Another early wake up this morning at 6:45AM. We still aren’t quite adjusted to the time change and the fast pace of city life, but it seems to be getting easier. It also helped that Mom discovered the power button to close the outer shades so there was less light coming in during the night. Why we don’t have these at home I’ll never know. Mom also discovered the “Housekeeping” button but thank goodness no one knocked on our door at 3AM.
Showers and final repacking of our bags took a little time this morning. We then enjoyed our Mega Continental breakfast downstairs. Back up to the room for a short rest before hauling out bags downstairs and checking out. Most hotels in the area we stayed in will hold your bags so you can go do your thing (take a tour or what have you), and then return after checkout time has passed. We ditched our bags and headed back to Il Duomo one more time.
Because we had purchased our tour tickets ahead of time, we were able to jump the line with our guide and ride the elevator to the roof…well the lower roof anyway. The elevator only holds 6-8 people so it was very cozy. We reached the roof in short order and quickly took in a view of Milan. Our guide started to explain about the history of Il Duomo (Duomo means “house” in Italian) which celebrated it’s initial groundbreaking in 1386. It was considered “completed” in 1965, but renovation is constant. Our guide said you will never see Duomo without scaffolding ever again. *side note: the original cathedral was constructed in 355AD. Eventually it was destroyed by fire and the area rebuilt into what has become current day Il Duomo.
We met Antionetta who was our guide for Il Duomo Rooftop tour. There was another couple with us but they only spoke Spanish and ours was an English language tour. There was a little confusion and some frustration by our guide, but it sorted itself out and they tagged along, even though most of what she said was lost on them. It became a private tour which was incredible. We could ask all the questions we liked. I’m sure my mouth was hanging open most of the time. The marble alone I could have looked at for hours. All the while it seemed there were church bells ringing and made for a nice soundtrack for our tour.
Recent history of the Duomo: Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned King of Italy in the Duomo. The building escaped major damage during World War II, some statues falling from the spires and having to be replaced. The gold plated Madonnina is on top of the tallest spire of the Duomo. Until very recently, no buildings in Milan could be built taller than the Madonnina. Lastly, there are approximately 3400 statues, 135 gargoyles and 135 spires.
Our guide mentioned the absence of pigeons around The Duomo. The Piazza below is full of them…but not one live pigeon on the roof. Why? There is an electronic bird net that keeps them away from the building. There are three carved pigeons that are allowed to reside on the roof.
Our guide took us to the “upper” roof which consisted of walking up about 80 steps. The marble was worn from the footsteps of the many who had passed before. We spent some time up there and then made our way back down (that’s 80 more steps) towards the elevator. We took the elevator back to the street level and said good bye to Antionetta. Another stroll thru the Piazza and back to the hotel to pick up our luggage.
I ordered another taxi thru the “My Taxi” app and off we went to the Milan Train Station- Stazione Milano Centrale. This is the largest railway station in Europe and sends trains out all across Europe. During the building of the Stazione, Benito Mussolini became the Italian Prime Minister. He heavily influenced the construction to have the station represent the power of the Facist regime. This building is very gray and industrial looking.
Mom and I arrived early for our train, so took in some sights. It seems if there is any part of an empty building, a store will be opened within. I would never think of a train station as a place to purchase clothing or accessories, or even Sephora makeup; but it was all there for the buying. We restrained ourselves to a bottle of water for me and a Coke Zero for Mom.
The train station too is a great place to people watch. We almost got too involved watching people when I realized it was time to board our train! There are 24 tracks at this station and most were full. I saw the beautiful red high speed trains and was hopeful, but no. We ended up on a regional train that looked tired and aged. There was graffiti on the sides of some of the cars and the paint was faded in some places. We hopped aboard and found our seats in “first class” which I am not sure what made it first class but I didn’t want to go look.
The ride from Milan to Varenna was supposed to be about 70 minutes. It ended up being closer to 85 minutes. We had to watch carefully; the train only stops in Varenna for about 2 minutes for loading and unloading of passengers. The door handle stuck as I tried to lift it; and then it opened up and we were able to hop out.
It’s a brisk 15 minute walk to the Hotel Victoria from the train station. There are no sidewalks here to speak of, just narrow roads; some paved with asphalt, some with bricks. We made it to the hotel rolling our little bags behind us. Along the way we encountered a couple who would be joining us on our tour.
We checked into the hotel and were grateful to take off our shoes for a few minutes and sit down. Our room faces the church across the way; tomorrow I will be exploring it. There is also a church from the 11th century right next to the hotel that we will be peeking into tomorrow.
At 5PM we met with our tour group, I believe there are about 25 of us; all Americans and a few Canadians. Our guide is from Britain, her name is Sara and she is hilarious. Also no nonsense when the moment arises. We indulged in some “nibbles” as she called them: bread, sliced meats, peanuts and potato chips. After introductions and instructions for the next day, Sara took us on a short walk to the ferry where we would be able to pick up our taxi for rides along Lake Como. Tomorrow we are on our own until 6:15PM, then we meet at the bar next door for a drink and then off to dinner at a local’s home. More on that tomorrow.
You can’t get dinner served in Italy until at least 7PM. Mom and I dropped into the restaurant across the courtyard front hotel. I had Spaghetti ala Carbanara and Mom had Pizzoccheri, followed of course by Tiramisu for dessert. Tonight’s dessert was way better than last night’s. Not as soggy and less alcohol.
Tummies full, we dragged ourselves back to the room. I checked my watch; we walked over 10,000 steps today. WOW! I know we will feel it tomorrow…lots of stairs today, not just at Il Duomo, but here in Varenna as well. The town is on the side of a hill so there are lots of stairs and sloped streets (paved with stones or bricks).
I started writing this about an hour and half ago. Mom is asleep and I have the window cracked open for some fresh air. There were people at the restaurants in the courtyard, and their laughter would float up thru the window. Italians are a very expressive people, and can get very loud, very fast. But now it’s almost 12:30 and the only noise I hear is the wind through the tree outside the window. The church across the way tolls it bells every half hour. Fortunately, it stopped at 11PM. That would have made for a very long night!
Time to put my head on my pillow and let my body catch up from today. More tomorrow!
Ciao!
