Probably a bit hard to see, but that is the Prada shop in the arcade near the Duomo, which is pictured below.

Well thank goodness for in-house television programmes. Last night I watched (well what I could understand that is) of the promotional video on the hotel TV and I decided that Milano looked a bit more interesting that what I had seen from my hotel room and in the taxi on the way from the station, so what the hell – stay another night. And I was a bit loathe to try the internet on the credit card scenario down in the lobby, so wasn't able to contact the organisers of Kaleidoscope. And, (and this is probably the biggest reason) after I got back from my walk down the street to get some dinner, I fell asleep and didn't wake until quite late (around 11pm I think it was) and so I wasn't going to head down into the lobby then to check my emails anyway.
And then I woke early this morning to a beautiful sunny day, (after rain and thunder again last night walking back from dinner) so that sealed the decision to stay another day here. And thankfully the hotel room was available for tonight as well.
So, after breakfast I headed out to catch the tour bus which went round the city. Two different routes, the blue route or the red route and it was a get on and off when you liked type of tour. A commentary, in English via headphones, made it much more enjoyable, and what a great way to see the city. I was tempted not to get off and see the Duomo. Like how many have I seen now ….. but when I saw the outside of it I just knew I had to go inside. And wow!!!!!!! wow!!!!!!!!! wow!!!!! what an amazing building. I really cannot find the words to describe this incredible building. It is huge. It is ornate. It is beautiful. It is peaceful and awe-inspiring. It is just truly amazing. There were parts that tourists could not visit – unless you were going to confession and there were dozens of confessional boxes where priests were listening to peoples confessions. Must be a lot of naughty people in Milano!!!
And the organ was playing. It was truly wonderful. There are dozens of little nooks and crannies all filled with stained glass windows, statues, paintings, pillars, places to light candles and to just kneel in front of the alters. I cannot get over how huge it is, and when during the bus trip learning about the devastation of the city during the war, that these places actually survived. It is just incredible.
The piazza outside the Duomo is very busy, full of tourists, and there were dozens of these dark men (I presume illegal immigrants) selling (I presume) these little bangles made of thread. While I was taking a photo of the Duomo one young man (rather a fine looking young chap actually, shiny black, couldn't speak Inglese – thank goodness – and I just kept shaking my head) tied one of the bracelets on my wrist, and told me it was for good luck . He then held out his hand – I assume for money but I shook my head, said 'pokare kare ana,' to which he shook his head, stroked my hand and walked away shaking his head. But this colourful bracelet on my wrist then protected me from the rest of them who were trying to foist these things on all the tourists. Perhaps I'm married to him now. Who knows, but it is quite pretty and will make a nice addition to my scrapbook when I get home, and as I said, I didn't get pestered by anyone else for the rest of the day.
Just alongside the Duomo is this amazing arcade – Louis Vuitton, Prada, etc etc and where the price of everything else is escalated to match the price of the goods in the shops. An icecream, one scoop, one flavour cost E3. Anywhere else I have had one the most I have paid is E1.50 and that was in Florence. Most other places about E1 or E1.10. But I had to have my favorite Limone gelato. It is so refreshing – a sorbet I think because it is not creamy and it is quite thirst quenching.
The shops are amazing. So glamorous. A shoe shop I went past was selling shoes for E685 (multiply that by 2.74 to bring it to NZ dollars. Wow that is some pair of shoes. Boots were dearer than that. The clothes, the colours, the fabrics. Managed to get a couple of pictures, but most of the shop windows are so lit up that the reflections make it impossible to photograph through the glass.
Talking about photos, outside the Duomo there are big signs – silence please, no talking, no phones, no photos, no videos, no food, no drinks. And the ladies had to cover their shoulders (good business for the little Asian girl outside selling scarves). But the number of people who completely ignored all the rules. There were people in there eating, and the place looked like an arcade there were so many cameras flashing. I am surprised that they don't enforce the rule, I mean the signs are big enough and in every language, so there really is no excuse. I really would have liked to have taken some photos, but afterall it is a church, and so once again I respected that, I just have to hope that the pictures of the outside will be enough to remind me of just how amazingly beautiful it really was.
Of note, there was a bookshop inside the cathedral selling books and tasteful souvenirs, but even the pictures in the book did not do justice to the beauty of the building.
And so after a couple of hours at this stop, I got back on and off the bus around both routes, finally making my way back to where I got on. I now really am old buildinged out. But I am so glad I decided to stay and have a look at this city. It is a mixture of old and new and the oldest part is 13C and all around new buildings still going up.
I didn't manage to find anything that looked like the photos that I had of Dad in Milan. And I showed them to the bus driver but he couldn't recognise the church, and thought it must be out of the city somewhere. That was a shame, but I tried.
And so now time for some dinner. Might just try the hotel restaurant tonight. The main eating places (the night life part of Milan is quite a way from here, and unfortunately the “Milano by night” bus trip only goes on a Friday night. Same old same old – always a day too late or a day too early. Don't really fancy walking around the city at night on my own. Although the one good thing is that it doesn't get dark till quite late. I might just go back where I was last night. That pizza was jolly good.
Oh and I saw green olives today – a bowl full of them on a table in that fancy arcade. Great big fat green ones. But the place had real ponsy looking waiters hovering outside, bow ties, white gloves etc etc, so I figured that the cost of the olives would be way outside my price range and having just paid double what I had been paying just for an icecream, I kept right on walking.
Okay, time to go and find something to eat - all I had at lunch time was a little mini pizza type thing – just one mouthful, and a delicious lemon custard tart, and I ate a couple of peaches when I got back to the hotel, so I am starting to feel a little peckish.
So will catch you all later.
Ciao.