Milan

I left Florence this morning...sniff, sniff. I had to drag my bags down five flights of stairs out of the apartment building, and then across town to get to the train station... that was quite a workout. My train ride on the EuroStar was nice, and I was especially excited about the snack I found for the ride:
Nutella with dipping cookies and iced tea all in one! Actually, the tea tasted like dirty sugar water, but you can never go wrong with Nutella!

I arrived to a grey and rainy afternoon in Milan--grey and rainy seems to be the norm in Italy this summer. I checked into my hotel and then set off for the center of town where the Cathedral is. It is quite a sight--full flamboyant Gothic style.
Then I had written down a couple of things I thought would be fun to see, but I didn't really know where they were. I wandered for a while, thinking I might just happen upon them, but that didn't work. I found a tourist info office and then got pointed in the right direction. First stop, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. This is an art museum which is actually part of a library. I didn't get to see the library since it's closed on weekends, but I the museum was open and was quite nice. They have a Leonardo and some Raphael drawings. Its not quite the Uffizi, although still pretty good. They also had this really strange thing:He's some sort of little monster-man, made out of shells, from 17th cent. Germany, but that's all I know.

I was happy to have found that museum, and then thought I'd just wander, and maybe find something else on my little list. I found the Museo Poldi-Pezzoli, and it was an even better museum. It was started by an art collector in the 19th century who started turning his house into a museum while he lived there. I guess the place was damaged by bombings during WWII, so most of the original architecture of the villa is gone, but somehow all the artwork and furniture and china and jewelry and things survived. They had a little bit of everything..... Renaissace and Gothic paintings, ornate ebony and ivory furniture, armor, china, middle eastern carpets, clocks.....

The security guards at both museums were much better at their jobs than Florentine guards--I had a much harder time sneaking pictures here.

Then, I went out to wander again and found a really nice public park and garden. The modern art museum was there too, but I figured I'd had enough museums. I'll just have to go to that one next time I'm here. :)

Here's La Scala, the famous opera house. Something was going on tonight, but I'm sure tickets were a little beyond my budget. When it came time for dinner, I realized Milan was a VERY expensive place. I went to the cheapest restaurant I could find (which was still more than anything in Florence) and had the grossest lasagna ever. I think they may have used cheezwhiz. Blech. Not a good last supper. So tomorrow I head back home to Texas where the temperature is hovering around 99 degrees, last I checked. great. I think I might die in the heat this summer.

But two more photos before I sign off.
First, the ugliest hair cut I've ever seen:
Second, a new car for Katie: