Places I've been: Milan

Possibly the best thing about living in Europe is the ease withn which you can get pretty much anywhere in the EU. So when Jane came up to me and said 'let's go somewhere in a couple weeks, say... Italy' it was really no problem at all. I think the flight cost something like 35 pounds each return. Still, though it's a little worrysome heading off to a place where you can't speak the language. Knowing french doesn't help, let me tell you, because your guesses based on French inevitably come out as spanish. Fortunately Doug and Kristina had recently been to Sicilly and had some handy phrase books to lend us. In any case, here's how the trip went.

Moments after finding our hotel, we were seized by the irresistable urge to get some Gelato. Not the crappy frozen concentrated fruit juice stuff that you find in North America, no. True, chocolaty, creamy, caramelly, vanilla-y gellato. So very tasty. Looking around, we realized that Milan being the 'fashion capital of the world' is no joke. People dress up to walk their dog, and I'm pretty sure that I passed one or more emaciated super-model types in our travels.

Our first day, we walked into the center of town, passing through the Castello Sforzesco, which is an architechtually interesting castle built by one of Machiavelli's 'Princes', Francesco Sforza. The walls were full of regularly spaced holes. We tried to figure out why this was, but, after discarding the easy options of defense and drainage, we gave up. The palace is centrally located and houses a number of museums which, for reasons of cost and time, we neglected. At the back of the castle is a very nice 47 hectaire park, which we walked around in for a while... unti

l Jane started sniffing.

The next big thing to see in Milan is the Duomo, which is a truly massive (second largest in fact, next to St. Peters) and very ornate cathedral. It was, unfortunately, undergoing renovations, so we didn't really get to see the whole facade, but it was very impressive nonetheless. The inside was nice. Sortof the standard cathedral fare with chapels etc. They are a bit picky in Italy about adequate church atire. Don't expect to get in if you don't have your thighs and cleavage chastely covered. Now, the Duomo is right downtown, which is a bad place to be if you need to pee. When we finally found a bathroom, it was guarded. 2 Euros. No

kidding. We then went to see 'the last supper'. Unfortunately, it turned out that, if you want to see the last supper, you have to book three months in advance. So that was a no go. But we did see the church in which 'the last supper' is housed, which is actually quite pretty.

The next day we did what I like best. That is, walk around. Alot. We climbed a hill that was on the north side of town and got sortof a view around the city. It was in a nice park, but, unfortunately the hill wasn't really high. Lots of cranes. Milan is a growing city. That evening we had our big dinner out. Even though we were 'splurging', we didn't want to get a 'complete italian meal'. That is because restaurants in Milan devide dinner into 4 parts (antipasti, primiri, secondi insalada, and then desert), each of which costs as much as a full meal anywhere else. So Jane got a 'primiri' pasta and I got a 'secondi' meat dish which (I think quite reasonably) I expected to be cooked. Actually it was not (see right). But you know me. I ate it anyway and I can honestly say it was the best raw meat I've ever had.

Before we 'took off' on our last day, we visited the botanical gardens, which were really more of a parc. It was a nice spot, so we thought we'd hang around a bit and read under a tree. Unfortunately the tree was raining pollen on us and, while my immune system remained blissfully unaware, Jane's started to get the heeby jeebys. She toughed it out for about 20 minutes but, eventually, shaking our fists at the tree in a very italian fashion, we had to leave. We got one last look at the downtown, inlcuding the europe's skiniest office building, and got on a bus for the airport.

If you're thinking of heading over to Milan, here are a few pointers:
1) There's actually not that much to see. You can do most of it in a day.
2) Pizza is the only reasonably priced meal
3) There is a chance that you will see a super model and, if you are very lucky, boobs.
4) It is too dangerous for people to drive around in cars, so they take mopeds
5) If you are hinking of a spur of the moment trip to see the last supper, don't.
6) You will not find lasanga anywhere (except 'fake' lasanga at a fast food pasta joint)

Happy trails...