English. Milan is making me forget how to speak in Italian because everyone is speaking English in the hostel. After my tasty gelato - pistachio and gianduia(like Nutella) in case you were wondering - I made my way back to the hostel for a shower, then took a seat downstairs for the evening aperetivo. Basically you buy a drink from the bar, and you are provided with tons of different appetizers to enjoy for the evening. So I had a beer and enjoyed some tasty food from the hostel. I sat with a girl from Australia and another from Chile, and then we were joined by a girl from Holland and a girl from Brazil. I had a nice time, just chatting about traveling and different countries and where we'd all been and where we're all going. I felt kind of lonely walking around in the park today, so it was nice to have some human interaction.
