July 2009
223 posts
AMSTERDAM
tomorrow.
bbq
last night E and I had the absolute pleasure of getting to attend an authentic German barbeque. it was so wonderful! we had steaks and all different kinds of sausages and some of the most delicious salads I have ever eaten. E and I brought a salad but it was surely put to shame.
all of the firms in our building were invited so we had a party of about twelve people. we arranged the table and...
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more Milan than you could ever want →
there are 293 photographs for day one. day two.
how did I not know about Wikitravel →
seriously. I am so excited about this I literally can’t sit in my chair.
“she’s a layer slob. that’s what you thought of me.”
– E
research
me: how did you get that?
E: I searched "Amsterdam guide pdf"
me: why did you search that?
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other people
on my trip I luckily got to meet four Australian guys and two girls from the Netherlands (= my roommates in the hotel). I really enjoyed hanging out with both groups because it was some of the only interacting I did the whole weekend. most of the people I talked to (even the people working at the restaurants in tourist-y areas) did not seem to speak any English at all.
it was so cool to talk to...
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end of the day
I had originally planned to keep walking and take the metro back to the central train station to catch my flight but in the end I decided to walk back to the station so that I could see the Milan that was north of the city central. it was neat to see a newer version of Milan and some of the high rise buildings too.
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Duomo day two
in addition to continuing to walk around the city, I decided to go back to the Duomo and pay the 6e to go onto the roof. I saw a photograph online of people literally on the gabled roof and decided that I needed to do this. plus the view was spectacular. the two foot wide tiny spiral stair up and up and endlessly up was quite suffocating and I almost thought I wouldn’t be able to make it. when...
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I don't think I was scandalously dressed
but it would seem so with how many looks I got. usually when you make eye contact with someone who you catch checking you out, you kind of look away so you don’t embarrass them for getting caught. Italian guys, I’ve found, do not get embarrassed and look away. old, young, it doesn’t matter. I actually had a guy look at me and then turn and look back again four times.
at first I thought maybe...
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day two in Milan
my second day in Milan was much slower than my first.
I planned to go out to the outer parts of Milan and see the Parco Sempione and the Giardini Public Gardens (both parks) and walk through the expensive shopping district. the parks were a huge success both because it was a beautiful day and because my feet were begging for sitting breaks more often than the day before.
unfortunately the...
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my favorite part of Milan
at this point in the day my feet were really hurting and I was trying to decide whether to go home, shower and see if anyone in the hotel wanted to go out for dinner and drinks or stay a bit longer and walk down to the Navigli neighborhood to see the da Vinci-designed canals.
I am so glad I kept walking.
the canals were full of clean crystal water and lined with shops and restaurants. I walked...
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some shopping
I asked the woman at the museum desk about where one of the markets I had heard about was on my map. she showed me but warned me that it might be wrapping up.*
I walked quickly over and was amazed by how many people there were here too. outside the actual tent area I could tell that there had once been fruit and vegetable stands all over because there was wasted food and trash everywhere. ...
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love Leonardo da Vinci
I walked a lot more through a lot different parts of Milan. I slowly made my way toward the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecina ‘Leonardo da Vinci (the Leonardo da Vinci Museum). the museum houses many exhibits on all kinds of different technologies and their histories. I saw exhibits on sound, the creation of musical instruments, time, clock making, jewelry making, robotics, genetics,...
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and then
I had a lot of churches that I wanted to see on my list. throughout my two days I saw S. Maria della Grazie, Santa Maria presso San Satiro, Sant’ Eustorgio, the Basilica di San Lorenzo, Basilica of San Simpliciano, Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio. I actually may have seen every church in Milan.
but the one that I most wanted to see the interior of was La Chiesa San Bernardino alle Ossa, the...
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Milan in Braille
after the Duomo I walked toward the Milan in Braille statue. this is a cool bronze model of Milan that has, presumably, descriptions of Milan’s main sights in Braille. it is really neat to look at because some of the most popular areas or the tallest peaks are all rubbed much shinier than some of the other parts.
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Duomo day one
the great Duomo is right through the other side of the Galleria. when you step out into the Piazza Duomo your breath quite literally gets taken away. the Milan Cathedral, which is the fourth largest cathedral in the world, looks as though it is made of ivory. it is so elaborately ornamented you almost don’t know where you direct your attention to. after I overcame the sensation of complete...
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gypsies
my mom and dad instilled in me a sufficient amount of paranoia about being robbed in Milan. apparently it is not uncommon for a band of gypsies to surround you and make you give them everything you have. they will even send their cute little children with quick nimble little evil pick-pocketing hands. even more alarmingly, D confirmed this for me before I left.
sufficit to say that I was...
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city center
I headed into the city center and actually accidentally walked right into the main tourist area. I was trying to walk around it and come into it later in the day but took a different way than my morning plan originally was supposed to take me and found myself right in the thick of it all.
I stopped for a while in the Piazza la Scala and watched people for a while before I entered into the...
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a note on traveling
I always have a lot of fun just walking around cities. I found out a lot of information about the day passes for Milan’s metro and bus system but eventually decided to never partake. walking everywhere allows you to see all of the city instead just what the tourists see. plus you get lost a lot more and stumble into things you hadn’t planned or take detours when you see things that interest...
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