Milan

This weekend we didn’t have any games because there was a tournament for the Italian National Team. Several players on my team were on this team and the Junior National Team so our coach gave us the weekend off. Elda went home to see her parents and friends for the weekend and invited me to join. She is from a city right outside of Milan so on Saturday and Sunday we explored Milan.

It is about a 3 hour train ride away from Forli and the only thing I really knew before visiting was that Milan is known for their shopping. But after spending the weekend there, I learned that although there is a lot of shopping... there is a lot more as well.  Here are some of the highlights from the weekend.

• We used many forms of transportation to get around the city. Train, tram, and metro. We bought a 24 hour pass for 5 euros that allowed us to use the transportation within Milan so we were easily able to get to different parts. And when I say easily, I use that word loosely. It was easy for Elda… I had no idea where we were going or when to get off. I just followed my excellent tour guide, Elda. We were able to go on the newest metro line that just opened 2 months ago. It is Elda’s favorite line, not only because it is new and the metro is nice… but because it is the Purple Line and therefore has lots of purple everywhere. 

•  Every major Italian city I have visited has an impressive Duomo or cathedral. Milan is no exception. The outside is beautiful and the inside is massive and just as beautiful. There were windows made with stained glass and mosaics and looked really pretty when the sun shone through. It was free to walk inside the church but you can’t wear thin tank top straps or short shorts. Don’t worry, Elda bought me a pair of pants I could wear inside the church just for this reason. 
  
  
  
  

• Next to the Duomo is the Novecento Museo which translates to 20^th century museum. Free entrance for people under the age of 25 and had a variety of different art from the 1900s. To walk to the different levels of the museum there was a cool spiral ramp and at the top you get a really great view of the Duomo and the city center. There was art from Picasso showcased, as well as other artists a non-educated art viewer has heard of. My favorite pieces were in the abstract art areas. There was a room you could walk in that had neon striped floors, mirrors that rotated slowly, and a strobe light that flashed that made the room look very “trippy.”  
  
  
  

  

  View of the Duomo from the Museum

  
  

  

  View of the Center from the Museum

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Fibonacci Sequence (the lights make it hard to see)

• In the center next to the Duomo and museum, there was a big concert going on. A very famous singer in Italy named Laura Pausini was performing and here is one of the songs I liked! It is called Limpido.
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• Apparently Milan is hosting the 2015 Expo next year. I am still unsure about what it is… even after looking it up online. But apparently it is a really big deal and it takes a year to prepare for. Everywhere around the city there are Expo 2015 signs and white tents around for the event. It definitely ruins the “Italian” environment with this, but because of this event, Milan is adding a modern touch to the city. The theme of the Expo is Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life. So I think they are trying to add a lot of water and a nature vibe. 

• I really enjoyed one of the newer areas that are a result of this Expo. There are lots of skyscrapers and a building that has actual trees growing out of each and every balcony. There are walkways around that are surrounded by water and random pieces of modern art. There was also the largest foosball table I have ever seen that could be played with at least 10 people on each side.

  

  Skyscrapers

  
  
  
  

  

  Water walkways

  
  

  

  Biggest Foosball Table I have ever seen

  
  

  

  Trees growing from each balcony

  
  

  

  Interesting sculpture.. and interesting people....

• I told Elda that my favorite cities I have visited are the ones by the water like Venice and Cinque Terre.  So she decided to take me to the canal in Milan.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• We also went to a couple of parks when we were tired from all of the walking and would sit or lay down to relax. She also wanted to show me that there are, in fact, green places in Milan. One of the times it was exactly noon when we laid down so we got to hear all of the bells chiming which made it even more relaxing.
  

• Elda warned me that she had a very small house. I told her that I have been in small houses before and then proceeded to emphasize that she has a small house even for Italians. She is an only child and lives with her mom and dad so it’s not like they need a huge house anyway. It was small but it was very nice. They have a cherry tree in their front yard so I got to enjoy a lot of delicious cherries. Her parents are very friendly and her mom’s English is very good as well! For dinner we had chicken and salad. In Italy, they all do their salads the same. Lettuce, salt, and olive oil. That’s it. They were asking me about salads we have in America and they couldn't believe all of the different types of salads we eat with the different dressings.

• We hung out with some of her friends on Saturday night and they were all very nice and wanted to practice their English so they all kept trying to talk to me about different things. I was very impressed by their English. Definitely better than my Italian even though I am still studying it.

• Milan is very different than the other Italian cities I have been to. Although it has the Duomo and the main city center which is similar, there are a lot of modern parts to it as well. When walking through other cities, the streets are usually lined with various food places. In Milan, there are some food places of course, but most of the places are shops. There was everything from fancy and expensive stores like Gucci and other brands I can’t spell to popular stores like H&M to other random cute clothing stores. Did I buy anything? We did go shopping and look in a lot of stores and try on clothes but the only thing I bought was a headband. I know, lame. But I love the headband! It’s a great headband. I wore it on Sunday so you can see the blue polka dot headband in some of the pictures.
  
  
  

  

  One of the typical shopping streets with "Expo" flags 

• The quote of the weekend from Elda to basically any place we went was, “I love this part of the city!” 

GELATO TRACKER

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