An Unplanned Year

A driving day from Pedemonte to Milan, via a scenic drive around Lake Garda.
We assumed the first part of the drive would be the most stressful, with a large elevation gain and loss (1200m of each) and multiple switchbacks…… It wasn’t.

Driving alongside Lake Garda was stressful. Not only did we have to deal  with winding roads, multiple tunnels, narrow lanes and oncoming drivers who apparently couldn’t stay in their own lane, there were also cyclists and pedestrians, yes pedestrians in the  tunnels.

These pedestrians and cyclists often had no lights or reflective clothing!! As we were going from bright sunshine to a poorly lit tunnel, they were almost invisible.

In places there was a dedicated pedestrian/bike path, but they just didn’t use them. It was frustrating and partly terrifying.

If we can ignore the driving, it was a beautiful part of the world.

We then hit the plain, leaving the mountains behind.

Next stressful bit was navigating our  way into Milan. Sheila (our Google Maps/GPS voice) told us to take the exit, then suddenly there were three lane options. Kevin had no option but to continue with the lane we were in. A few back tracks and u-turns later we ended up on a 3m wide 2 way road. (!!) However we made it, unscathed and nobody beeped us.

We had our daily beer ar the corner bar, pizza later for dinner. Two busy days ahead.

15000 steps today and we weren’t even doing the Milan Marathon that disrupted public transport today.
Another example of “on time is late”, we planned to leave with enough time to stop for a coffee before our booked time at the Pinoteca Brera. We boarded our tram. 4 stops later the tram was stopped by barricades for the Milan Marathon and we had to disembark and walk the remaining 4km. We arrived a bit in advance of our entry time, but were admitted straight away. Pinoteca Brera is said to be a place where you can see the multiple great works of art in one place. There was also a Giorgio Armani exhibition in the gallery, gowns and suits situated amongst the art.

Among them, we saw:

• Pietà by Giovanni Bellini
• Montefeltro Altarpiece by Piero della Francesca
• Marriage of the Virgin by Raphael Sanzio
• Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio (did you know he’d murdered someone in Rome and painted this whilst on the run?)
• The Kiss by Francesco Hayez
• And more…

From there we headed to Sforza Castle. A Gothic/renaissance era castle that took 150yrs to build and dates back over 650yrs. The Sforza controlled this area until Napoleon came along.

The castle houses Rondanini Pietà, an unfinished statue by Michaelangelo-he died before finishing it.

From there we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed to the Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie to see Leonardo De Vinci’s The Last Supper and The Crucifixion by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano. 

We learned about the history of the church and that The Last Supper has been renovated multiple times, mainly because Leonardo painted it directly onto the wall, not using the recommended fresco technique. This meant that the paint started flaking and the painting deteriorating quickly.

On top of that, the convent was bombed during WW2 and was seriously damaged, but The Last Supper and the Crucifixion, both escaped major damage. The painted areas are the original parts that survived.

We then headed to the Duomo, stopping along the way at a number of historical/archaeological sites and interesting churches.

We made it to the largest Gothic cathedral in Europe and the third largest Cathedral in the world, Doumo Milan. (St.Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and St.Mary’s in Seville are #1&2).

After the Duomo we crossed the road to visit the Galleria, then headed home.

Our last day in Milan is a Monday. Most sites are closed on a Monday-we didn’t know this when we planned to be here on a Monday. So in anticipation of this we booked a walking food tour.

We got to the meeting point in plenty of time and grabbed a coffee/tea whilst we waited.

And the guide never showed.

We eventually got hold of the company and with conflicting stories the guide was either going to arrive soon, or had been in an accident and the tour was cancelled. They eventually all agreed that the tour wasn’t happening. A refund is pending.

It is frustrating to book and confirm something that takes up a good portion of your day, on the ome day you are somewhere, only for it to not eventuate.

So anyway, we took ourselves on a mini-food tour in the Navigli area.

And as the world’s worst “influencers” we only remembered to take a photo of the first stop! Arancini!

We also had Cotoletta di pollo (a crumbed chicken with paprika) with zucchini flowers. After eating enough to keep us happy we walked back to our accommodation, Kevin went to the barber and we’re having a couple of quiet hours out of the rain.