We saw David!! And what an impressive specimen he is. The day started off fairly early because after yesterday's debacle, we did not want a repeat performance. We got to the Gallery at 7.45 am, and we were 42nd in line. (The Gallery opened at 8.20 am) We only had to wait 35 min to get in and once inside, David was extremely easy to find. Because we were early there were not too many people around him so we had some good photo opportunities. In saying that, Sean got 'spoken to' for trying to use a selfie stick and for using a flash. The Gallery was surprisingly small but filled with many beautiful sculptures and paintings. You had to pass David a few times to view the other exhibits so I took every opportunity to photograph him from every angle. It was a very satisfying experience.
After we left the gallery we decided to wander before heading off to Milan. As we were walking past a shoe store, a little old man came out, grabbed Sean and asked him to come inside. He sat Sean down, his daughter took off his shoes and he was handed a pair of handmade Italian shoes to try. The old man said he makes the shoes (not sure if this was true). During the fitting, the old man started to sing and dance whilst his daughter tried to bring some sort of nomality back into the situation by explaining how the shoes were made. Needless to say Sean bought the shoes at which time the old man started singing again and handed out biscuits. A sales ploy maybe but Sean loves the shoes.
We hit the road to Milan at 11.00 am. It was a 3 hour drive up the highway. We passed a lot of industrial areas but we also saw mountain ranges and houses in fields of yellow with a smattering of red. It was a quirky mix of landscapes.
Sean's commentary on the drive:
The A1 Autostrada, Firenze to Milan is an awesome drive, non stop except for occasional road works, 130km/h. Now that I have the cruise control system dialed I can basically drive the car using just the cruise control buttons on the Autostradas. Everyone just knows the road etiquette brilliantly, no aggro, no road rage, just people respecting other people and letting them through. You just do not use the fast lane unless you are doing in excess of the limit (though speed cameras will get you if you ignore the signs clearly marking them). People move over for merging vehicles, merging vehicles get up to speed at least to the 80km/h speed that trucks are limited to so that they just sit in the slow lanes, only on the odd occasion moving into other lanes when absolutely necessary. Got a toll ticket at Firenze, drove straight through to Milan, 299 kms in about 2.5 hours, 3.50Euro toll.
Back to me...
Back to me...
We arrived in Milan around 2.00pm and checked into our hotel. What a pleasant surprise. Modern decor, helpful friendly staff, we are on the 12th floor with a great view of the city and no weird smell or statues. We dropped our stuff and went for a walk. Italy never fails to surprise. The streets we were walking were similar to ones we have seen elsewhere until we walked around a corner and this amazing Piazza appeared with a huge 'Duomo' (church). Jaw dropping, mind blowing, we stood in awe of this structure. We thought the one in Firenze was great, wait till you see the photos of this one. There was also another ornate building with an arched entrance that was too beautiful to ignore. Inside were many top end designer stores and for Sean, his pot of gold - the Giro Trophy. A complete accidental discovery but a great one for him.
Tomorrow we are checking out the shopping district. It looks like quite a large area on the local map and it has it's own map with all the the designer stores marked for your convenience. After that we are heading to a place called Tortano to watch another stage of the Giro.
Big day ahead! Ciao.
Lorraine & Sean
PS. To the AAT team, I thought our pigeon problem was bad, we have nothing on the pigeons in the Piazza. The photos don't even come close to showing the number of birds in this place. I am sure there were more birds than people and surprisingly very little pigeon poo around.
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