Our first stop on Friday was Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper". It's at this weird little church just outside of the city center, in what used to be a dining hall for monks. Unfortunately, Da Vinci didn't use the fresco technique, so the work started deteriorating the moment he finished it. Also, it probably didn't help that the church was bombed in World War II, leaving the painting in open air for 3 years. Because of all of this, visits to the Last Supper are really strange. You go in with a group of 25, and you have to go through a series of chambers that rid you of potential debris that could harm the work. You go in for 15 minutes, and then you are promptly asked to leave. The work was really amazing though, I must admit.
On Saturday, we went to the Duomo, one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Europe.
We wound up deciding to go to the top, which gives you an up-close view of the details in the architecture.
Later that day, we went to Teatro Della Scala, probably among the most famous opera houses in Europe. The visit to the Museum was 4 euros, and it said in the brochure that you could look out onto the opera house itself if there weren't rehearsals going on. When we got there, a dress rehearsal of Puccini's Tosca was going on, but the guards let us stay. We heard one of the most famous arias in the whole opera rehearsed. It was amazing...well worth the price of admission (and maybe even cooler than forking out 100 euros to see the real thing).
We then did a little shopping (it is Milan, after all), and spent the rest of the weekend enjoying delicious Milanese food (Osso Bucco, Truffle Risotto,etc). I'm so looking forward to going back to Italy in March, people there are exceptionally friendly, and the scenery is beautiful.
On the plane ride out of Milan, we got a wonderful view of the Alps, which just topped off the entire weekend.
That's all for today, I have a 10-page paper standing between me and vacation. :)
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