Friday, 9 May

Bellano - Milan - Bellano

Weather - 9 - 14c - varied weather all day 

This was a long and great day. Today’s blog is long as well! Our destination was Milan. I had a ticket to see Da Vinci’s The Last Supper for at tour at 5.00pm. The ticket was bought online six weeks ago and there were few choices as most had sold out. Henk and Brian had seen the painting on a previous trip. 

Brian woke up and wished he had joined us in the LLD the previous afternoon. Both he and Henk looked a bit shattered after a fitful sleep. For about three hours from about midnight, maintenance work was conducted on the railway line across the road from us. There was much steel cutting and metal banging. I slept through it.

We arrived at our new favourite breakfast cafe at 8.30am. Mum joined us for breakfast as she FaceTimed me for our usual “drinks time” of 4.30pm Brisbane time. It was good to hear and see her. Mum says we might be putting on weight! This time Henk and I chose a scrummy chocolate croissant and Brian opted for the marmellata (jam) one. 

We then made our way back to the station for the 9.20am train to Milan. After buying our tickets at the chaotic railway cafe from the helpful lady who enquired if we wanted a Senior’s Discount (do we look that old?) we proceeded to Platform 2 (there’s only 2!). With little cover in the rain and as we were early we returned to Platform 1 and returned to Platform 2 a few minutes before the train’s arrival.

There was an announcement which all 15 of us waiting for the train didn’t understand. Thankfully, there was a very stylish English lady who spoke Italian who told us we all needed to go to Platform One. We all raced down the stairs, under the tunnel, up the stairs to see the train coming in the distance. 

Then we looked over at the Platform 2 and saw about 15 people had arrived. There were no other trains expected so the English lady started yelling for them to come to Platform 1. They didn’t understand English. So we all started yelling “Milano” and pointing. They then all tried to pile into the glass-walled lift which wouldn’t work. By this time it’s feeling like we are in a black and white movie pantomime. They then emerged out of the lift dragging their huge suitcases and started thumping them down the stairs. They did manage to make it to the train. The English lady said it happens all the time.

When we arrived at the huge Milano Céntrale which was much calmer than last Tuesday evening, we got our bearings and found the baggage storage place as we will need it on Sunday. We then proceeded to the underground Metro to get the train to the Duomo station. When climbed the stairs from the station we were in the perfect position to view the magnificent Milan Cathedral. It was gleaming in the late morning sun.

There were long lines for the cathedral and we discovered we needed to book tickets online. We managed to get tickets for entry at noon. We had half an hour to kill so we went to the nearby wonderful Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II with its glass vaulted arcades and octagonal central dome. The arcades mainly house high end shops with elegant but simple front windows. 

Right under the glass dome sits a floor mosaic of a bull, the emblem of Milan. It is meant to bring you good luck if you spin around on your right heel three times on the bull’s balls. So many people have done it that there is now ony a well-worn hole! It is very popular with tourists and I waited my turn amongst the happy throng.

We returned to a shorter queue for the cathedral and as I looked up I saw the Madonna, a gold gilded Mary, which is perched on the highest spire of the cathedral. 

While we waited had the time to look closely at the wonderful sculptures on the cathedral’s exterior as our queue wound around to the front entrance. Much of it is new having to be replaced after Allied bombings in WWII. 

The interior of the cathedral is mind-blowing with so much to see from intricate carvings, stained glass windows and side chapels. We spent about an hour admiring it before hunger took over.

Brian suggested an eating place, the Luna Rossa which was about 500m from the main centre and we were keen to get away from the crowds. There was a queue outside the cafe, obviously made popular through Trip Advisor, and after fifteen minutes we were at the head of the line inside the restaurant. The owner suggested we go to his nearby cafe, the Osteria al Ventotto 50m further along so we followed him and entered a cafe filled with talkative Italians rather than the tourists at the other cafe. Brian and I had our first Aperol Spritz and our meals were delicious. 

We decided to walk to the church of the  Santa Maria del Grazie where The Last Supper is housed. It took about half an hour and we went through the enormous, medieval fortification of Sforza Castle to the lovely gardens. Surprisingly, there were no Spring flowers but many trees had buds. 

We came across a very cheeky squirrel more intent on eating than being frightened of tourists.

I met my group of fifteen outside the church at 4.45pm for the 5.00pm tour. We were a mixed bag from all over the world but we all spoke English. We wore ear pieces so it was easy to hear Silva our guide. Of course, the highlight of the tour was seeing The Last Supper. The visit is tightly controlled and we walked through two airlocks before entering the space with Da Vinci’s painting at one end wall and on the other the huge The Crucifixion by Giovanni Donato da Montofano. I think the whole group took in a collective breath when we turned right through the airlock door and saw the painting. We had 15 minutes before being ushered out. It was hard to take in that I was standing in front of The Last Supper, a painting I studied in detail in my art class 55 years ago. 

During WWII the building housing the two paintings was bombed and the only two walls left standing were the two paintings facing each other with rubble inbetween. Unbelievable!

Whilst I was on the hour tour Henk and Brian went grocery shopping for the evening meal. They were waiting for me, groceries in hand when I finished the tour and we headed for the Metro then to Milano Céntrale to return to Bellano.

We arrived at 8.30pm and ended the day with wonderful Italian crunchy bread, ham, cheese, olives, dried tomatoes and a wee drop of red wine. It was a great day.