Europe Vacation: Florence/Milan (final day)
I'm done with the Europe pics!! YAAAAY!! Here are a few from our last day there...
Thursday, February 9
We decided to try and sleep in a bit this morning, knowing it was our last chance to do so. What a luxury! At home we're always up by 7 at the latest, so I treasured the mornings when we could sleep in! We had just a little time to walk around in Florence before leaving for Milan, and I was thrilled that a children's clothing store I had seen on a night stroll (TAF) was open. In the window they had beautiful smocked dresses far out of our price range, but I spotted sweet, monogrammed handkerchiefs. What a sweet keepsake those could be for our girls (and from Florence, too!). I chose the white ones thinking that they might someday be used in wedding bouquets. Maybe I'll frame them until then. :) We strolled along the Ponte Vecchio, and I snapped some final shots of Florence.
We made our way to the train station and nearly missed our train to Milan. We had to run all the way down the platform to the LAST car. We were seated all of 1 minute before the train pulled out!
The afternoon was spent in Milan. We saw their duomo with many spires and over the top architecture commissioned by Mussolini. We went from there to find the location for our reservation to see The Last Supper and on the way found a place called "Shockolat," a gelato and chocolate shop. We ran in for a quick gelato (we hadn't had any lunch), and coffee. I, of course, ordered a cappuccino (which pegs you as a tourist when you order it after breakfast time), but I ordered it all the same, and got some funny smiles and smirks! What do I care? It tasted great!! The dark chocolate gelato was definitely my fave of the trip - I wished we had had time to really stop and enjoy it (and maybe get another cup!!), but we had to get to our reserved showing of The Last Supper.
It wasn't far. We waited our turn, listening to the audio guide recount the history of the art and artist. We were called up with a group of 15 or 20 - they keep groups small and visits brief to help with preservation - and walked through 2 rooms to be de-humidified. The art is not a painting on a canvas, nor is it a fresco. It was painted on the wall of the chapel after the paint was dry, so it has been restored several times. It's amazing, though, that has survived bombings and pillaging through the centuries. It was incredible to be so close, to see it span the length of that wall - to study the light, the hands, the gestures, the scene as a whole.
We were beat and enjoyed some down time (and free Internet) at the hotel for a bit before going to dinner at another Rick Steves suggested place (Ristorante da Bruno). It just so happened that it was super close to our hotel! We enjoyed a bottle of Chianti Classico, spaghetti carbonara (for me) and oso buco (for Nick), and FINALLY got my first and only tiramisu of the trip! I was so glad they had it!
