I have to be honest with my readers, all 4 of you. Milan was never really anywhere near the top of my list of places to visit. However, on my recent trip to the Lake Como area I decided it was just too close to pass up. Plus, a friend of mine from language school in Middlebury, VT is on a research Fulbright there. So passing up an afternoon of good company, good gelato, and good fun in Milano was out of the question. I needed to go.
I hopped on a train mid-morning from the town of Varenna, which also happens to be adorable in its own right. See?
Varenna is home to tons of trees that remind me of the Whomping Willow from Harry Potter. So there is that added bonus.
Anyways, I arrived in Milan in the afternoon saying goodbye to a new friendfrom the hostel, Fiona, at the train station and saying hello to my friend Steven. Now, I never call this kid Steven. He has always been Stufe Eins (German for "Level One") to me. Like I said, we met at language school. I am not going to go into all that but sufficient to say he is even in my Austrian phone as Stufe Eins...so there.
Seeing as how I was pretty hungry from the train ride (and the fact that I am on a two-hour feeding schedule like an infant), Stufe Eins and I decided to hit up this Panzerotti place. There was a serious line of locals when we arrived that only became longer as the day went on. In fact, when we went by later on the line was as long as a city block out the door. That's how yummy this place was.
While we munched on this snack we wandered our way through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuela, where I took part in some tourist tradition of turning my heal on this mosaic of a bull on the ground for good luck. I am a sucker for lame tourist traditions like this, especially in Italy (Trevi fountain, anyone?).
Afterwards, Stufe Eins and I hit up what is likely the best gelato place I have EVER been to. It was actually a bit overwhelming, in the most wonderful and delightful way. No, I don't think you understand. Here is their website. Just click on the Mmmmmmmm!
We ate our gelato waiting in line to pay so we could climb to the top of the Duomo and have a look around. I definitely think it was worth it. The cool thing about the Duomo in Milan is that is actually made of pink marble! Not only that, but it has tons of unique spires and gargoyles to explore and stare at from its roof. We spent a good long while wandering around seeing the different views and taking some sweet pictures.
Evidence of previous statement:
And no European city is complete without a nakey boobie clock, of course!
We also took a lap indoors. It was your basic super impressive European cathedral with some unique touches. I like the framed art suspended in the center part of the santuary. I had never seen that before. Stufe Eins and I also awkwardly stood in line inside a crypt to see...well, actually, we never really figured out what we were supposed to be seeing. So many people were lined up though we figured it must be important enough to have a look. Not so much. At least to us, anyhow.
Highlight of the inside is this statue. Rick Steeves had some good things to say about it but I won't bore you. Pictures are better.
None of those lovely sights compared to what came next, however.
Steven and I ventured over to another part of the city where the castle is. We had no intention of paying to go in but I still wanted to see it. At this point, I was just hanging around and just sort of seeing what there was to see before I boarded a train back to Varenna. Not for long though. My plans eventually changed and I took a much later train than anticipated.
Why?
Because of a random Celtic festival held on the grounds behind the castle!!!!! That's why!!!!
It was such a bizarre surprise. What a typical travel coincidence! We happened to keep wandering even though I could have just as easily headed to the train earlier. See what a ridiculous event I would have missed? We spent the next hour watching some sort of battle reenactment, wandering the fake celtic campsites seeing weavers and glassblowers alike, and shopping in the booths. Great fun! We also had some delicious beer and food at the festival for relatively cheap. The beer was actually along the lines of micro-brews found back home. This pleased me.
So after an afternoon of fun I hugged Stufe Eins goodbye, thanked him for his hospitality, and hopped on the train back to Varenna.
And what happened next with the people pictured below is a story for another day...
