Milan

Our last day in Italy is in Milan, the financial and fashion hub of Italy.  Milan is our jumping-off point for Belgium and our bike and barge tour.

Its fall fashion week in Milan and we see a couple of models posing for their photographers.

We arrive in time to buy groceries, take a walk in the neighbourhood park where young children play and old men play cards and bocce.

For our one full day, we choose to wander without a plan.  We discover 3 main places: the Duomo di Milano, its square and the shopping complexes around it; the University area in the Brera neighbourhood and its Accademia di Belle Arti; and the Castello Sforzesco.

The Milan cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. Its the largest church in Italy and the fifth largest Christian church in the world.   The stairs to the roof are closed on this day.

There are 3,400 statues,

135 gargoyles and 700 figures that decorate the exterior of the church.

During construction, canals were built in Milan for the sole purpose of transporting the pink-hued white marble from Lake Maggiore.

This is a replica of the Golden Madonna (Virgin Mary) that sits atop the highest point of the cathedral.  No building in Milan is permitted to be higher than the Madonna.

The inlaid marble floor is spectacular:

The Piazza del Duomo is the geographical center of the city and is surrounded by many magnificent buildings.

This is a casting of an Olive tree that hangs in the stairwell of a shopping mall on the piazza:

A covered walkway with high-end stores underneath:

As we stroll the streets beyond the duomo:

Prada's latest fashion offerings:

I hope you can see the feathers on these Prada's, through the glare of the glass windows:

Perfume shops are everywhere:

Flower street vendors are on every other corner with their colourful displays:

Someone needing money did this inexpensive creative attention-getter, hoping for coins from passers-by.  We notice many immigrants ... or perhaps refugees trying to make money by selling inexpensive items on the street ... a hard life:

We like this artwork on a concrete parking lot barrier:

Could this be some distant relative?

Nah....name's close but not close enough!

 Accademia di Belle Arti has 3 departments: visual arts, design & applied art, and communication and education in art.

Antonio Canova's statue of Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker.

                       

Castello Sforzesco was built in the 15th century by the Duke of Milan on the remains of a 14th-century fortification.   It now houses several of the city's museums and art collections.

The Siren's bridge:

We see this bird on the lake on the castle property and admire its green legs and feet.  Researching later, Paul learns its name is the Common Moorhen:

A lovely clock on one of the several castle gates:

A ready supply of ammunition:

There are many cats on the grounds and a sign tells us that the castle and a non-profit animal welfare agency have an agreement about the cats who appear to be well-fed and content.

The castle grounds are huge.  In one of the green spaces, we watch for quite a while as this cute dog plays soccer mostly with himself, using his chest and head at full speed to move it along.  He gets bored playing alone and runs it right up to whoever is closest to him for a kick or a throw.  Everyone obliges as he's irresistible:

Another day of lots of walking.  We get to cook our meal by flashlight again as the Airbnb host has not yet seen to what appears to be an electrical problem in the kitchen ... like camping!

We leave Italy, the birthplace of my father, with mixed feelings.  We saw so much, but so much more to see.  It certainly rivals Norway for being very expensive.  People in every other country we were in spoke at least some English ... many Italians, even young ones speak none, even when in a serving position.  We hope to return one day to visit other areas, such as Sicily.

Now it's on the plane to Brussels, train to Bruges and in a couple of days onto the bike and barge ... ending in Amsterdam.