Milan, Italy (12/2/16 – 12/5/16)

After lunch with Lou’s meeting colleagues in Pavia, we were driven to the Boscolo Milan, and we immediately abandoned our luggage to the room (which was funky to the max) and went to the rooftop bar for a cocktail and a view of the Duomo. The drinks were incredibly expensive. At that price you know you’re paying for the luxury experience. Not wanting to spend ALL our money and time at the hotel we ventured out to the surrounding area to get an idea of where we were going to spend our time the next couple of days. We walked so much. Maybe too much. I was starting to get cranky and was willing to eat just about anywhere. We finally settled on Momu’s, which is a family run restaurant complete with checkered table cloths and Chianti served in wicker bottles. Also finally, on the way back to our room I got my gelati. The one thing I said I wanted to eat on this trip. Well … the one thing besides pizza and risotto.

: A splurge for the dog

: The light over our bed

: Ummmmm …

: Thanks for the advice?

: The funky plastic chair

: The cool blue pool

: The Duomo as seen from our hotel

Day two in Milan was Museum Day. I l-o-v-e museums! Lou tolerates them for me. That’s love. We started out at the Brera Museum since it was closest to our hotel. Its a small museum so it didn’t take long to see all the paintings. We stopped for lunch at Jamaica Bar on our way to the Sforza Castle, where I wanted to see the Leonardo (da Vinci, not DiCaprio) exhibit (which was, sadly, closed). While at Sforza Castle we went to the Museum of Ancient Art, the Furniture Museum, heard Momenti Musicali at the Museum of Musical Instruments, and, finally, had a quiet moment of appreciation for the Rondanini Pietà that Michelangelo worked on from the 1550s to his death in 1564. After all that museum walking we were exhausted and hungry. We decided to stop in at the Una Hotel for snacks rather than wait until we got back to the Boscolo. Feeling somewhat refreshed we made our way to our hotel where we cleaned up for a fancy dinner at Valentino Legend. It got amazing reviews on TripAdvisor, and it was recommended we get there early to get in line. It was a good thing we did, because there were already several people waiting ahead of us and it wasn’t even opened yet. By the time we were served hors d’oeuvre, the place was full. The food was fantastic and the wine selection spot on. They had their own sommelier on staff, who went table to table making recommendations.

: High end shopping district

: Decked out for Christmas

: Sforza Castle alight in Christmas colors

: Statuary everywhere

: A statue of Napoleon welcomed us to Brera Art Gallery

: Brera Art Gallery clean room for restoration work

: “The Supper at Emmaus” by Caravaggio

: “The Kiss” by Francesco Hayez

: Brera Art Gallery archives

: Museum of Ancient Art

: No surface left untouched

: Can’t you picture the couple in The Kiss meeting here?

: The Furniture Museum

: 15th Century crystal glass goblet. I can’t get mine to last a quarter of a century.

: “The Rondanini Pieta” by Michaelangelo

On our third day I promised Lou that after the museum-heavy day we had on Saturday we’d do only one on Sunday: the Duomo, and then spend the rest of the day relaxing poolside at our hotel. It was a good day to tour. We got there early enough that there wasn’t a line for tickets or to get into the Duomo. Once inside, it remained uncrowded the entire visit. We were able to get some really great photos of the art work and there was a service taking place. We sat for a bit to appreciate the history of the structure and how long it took to build, and then went outside to take the stairs to the roof. Once on the roof, I began to experience vertigo, so handed the camera to Lou and made my way back down the stairs to the landing. He continued to the upper roof to take additional photos then met me back downstairs. We walked around the shops in the Galleria a little and stopped for caprese at The Gazzelle and spent the rest of the afternoon resting our feet poolside. Since dinner the night before was extravagant we elected to eat simply at The Marina in the Galleria. Pizza, of course, which would be our last of the trip.