Milan - From Venice, and through Bologna

Monday, the 10th of April, we got up around 8:15 and had the included breakfast, then back up to the room where I folded the laundry I did yesterday and got cleaned up for the day, and charged the batteries for our cameras. Now, all caught up with our blogs, for the moment, I'll enter the previous day's expenses into our spreadsheet, and get Vee back up for another full day of Venice.

It turned out to be a fantastic last full day in Venice. Once we got going, despite the nasty wet weather, we were able to do even more than we had initially planned. First up was to get into the Basilica di San Marco. My understanding, through the little bit that I've read is that it is arguably the most spectacular of all Italy's cathedrals. And it did not disappoint. It was very unique in that it really looked every year of it's age and was loaded with beautiful artwork, sculptures, jewelry, etc. The floors were an amazing, neverending mosaic of intricate little pieces of marble, and the vaulted ceilings were endless golden mosaics. The marble used throughout was the most extravegant colors that I've seen. The floors were uneven and much of the marble in the surrounding benches, arches and doorways was crumbling. It was absolutely spectacular, inside and out. From there we walked towards the Santa Maria della Salute, another beautiful church on the other side of the Canal Grande. Along the way, we crossed the wooden Ponte Academia bridge, and saw the Peggy Guggenheim museum building but it was closing and we decided not to go in for the last 45 minutes that it would have been open. Instead, we wandered the area's many art galleries, restaurants and cafes, and popped into a few more churches. Each church we entered was a spectacular sight. Venice definitely has the most numerous, most beautiful churches in all of the Italy that we've seen. One of our finest finds was a small art gallery where the artist, who happened to be there, working on a new painting in the rear studio, painted Venice in a way that Vee and I both immediately fell in love with. We bought 3 signed prints, and left only after taking a picture of Vee and the artist together, and then Vee outside the artist's studio/store. It is rare that both of us find an artists work equally captivating, and this was one of those occasions. It was so much fun. With our cardboard tube-full of art packed away, we continued onwards through this part of Venice that was new to us, and discovered a little corner cafe with capuccinos for only 1.10 Eur, so we got two, and warmed up inside, away from the cold rain. Eventually, we made it to the Santa Maria della Salute, but of course it was closed by the time we arrived, and so we took a bunch of pictures outside. It was a beautiful place right on the canal, and with a view to San Marco square right across the water. We walked back towards San Marco, since our water-bus tickets were expired, and had a slice of pizza at the place I had some pizza the day before. We struck out with the "jazz pizzeria" we were trying to find (it was closed) and couldn't find a restaurant that we were both lured to. Although it was not the kind of meal we wanted, we made due, and headed back to the bus station and with a ride back to the hotel, called it a night.

Tuesday, April 11th, we had the provided breakfast, checked out, mailed postcards and our new artwork back home, took the bus to the train station, found out we did not need reservations for the train to Bologna, and had some capuccinos while we waited for our train. By the time we arrived in Bologna, it was raining heavily. They were charging 5-6 Eur for a map of the city at the train station, so we walked out to the streets, and we found one for 4 Eur instead. Yippee. With Vee in charge of navigation (she is an absolute expert here in Europe!!!) we made our way to the main piazza, and found the famed Torre Degli Asinelli. Bologna is a very special place for me, since it plays such an important part in the history of my fraternity, Kappa Sigma. For me to be here was particularly moving. And, to find and climb the Torre Asinelli was extremely important to me. We took lots of pics and video of our ascent, and the view from the top. Once back down on the ground, we kept walking the city, seeing a number of basilicas, and other important parts of the ancient city. The University of Bologna is the oldest in Europe, started in the year 1088. And Bologna is very much a college town, with all the energy and vibe you'd expect from such a place. We were glad to have done a day trip here, rather than making an overnight of it. We had a bit to eat and sip on, and caught a train to Milan. Once we arrived, it was already dark, and although we tried to use the metro and bus system as per the hotels instructions on their website, because of the darkness, strange characters around the station, and newness of the metro and bus system, we took a cab to the hotel. It was definitely the right decision, and we were checked in not more than 20-30 minutes later. With our bags unloaded in our room, we headed back downstairs to the wine bar, had some house red, and checked email before heading to bed.

Wednesday, the 12th, we had a wonderful breakfast that even included eggs!!! With a more hearty breakfast, we are definitely experiencing the evidence of a more North-European influence. Yay!!!!!!!! After we got cleaned up, we headed back down to the wine-bar with wi-fi access and worked on the computer for a few hours. Then, we walked a while to the Metro, and went to downtown Milano. Oh, we extended our stay here another night too, since we actually have access to the Internet, and it'll be nice to get caught up before heading to Switzerland. Once downtown, we visited the Duomo, and it was amazing. Very imposing, huge, beautiful, powerful. Many large paintings. Very hight vaulted ceilings. A few saints laying in state. Very dark, very gothic. Unfortunately, the facade is being serviced, so it was all covered. Outside, the pigeons were the bravest I've encountered, even moreso than on San Marco square in Venice. These birds flew full speed waist high seemingly without even a slight concern for smacking right into you. This is no joke, I really had to dodge 2-3 of these birds as they came within inches of me, dive-bombing the corn that people were throwing in the square for them to eat. Then we walked through the arched "mall" (it has a real name, but I can't remember at the moment, and I am too comfortable to get up out of bed, and find out what it's really called), and continued onward to a bunch of other sights that Vee researched and had on our itinerary. One was Da Vinci's Last Supper, but it you can't get in to see it without a reservations, and although I called, it was taking too long for anyone to pick up the phone, and we gave up. Anyway, it turned out to be a beautiful day, weather-wise, and we had a wonderful afternoon. We even decided to splurge on lunch, our first full meal in a while. Milan is nice, but we weren't swept off our feet. It has a metropolitan feel, wider streets, more organized, some very French influences, some very German influences, but all in all, still Italian. We caught the metro back to the hotel, Vee worked on video, I went for a walk to find another new book with no luck, and then I did some drawing, and we ate our snacks from the grocery store we stopped at on the way back from the center of town.

Thursday, the 13th, I got busted trying to take an apple out of the breakfast room. Vee was able to escape before being detected with her smuggled apple, so not all was lost. Breakfast is good here, and is included in the price of the room, but I guess there are strict rules regarding your having to eat it at the table in the breakfast room only. No take-aways! Afterwards, Vee worked more on the video stuff, and then we had to try again to nail down accomodations for the next two nights after tonight, hopefully in Bern, Switzerland. The rest of the day was shot; dealt with Philly-related issues.