Milan

Observations:
You can't get dinner anywhere before 7:00 p.m. (but it's worth the wait!); everybody smokes; there's no decaf coffee anywhere, ever!

Our hotel offers free breakfast.  We went down this morning expecting what we know in the US as a continental breakfast.  But this is Italy.  What a spread!  Quiche, eggplant, salads, beans, eggs, deli-style meats, bacon, half a dozen different kinds of breads, including croissants with various fillings, fresh fruits of all kinds (oranges and grapefruit peeled and sliced), yogurt, tortes, donuts, and more.  And, of course, delicious coffee.

We had an 8:30 reservation at Santa Maria delle Grazia church to see Leonardo da Vinci's actual Last Supper painting.  Da Vinci captures the moment at which Christ says to his disciples "...one of you will betray me."  The painting shows their reactions to his words.  Although the church was bombed during WWII, the wall on which the fresco is painted remained standing.  On this wall was a door which is now closed off.  However, if you look at the bottom of the painting in the center, you can see the top of the door frame.  Naturally, no photos are allowed.  We did take a picture of a replica of the painting which hangs outside the room of the original.

Afterwards we visited Castello Sforzesco, a castle once owned by the Sforzesco family, now a museum.  Housed there are many arcitectural artifacts, crypts of important people of the time, tapestries, furniture, works of art, including the Madonna Lia by Da Vinci, and a sculpture by Michelangelo.  Behind the castle is a lovely park with big trees that provide lots of shade, flowers, streams, and paths for walking or riding.  We only saw a portion of it.

Later we ventured to a canal area that went from pretty, but empty and dead at 5:30, to vibrant and crowded in the evening.  We had dinner outside at a lovely ristoranti, one of many along the canal. They gave us complimentary champagne, and I acutally drank my entire glass.  To say the food is fantastic is not doing it justice.

Picture of the Day:

At dinner, we had the best spot in the place, a little corner table surrounded by greenery.