We began our adventure right away. I took them home to check out casa chez Valcich (how's that for a variety of languages?) and then we went out exploring Basel a bit. I took them to places I thought they would enjoy - along the river and over the bridge, to the open air market in the middle of the city, inside the old post office and to the Munster (Cathedral). I admit - I was starting to get used to life here and the novelty and excitement of Basel had worn off a bit so it was wonderful to experience it again through their eyes and realize how fortunate I am to live here. It truly is a beautiful place.
We had a nice lunch then came back to Chez Valcich so they could catch their breath. I made dinner that night and tucked them in - we were off to Milano early on Thursday morning.
I was very anxious about our trip to Milan given that Rob had to work and I had never been there AND my mom has a severe cheese allergy - meaning emergency room. So I did my homework and had with me how to say NO CHEESE - SEVERE ALLERGY in 3 languages tucked securely in my bag. To my delight, we had no problems getting there or getting around the first day. Yes I was the total tourist with my map out every 5 minutes but it was worth it to me to keep my mom and Joy and me on track and too turned around. We had a nice lunch (no cheese problems!) then went for a walk. We saw the outside of LaScala Opera House and a beautiful piazza across form it featuring a statue of DaVinci. We walked through a shopping aracade (Prada, Louis, D&G = I did not shop!) and into the Doumo piazza. The Doumo is a magnificent gothic cathedral. One of the largest we have seen and certainly one of the most beautiful from the outside. I was a bit disappointed that work was being done on the facade so we didn't have a clear view of the front. But it was spectacular just the same.
We had a very nice dinner on Thursday night in our lovely hotel (Windsor Milano - oops - I think that is probably a British chain but it was the nicest hotel that I have stayed in in Europe) with lots of fun LaGreca ladies conversation. It was wonderful.
Friday our goal was to visit the Last Supper and the interior of the La Scala theater. We went to the La Scala museum. I had my doubts about this one but I really really enjoyed it. The museum had all sorts of artifacts from operas past. Beautiful costumes, intricate sketches of scenes, old instruments and busts and photos of people intrgral to opera history. At the conclusion of our tour, we tiptoed into a small box where we could view see dancers practicing a ballet in the midst of the theatre. The theater was completely elegant in red and gold. I could easily picture the elite of Milan stepping out in their best to attend an opera. I made it a goal of mine that morning to one day come back and see an opera there.
Next on to the Last Supper. That was a trek but Mom and Joy were troopers - it was a very warm day and we probably walked about a half hour after past La Scala. Imagine our disappointment when arrived and were told that it was sold out and no tickets were available until Tuesday. I was most disappointed for my mom. I have been fortunate enough to see so many incredible works of art in the past 6 months but I knew that she would have loved to have seen this. So we went outside and bought a few little trinkets from a little Italian man outside the building. By some miracle, this little man was able to hook us up with tickets - 2 of them. Which was a bit unfair given that there were three of us. Joy and I both knew that Mom would go. I wanted Joy to go because I had already seen so many beautiful works of art. But she graciously let me go with Mom as she is coming back to Italia in September.
The Last Supper is as one would imagine - breathtaking. It is huge - covering most of the wall next to the Santa Maria delle Grazie church. It was amazing. I felt so fortunate to be able to see this. And saw so much more in the actual painting than I had ever seen in any replica. It was beautiful - so many colors and with delicate expressions on each face. Mom and I both agreed that the person to Jesus' right certainly did look like a woman.
So with this wonderful start to our day, we went back to the hotel to scoop up Rob who had come to meet us then set back out on the town. We saw many other beautiful parts of Milan - the Castello Sforzesco, a pretty park and Via Spiga - a shopping street with some of the top names in fashion. Again - no purchases here but a lot of window shopping.
We had another great dinner that night at the suggestion of our concierge. My dinner melted in my mouth! I'm not sure how Italian it was but it was certainly delicious - crepes with shrimp and truffle shavings in a white wine butter sauce. Woah! So very good. Along with warm hospitality, good wine and smiles and laughs with my favorite people, it was perfect
The next day, we headed back to Basel. The train trips in Switzerland are not your basic Amtrak Washington-New York style. Looking out the window allows you to see snow peeked mountain, clam lakes and the greenest pastures. At one point, we went through a tunnel and when we came out on the other side, we saw a dusting of snow on everything. It was probably only for a mile or so but it was beautiful and freshly fallen.
We took a quick detour in Berne to collect some souvenirs for Joy and Mom so I was able to quickly introduce them to my favorite Swiss city.
The visit went way too fast but I know that all of us have wonderful memories to share and recollect for years to come. I hope that the trip whetted Joy's appetitive for the amazing experiences she will have when she comes back with Ben in September and I hope that Mom enjoyed it enough to one day come back and bring my Dad.
No comments:
Post a Comment