I could already sense the difference coming into Milan on the flight. All of a sudden instead of fatenglish tourists I was surrounded by perfectly dressed, perfectly coiffed Italins. That is basicallywhat Milan is all about. What they lack in historical sights and fabulous architecture they more than make up with in style. Everyone is dripping in designer labels. Thanks to the guys around all the tourist attractions selling the fake stuff, even the people who can't afford it wear the stuff. To an untrained eye, it's pretty hard to tell the difference.
I found out too late you have to book tickets to see The Last Supper a month in advance, so I cheated and signed up for a tour because they book all the tickets way in advance. I chose Autostradale and the deal was for 50 euro I got a guided tour to the five "must-sees" of Milan. I saw the Cattedrale Duomo, Castle Sforza, La Scala Opera house and museum, and....The Last Supper! I figured it was worth the money to take the tour because there are so many other places I need to see in Italy I'd rather not waste time going to Milan again just to see the painting.
Cattedrale Duomo, the largest cathedral in Italy:
Poor San Bartolomeo, wearing his own skin as a cloke:
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Leonardo DaVinci:
The rest of the afternoon I spent people watching and doing (mostly) window shopping. The highlight of the day was a tip I got from Rick Steve's Italy book. Located right by the Brera Art Galleries, the Bar Brera offers a sweet happy hour treat. For buying a drink, you get access to their buffet of Tuscany antipasto appetizers. An entire extended table of deliciousness - proscuitto, pasta, pickled veggies, focaccia - it was heaven to a poor, hungry traveler! For the price of a prosecco (a champagne-like drink created in Milan) I got dinner! 6 euros! The mozarella-tomato sandwich I bought while people watching cost me more than that!
Tomorrow morning I'm headed on the train to Venice! Ciao!
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