I've looked at Google Maps and I know how to get to our hotel in Milan, the Hotel Berna, but on the way we pass the Hotel Bernina on the opposite side of the street. Seriously? I check the name of my hotel on my phone again and yes, we ARE in the Berna, keep walking.
We leave our bags because it's early and our room isn't ready yet. We're taking the Metro to the Milan Duomo (remember, that means "biggest church in town"). McDonald's is on the corner and we're ready for a burger again. Burger down and then down into the subway we go.
It only costs $1.50e each to get to where we are going. It takes about 4 minutes to figure out that we are looking for the name of the last stop on the line to get going the correct direction and to figure out how much to put into the machine for a ticket that will get us through the gates and into the train area. Train arrives and we see our stop is about 4 stops away. Great sign that tells you where the train is headed and when it will get here.
This church is big. Its so big they are calling it the 4th largest church in Europe. I would consider it the most ornate church on the outside that we have seen. I'll just show you some of Karen's great camera work so you can see for yourself.
Once again we got to go outside on the top of the church for close-ups of the thousands of spires and for great views of the cities.
These walking stairs are not as worn as the ones in Pisa
Us amongst the spires taken by me
Us amongst the spires taken by someone else
The church looked great inside.
There were 3 guys waiting for you as you tried to enter. They made sure all the ladies had their knees and "most" of their breasts covered. No one could wear shorts into their church.
We rented a headset and listened to a few explanations of what we were seeing inside.
This line was on the wall and floor and was actually a time-of-the-year indicator. The sun would shine through a hole in the wall and would pass over the line indicating what month it was. The months were indicated by the signs of the Zodiac on the floor. Astrology in a Church? Really? This needs more research.
Those are pulpits on either side of the aisles
Back of the church looking toward the pulpits
It is hard to believe that we would see TWO buildings along our trip that look almost identical but such is the case. In Naples we walked into a Galleria and here in Milan we see almost the same building next to the Duomo. Both of these buildings have their rooms made of skylights with a dome in the center section. They are both in the shape of a "+" sign also and open on all 4 ends.
There ARE a few things that were different however. Naples did not have THESE shops.
We walked around a bit more on the streets radiating away from the Duomo Plaza area. We found the Teatro alla Scala, the most renowned opera house in the world. There it is across the street.
Across the street in the square is a statue of Leonardo da Vinci.
This was kinda cool looking.
Hey, what's playing at the movies in Milan this week?
There was a very high-end store across from the Duomo with a food court on the 7th floor. We wound our way around each of the floors and ended up on the 7th and took a picture of the Duomo from here.
Models in Milan
Within the shadow of the Duomo we had dinner on a busy walking street. Penna pasta for Karen and something for me.
It was still early (for us) so we shopped this pedestrian area and found a Disney Store.
Eventually we took a subway to the hotel and and got to see our new digs for the next few days.
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