Like all new cities we encounter, accommodation is the first order of business, and in Milan it was no different. All of the guide books indicated that it would be expensive and there were only a few affordable ones that they recommended, as others are really fronts for rooms you can rent by the hour. However, it was not long before I was able to find Ada Hotel (half a block right outside the central Train Station), a fantastically family run two star hotel for 50 Euros a night with a very clean and sizable bathroom. A little bargaining was needed but we were more than happy with the extremely friendly owner, she was very nice and helpful. We highly recommend this hotel to anyone who is travelling to or through Milan.
The tickets to the opera at the Teatro Alla Scalla are supposed to be the hardest to obtain in the country as Alla Scalla is regarded as the world’s most famous opera house. It is common to book months ahead, although some tickets may be available on the day of the performances and the prices of the tickets are not for budget travellers. The interior is under copyright so taking a picture inside was a definite “No no”. We were extremely lucky, as the day we went to the ticket office, there was a matinee of the opera play “Don Giovanni” and to our surprise there were even some tickets left. Even better than that, we got two seats on the main floor for an unheard of 25 Euros each; these would normally be 170 Euros each. We could not pass on that opportunity and snatched the tickets on the spot. We did not really know what to expect, as we have not really perfected our Italian just yet. To our pleasant surprise, in front of each seat is a screen that translated the Italian Opera for us. All of the performers were great, and the 4 hour performance flew by. What a treat!
The other thing we had wanted to see was Da Vinci’s Last Supper and we had to stay in Milan an extra day thus eliminating our scheduled visit to Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. There were really no signs to direct you to the Cenacolo Vinciano Church and it took us a lot longer to find it than we would have liked. Our reservation was for 2:15 p.m. and we gave ourselves ample amount of time to get there, or so we thought. After losing our map and finding the tourist office closed for the afternoon siesta, it was panic time. We must have asked about half a dozen people before we finally made our way to the main entrance with only a minute to spare. Hot and sweaty from the rush, we paid the 8 Euros each and entered into chamber after chamber of glass before we entered into the room where Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” is on display. It was a lot smaller than I had imagined, and it is in really bad condition, faint and very gloomy. It was not worth the 8 Euros let alone missing Neuschwanstein for it. Besides that, the 15 minutes that you get to view it, along with about 20 other people made us feel very rushed and a bit ripped off. Unlike the galleries/museums in Florence and Rome where you can spend as much time as you like once you have paid, this was very disappointing.
We spent a couple of days in Milan just checking out the fashion scene and figured that we were “not Sexy enough for Milan” (there’s only so much you can bring in your bag when you’re travelling for a year). See for yourself.
Since we were only steps away from the Central Station, we ventured to Verona for a day, home of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Verona is only a two hour train ride east of Milan, so we boarded an early train on our second day in Milan to check out the sites and sounds of what is considered to be Italy’s prettiest city. At one point in time it was also know as “Little Rome”. To our surprise, Verona was a lot bigger and busier than we had thought. It was a nice day trip, as I even met Juliet herself.
Chunger the Unemployed Bum
No comments:
Post a Comment