We Have Arrived!

Well, we have finally arrived in Bella Italia! We left Orlando yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon around 3:00pm and arrived here in Milan on Wednesday morning around 10:00am local time (4:00am Fla time). It was a rather long flight, but we all managed to survive despite the cramped quarters and crying babies. Eric sang Boss tunes, Matt read more in the guide book and I kept trying to learn Italian. We all managed to grab a few hours rest also. And it was a good thing to, as we have not stopped since we hit the ground!

We got our bags, went through customs and took a bus from the airport into downtown Milan which took about an hour. Milan is a very interesting city. It has the feel of a SoHo or Greenwich Village in Manhattan, but alot cleaner. Our first stop was the central train station where we wandered around for a bit, looking for the Metro station. We finally stopped and asked for directions... After finding the Metro, we bought our day passes and headed for the hostel. We dropped our bags, changed clothes and headed out on the town.

Matt had broken down our day into an efficient series of activities that Eric and I could not argue with. We made our way to the Leonardo "Nard Dawg" Da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology. It was a collection of his design concepts brought to life in 3d models as well as a few paintings and other random things that didnt seem to belong. But we didnt ask questions. We only had about an hour before we had to make our way to Santa Maria delle Gratzie, the home of Da Vinci's The Last Supper or Cenacolo as the Italians call it. After a short wait, we went through a series of closed rooms designed to filter out air impurities before reaching the painting. There is really only one word to describe all of our reactions; complete and utter awe. We learned lots about the painting, and I'm sure I could bore you with all the details some other time (my bed is calling me, so I will keep this brief... well, at least a little more brief). Suffice it to say that this work is truly a masterpiece, and one that you cannot fully appreciate until you are standing in its presence. Awesome experience!

Next was Il Duomo, Milan's main cathederal. We stepped out of the metro station and boom, there it was, in all its glory. This thing is massive. At over 150,000 square feet, it is the world's 4th largest church. It took over 400 years to build and can hold 40,000 people (the entire population of Milan at the time of its contruction). We were hoping to take a tour up to the roof, but it was closed due to restoration. We took a nice long stroll inside and gawked at all of stained glass and carved marble. There were giant pillars, 52 of them to be exact, all over 100 feet tall. The cathedral also housed relics of Jesus as well as tombs of old Italian kings and cardinals. We all decided that it was pretty extravagant and unnecessary, but incredibly beautiful nonetheless.

By this time we were all feeling a little run down, so we decided to stop for an early dinner. We found out later that it was especially early. We found a resturant and got a table around 6:00pm and were curious as to why we were the only ones in the entire place. Apparently, people who really know what they are doing do not show up for dinner until closer to 8:00pm. Oops! Anyway, we shared our first bottle of real Italian wine, a Niro Negro red from the Lombardi Region (which is the region we are currently in). We shared a plate of bruschetta and we each ordered a plate of pasta. Not sure exactly how it happened, but three and half hours passed before we got up from the table. Perhaps the friendly hostess that kept talking to us and then gave us free after-dinner drinks had something to do with it. It was a slow night for them and we decided that she wanted us to stay so that they looked busier. I prefer the theory that we were just particularly handsome young men and she wanted us around for her own enjoyment. Anyway, it was a long and very nice beginnig to our Italian eating tour.

On our way back to the hostel, we stopped for (what else) gelato. After we had gotten our goodies and walked outside the shop, we stopped to sample each others choices. Each held their own gelato while the other took a big lick. It did not really occur to us until it was too late that we looked like a flaming tourist trio during this little exercise. Oh well... We wandered in the direction of what we hoped was another metro station and found ourselves walking down a very picturesque pedestrian street. After a metro ride and short walk, we made it back to our beds. Speaking of which, mine is calling me.

Tomorrow we head to Lake Como and our cooking class. Should be interesting... Miss and love you all!

Eric, Justin and Matt