Nov. 4th, Milan

I was told by a lot of people that there is nothing to do in Milan. Much like anything else they have to say, they were incorrect. Milan is a large city and Italy's business and fashion capital but still boasts a lot of older marvels as well. While in Milan, my roommate and I experienced numerous things. First of all, we wanted to go see the fresco by Leonardo known as "The Last Supper." I was expecting a large grandiose church. So when we got to the street corner which had a little church on it we were quite confused. We actually walked around a couple of other blocks looking for a larger church for about half an hour before we decided to go inside the little church. When we entered we were confused a little more because there weren't that many tourists, and even though there were a lot of other frescoes on the walls we still had yet to see The Last Supper. After another half hour of being really confused we found out there was a side entrance that had the fresco but you had to pay for a ticket. Alright, fair enough I thought, but when we tried to purchase a ticket the lady said they were sold out of tickets for the next month. So I left not too much wiser but a whole lot more confused. The moral is that anyone trying to see this famous fresco needs to purchase tickets anywhere from 1 to 2 months in advance.

After shaking off my stupor we headed over to the Duomo which is right next to a famous shopping arcade. After window shopping we were greeted with a large gothic church which also had an impressive interior as well. In the end though it's another church. We then made our way to an old castle in the area and walked around there for a bit.

Then, like a couple of really rich Italian school girls, we went shopping for purses in the most expensive district in Milan. No I'm not gay. The purse was for my mom. The Quadrilatero, as it is known by the natives, is actually 4 main streets that encompass about 2 or 3 blocks of high class shopping. This is the place to be seen. All of the most expensive shops are here, Gucci, Dolce and Gabanna, Louis V, and others I can't remember or have never heard of. (I'll stick to my affordable jeans, hoodies, and skater shoes.) Adults, teenagers, and their dogs all wear high end designer everything here. We went into quite a few shops here to find the right purse for my mom and within the price range afforded. It was great! I got a small taste of what it is like to be a, as we American youth would say, "balla" and what it is like to "roll like a playa." I had a few hot women staff members stroll around in different purses under the guise that I had a lot of money and was going to buy a few things. They pranced and twirled around for me and struck a few poses. Some wanted to try the purses on while they sat in my lap... man they wanted me!(Okay I made up the last part.) I loved it nonetheless! Eventually I settled on a Gucci purse but decided to milk the experience a little longer with a little goading from my roommate. Alex told me that sometimes the staff will bring water or soda to you on a silver platter. So I asked the guy if they had water because I was a little "parched", and viola 5 minutes later we were being treated to a 10 dollar bottle of designer water on a silver platter for free. Being rich sure is fun. After purchasing my purse, I mean mother's purse, I took the gift wrapped treasure outside towards reality, also known as being a broke college student. However, I made this cute little Asian staff member try on one more purse which was on a shelf just out of her reach. It was fun to watch her strut her stuff after a few minutes of jumping up and down to get the purse down. I don't think any of the males reading this blog would disagree with my actions.

The spires on the Duomo.

A model or art shoot in the plaza outside the Duomo.

This is the photo shoot crew tending to the model after she ate pavement from slipping on her shoes. The shoes can be seen in the hands of the guy who is running towards the camera.

The shopping arcade next to the Duomo.

In the arcade there are pictures of various astrological birth signs. In Italy it's good luck to step on Taurus' testicles and spin. If you look there is actually a divit in the ground from where people have done this over the past years. I think there are some underlying hostile feelings toward men in this country.

A statue of Leonardo just outside of the arcade.

One of the Armani stores in the Quadrilatero.

Final stop, home.