Holiday

Today is a holiday in Italy - Labour Day. No school and no work. We had planned to head to Venice for the weekend, but because we were trying to make last minute plans, all the hotels were booked. We'll do that trip another time.

Instead we headed into Milan for the day, leaving the house around 10am. Its another glorious day - sunny skies and short sleeve shirts. We drove to Sesta FS to catch the red Metro subway into Milan, exiting at the Duomo station.



Once we got up to street level we entered a sea of people. The Piazza del Duomo was filled with visitors and Italians enjoying the holiday and taking part in Labour Day festivities. We immediately stood in line to enter the Duomo. Police check all bags and you cannot enter in shorts or with bare shoulders. Once inside, I was amazed at the size of the building. A Duomo is the main cathedral in an Italian city. Milan's Duomo was founded in 1386 by Gian Galezzo Visconti who wanted to build the biggest church in all of Italy. It was finished in 1812, under Napoleans rule. The roof is decorated with 2,245 statues, 135 spires and 96 gargoyles. The interior can hold 40,000 people. Thats 4/5 of Corvallis in one place!! The outside is white and amazing to look at, while the inside is gloomy except for the amazing stained glass windows that line the entire cathedral. The Duomo is 515ft long, 108ft wide across the nave and 302ft wide across the transept (front alter area). Inside the Duomo was very crowded. We walked down one side of the nave to the alter area, then backtracked halfway so that we could walk down the other side of the nave toward the side door. Once outside it was very bright on the eyes and took awhile to get adjusted to the sunlight. We walked around the outside of the Duomo looking at the statues and gargoyles, working our way to the stairway entrance that takes you up to the roof. Katrina did this when she visited in November. The guidebook says, 'ascend to the roof for a wonderful view of Milan and, on a clear day (like today), a view of the Alps. Unfortunately, the rooftop was closed today. I guess we'll have to go back again.





After the Duomo we left the piazza and worked our way through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. The guidebook says, 'Linking Piazza del Duomo with Piazza della Scala, this elegant glass-roofed arcade (mall) has long been a popular rendevous for the Milanese.' We walked through the arcade, filled with expensive designer shops, to the Piazza della Scala to see the famous statue of Leonard da Vinci and La Scala, the famous opera house.



From there we casually strolled several streets, working our way back towards the Duomo and lunch. We had lunch at Castello Risorante Pizzeria. I has a Nostromo pizza - tuna and onions. Katrina has capricciosa pizza - artichokes, olives and capers. Brandon had pattate fritte - french fries. We had a nice relaxing lunch. I have not had a pizza I have not enjoyed, but this one was my favorite so far.



Next stop on our tour, Castello Sforzesco. The castle was built as a fortress for the Visconti family. It was started in 1358 and completed in 1368. It was pretty much demolished after the downfall of the family. Francesco Sfora, who became Duke of Milan, turned the castle into a Renaissance fort and residence. In the early 19th century Napolean it into soldiers quarters. In 1884 the city of Milan planned to demolish the castle but architect Luca Beltrami turned it into a museum. Today you can stroll the grounds while reading about the history, as well as visit the museums that are contained in the castle halls. We decided to just stroll the grounds on this visit.





Brandon decided it was time for gelato. We worked our way back towards the Duomo and the gelataria we saw at lunch. This was our first gelato in cones. Katrina had pistachio and fruite de bosco. Brandon had limone as usual. I had bacio as usual, although I made an important discovery this time. It is not peanut chocolate. It is hazelnut chocolate.



At this point we were starting to get tired. We roamed around the Piazza del Duomo a little more and took some exterior pictures of the Duomo. It was time to ride the red line back to our car and head home.

For more pics of our trip into Milan, visit Katrina's blog.

This evening Katrina took a little nap. Brandon and I went downstairs to Parco di Matteotti. We also played some Wii. Golf is hard. Bowling is fairly easy.

It was a great day of sightseeing and family time. Tomorrow we head to Lago Como for the day.