We munched on pastries while we waited, and then we enjoyed a nice train ride to Milan, the second largest city in Italy.
It's definitely a city-city.
From the train station, we took the metro to the Duomo. Milan's Duomo is amazing. It is the fourth largest cathedral in the world!
This is Josh in front of it with some birds.
What's the story with the pigeons?
We were standing there taking pictures of the cathedral. A guy walked up and grabbed Josh's hand and shoved some seeds into it. All of a sudden, the birds attacked (the food). The guy started telling me to take pictures, so I did. Then, after the birds had eaten everything and flown off, the guy asked Josh for 3 euro. Uh, that's like 5 dollars. We were walking off, and the guy kept following us. So Josh gave him all the change he had in his pocket which amounted to a grand total of 60 cents, I believe.
Anyway, after that we explored the square we were in and the buildings around it. We went inside the cathedral which was really pretty and really big, but not as cool as the outside would lead you to believe.
After that, we took the metro to another stop where we walked to the Cimitero Monumentale di Milano. It's just a giant cemetery with really pretty tombs.
We walked around there for a while and then we went to go find the Last Supper.
Da Vinci's Last Supper painting is on a wall inside the dining hall of the monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie.
We had reservations made by my awesome mother. (Don't ask what the phone bill was when I made her call that place from home to get us spots to see it. . . ) We made sure we got there plenty early, since this was a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing that everyone should try to see in Italy. (Reserve months in advance.)
This painting is everywhere. I've seen countless prints of it all over the place. Everyone knows this painting.
But when you see it in person, it's totally different. When you walk into that room, it takes your breath away.
It's really deteriorated, but it's been restored. You can see the places the paint has chipped away. You can see how the painting actually looks like a continuation of the room it is in. You can picture Da Vinci in that room painting it years and years ago, not knowing that it would be one of the most famous images of all time.
And another cool thing: During WWII, the building was bombed, but that wall remained intact. It could have easily been demolished.
That was definitely the highlight of Milan.
We didn't have much else to do there, so we went back to the train station and ate crappy (yet somehow good enough for me to get two giant slices) train station pizza. We got back on the train for a few hours, and we ended up in Interlaken, Switzerland, around 10pm. It had been a long day!
We checked in to our hostel. It happened to be the highest-rated hostel in Switzerland, and we weren't disappointed. It was very clean, very organized, and had the friendliest staff I've ever met. It was wonderful. We stayed there for 4 nights (3 full days), and we loved our time in Switzerland. However, that is another blog post. Prepare yourself to hear about what might be my favorite country. . .
This is Josh in front of it with some birds.
 |
| Pigeons |
We were standing there taking pictures of the cathedral. A guy walked up and grabbed Josh's hand and shoved some seeds into it. All of a sudden, the birds attacked (the food). The guy started telling me to take pictures, so I did. Then, after the birds had eaten everything and flown off, the guy asked Josh for 3 euro. Uh, that's like 5 dollars. We were walking off, and the guy kept following us. So Josh gave him all the change he had in his pocket which amounted to a grand total of 60 cents, I believe.
Anyway, after that we explored the square we were in and the buildings around it. We went inside the cathedral which was really pretty and really big, but not as cool as the outside would lead you to believe.
After that, we took the metro to another stop where we walked to the Cimitero Monumentale di Milano. It's just a giant cemetery with really pretty tombs.
 |
| Cemetery |
Da Vinci's Last Supper painting is on a wall inside the dining hall of the monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie.
 |
| Santa Maria della Grazie |
 |
| Last Supper |
But when you see it in person, it's totally different. When you walk into that room, it takes your breath away.
It's really deteriorated, but it's been restored. You can see the places the paint has chipped away. You can see how the painting actually looks like a continuation of the room it is in. You can picture Da Vinci in that room painting it years and years ago, not knowing that it would be one of the most famous images of all time.
And another cool thing: During WWII, the building was bombed, but that wall remained intact. It could have easily been demolished.
That was definitely the highlight of Milan.
We didn't have much else to do there, so we went back to the train station and ate crappy (yet somehow good enough for me to get two giant slices) train station pizza. We got back on the train for a few hours, and we ended up in Interlaken, Switzerland, around 10pm. It had been a long day!
We checked in to our hostel. It happened to be the highest-rated hostel in Switzerland, and we weren't disappointed. It was very clean, very organized, and had the friendliest staff I've ever met. It was wonderful. We stayed there for 4 nights (3 full days), and we loved our time in Switzerland. However, that is another blog post. Prepare yourself to hear about what might be my favorite country. . .
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