The trip did not fail to amuse; in fact, my mother-in-law was accosted by a faux gladiator who was quite the braggadocio, we were involved in a car accident (the upside to which was seeing an Italian police officer in jodhpurs), and I was called a fascist!
Because I'm quite behind in posting, commentary will be kept to a minimum for this post otherwise I'll be overwhelmed by the idea of never coming up to date.
Day One:
After picnicking at a small town on the German/Swiss border, we meandered our way through the Alps and Lake country to Milan where we spent the night.
While in Milan, we visited the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie where da Vinci's 'Last Supper' is to be found but not photographed.
We also visited the Milan Cathedral, a Gothic example of architecture that manages to be grand, airy and delicate all at once. Last year, the kiddos and Jeff climbed to the roof to enjoy the view (as did Tennyson in his time) but were most taken with the carved depictions of biblical events that adorn nearly every inch of the facade. Log even recalled a most disturbing depiction of David and Goliath that he spied last year and sought it out again! Below is a representation of Adam and Eve being banished from their Garden paradise.
After languishing in construction for over 450 years, the facade was completed on Napoleon's orders and roughly coincided with his being declared King of Italy in 1805. In honor of Napoleon, a statue of the diminutive self-declared emperor sits atop one of the cathedral's many spires.
Our visit coincided with the Milano Marathon, and we stood in the cathedral's square and cheered on runners.
Littlest giving her best supermodel pout!
The Galleria is impressive as it houses nearly every fashion house one can think of!
More to come in the following days!
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