1980 Milano/Milan (8/17/1980)

Sunday, August 17, 1980

Awoke at 07:30 and had our own breakfast of cookies and pretzels. Went off on a tour of Milano, first taking the subway to the Castello Sforzesco. Another tourist tried to help us find the way to the castle, but it turned out we knew where we were better.

Castello Sforzesco

Stamp with the Castello Sforzesco

The castle appeared to be closed for restoration, so we walked around to the back to see the large park and the Arch of Peace. Along the sidewalks were numerous neat graffiti, poetic-type sayings on poverty and death, all initialed by a "C.L." (?). The park didn't have as much litter as before, but they had set up stages all over. Found the back gates of the castle were open, so we went in to find they had set up a modern exhibition with snack bars. We hiked to the church of Santa Maria della Grazie to see Leonardo da Vinci's painting of "The Last Supper."

Santa Maria della Grazie

da Vinci's "Last Supper"

We hiked to the huge Piazza del Duomo with all its pigeons and the imposing cathedral. Kathy and I couldn't go in because we wore bell-cap sleeves! But Terry went in and apparently counted the supposedly 3000 plus statues and saw the stained glass windows up close. Kathy and I examined the bronze doors and the details of the Gothic exterior.

Duomo bronze doors

We walked through the Galleria, the covered shopping area, to see the La Scala Theater, famous for its operas.

Piazza della Scala (TAT)

We found the Brera Art Gallery and saw more art, even though it was only part of their collection (many parts closed off on Sundays). We returned to the Castello Metro station, and went back to the hotel.

Metro ticket from vendor

Metro ticket from machine

As Terry and. Kathy went up to get the bags from the room, I paid the bill. The hotel clerk was very reluctant to take my charge card because it was valid for four years and he thought that was impossible. He was sure something was wrong and felt the maximum was one year, but he finally accepted it.

Milano Map

Map of Milano

We had enough time to walk to the train station to catch the 11:05 train for Torino. It passed through rice paddy country with the tiny red-roofed towns, and you could see the snow covered Alps in the background. Arrived in Torino before 13:00, and started the long walk to the suburban train station. Stopped for grilled cheese and ham sandwiches which took quite a while because there were preparations for only two, and the kid wasn't sure how to make a third. And they served them to us on plates, so we ate half in the bar, and took the other half to go. Walked along one of Torino's major commercial streets and passed the Palazzo Madama and the Opera. Passed the church where the Shroud of Turin is kept, another palace, and one of the old gates of the city. Passed through the empty open/closed market area before reaching the station. Torino was really empty of people. We saw a tourist on a bike taking pictures with his camera. Ideal! We found we had just over an hour wait for the 15:00 train to Nole. I couldn't find any telephone in working order, so we decided to just go ahead to Nole. Took an old rusty electric train while the new diesels sat in the yard. Arrived in Nole just after 15:30 and couldn't find a phone. So we walked up to the P's house and no one was home. Not even at Gianni's apartment. So we went to the M's home, and fortunately they were there. They gave us espresso and pastries as they tried to figure out where the Ps had gone and how they might get in touch with them. The grandmother came and said they might be at Aldo's brother's place in the mountains. There apparently was no phone. Later Franco and Maresa arrived, and they were sent to find Aldo and Pina. Meanwhile, Teri, Nonna and we went for a walk into Nole, taking a roundabout route to the center of town, where we stopped in a bar for ice cream cones. Then we took a walk out to the edge of town to visit with Gemma and family. The grandson Mauro was the source of entertainment along with two dogs. There was also Mario, daughter Carla, and her husband Bepe. Returned to the M house to watch Clemente pick vegetables from their garden. As Teri made dinner, we sat on the balcony swing and read soap opera photo-comic magazines. Then Franco and Maresa arrived followed by Pina and Aldo. We all had dinner together, kind of a buffet with a salad with hot peppers, then steaks and zucchini, boiled eggs, spicy sardines, lamb chunks, artichokes and olives, then soup and fruit. Afterwards we all (10 of us) piled into three cars, and drove out to Lanzo for ice cream. Then we drove further to a public dance. They have a tent set up over a wood platform where couples ballroom danced to the music of a very young band. We watched for quite a while wishing we knew how to dance that way. There were young and old, and all types of couples, some very good dancers, and shufflers, and boy did their feet move fast! When the band took a break we decided to leave. Got home and were escorted to Gianni's apartment. He is off on vacation and was calling in every once in a while to see if I had arrived. We settled in, read the letters from Mommy and wrote a return letter. Then to bed.
Next: Torino/Turin.