Everything went as planned, sort of...

Friday, July 22

Duomo, Milano

Today the public transportation workers called a strike between 9 and 3. It didn't directly affect our plans, but our HO, HO (Hop On, Hop Off) tour bus had to go out of the way to get around the crowd and street blockages.

God in a pepper tree er - burning bush

We revisited the Duomo, since A) it had been pouring rain when we were there on Tuesday so no outside pictures and B) it had been pouring rain on Tuesday so inside was dark and dreary. What a difference a day of sunshine makes. The outside looks like a wedding cake and the stained glass was brilliant today.

Milan's first skyscraper 1955 is the one wider on the top. 

No wonder it took more than 600 years to build

Then Mary took the elevator up to the roof to take closer pictures of the spires and of an overview of the city. I prudently stayed on the ground and ogled the guards.

Back on the HO,HO and on to the Pinecoteca di Brera, a great art museum that's pretty tucked away. Since Mary didn't get to sit next to any good looking guys on the Ho,Ho, she got to pose next to the Nude Napoleon.

Note to Special Audience of two: The orb the Napoleon has in his right hand has a pretty good copy of the Hantesa Fairy on it.

The museum was great--pictures well lighted, chairs in every room, plenty of restrooms scattered throughout. An interesting collection of pictures ranging from Jesus Showing Off His Harmonica at the Last Supper to endless pictures of San Nicolo with a machete in his head (or almost in his head, or just out of his head.) Oh, and not to forget all the San Sabastians with anywhere from three to twenty-three arrows stuck in various portions of the anatomy. Sorry, no pictures.

Another no picture event--we stopped at a sidewalk cafe to order something to drink. They brought out a menu and on the next to the last page it mentioned Small cakes or Shortbreads. So when the waiter came, I said we'd like the small cakes. It turns out we didn't want the small cakes because this was a restaurant for EATING! I thought I intended to eat the cakes, but they threw us out. Guess we needed to eat a whole meal there. I haven't mastered the rules of what and when and where you are allowed to eat here.

 

So we stopped at L'Oasi de Parco. While eating our pretzels and drinking our coke, watched a young woman bike up to the window, order a beer, snag the opened bottle off the counter and bike away. No little cakes for her, though.




Speaking of bikers, we watched a stunt biker perform for professional photographers.

He was on a column 5' high & bounced down

An added bonus(?) was listening to a Moby soundcheck. We could go back tonight and hear it without buying a ticket.