We had a great sleep as you do in these grade of hotels and feeling refreshed we headed with anticipation to a breakfast that looked better than the reality of the eating. It wasn’t bad at all, just not super wonderful. Whilst there was a great selection of sweet pastries and cakes and three types of croissant, none were worth the bite (I like to sample and then determine whether it is worth eating more for the calories). Meat and cheese selection was ok with a few italian classics smoked raw beef, mortadella, Parma and sopressa. Nice to have some fresh mozzarella which I paired of course with some tomatoes.
The day was another baker of 34 and whilst it would have taken only about 25-30 minutes to walk to the Duomo and we kind of need the exercise for our intake …. we thought it more common sense to take reception’s advice of a subway on the cathedral yellow line, which meant a 6 minute walk to the station and a 1.50 ticket. This suited Vern fine as he wanted to explore the impressive building some more. We made our way there in the shade and navigated the literally thousand odd other travelers like moles a couple of levels underground to the metro platform. Outside the station last night we noticed (and again today) army trucks staffed with fully armed personnel guarding the entry and doing rounds of the station. It is a little unnerving but at least they take things seriously.
When we popped out of the metro at the other end into the sunlight we were greeted by the magnificanet sight of the lacy white Duomo set in a square surrounded by grand old buildings including the Victor Emanuel shopping mall. Along with the view were lots of other tourists and a few pigeons. I did some photos and then we made our way to the ticket shop and queued for approximately 35 minutes in a hot room to get our tickets. Milan was one thing where I dropped the ball in pre-booking. I had seen lots of tours that did the Duomo, and ‘The Last Supper’ and really didnt expect them all to be fully booked but they were for up to a week! We had also scheduled to see the ‘Monumental Cemetry’ but as rotten timing would have it – they happen to be closed on a Monday. Nevermind, as we say there is always hopefully another time and if we run out of things to do today then rest would not be a bad option.
Once we had our tickets we entered another queue in the sun for a security check before being allowed inside the Duomo. This was carried out by regularly rotated armed army personnel doing a thorough job. They made all visitors drink a sip out of any liquid they had on them – water, baby bottles etc. Some other items larger than 100ml were confiscated and thrown in bins – a lady in front of us lost quite a few toiletry items. It wasn’t so bad waiting as you had time to look at the amazing detail on the outside of the building – which is only second to the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
That first impression when you go inside is definitely a wow one. I would describe it as one of grandeur together with the sensation of its size. From there you are presented with a fully marble building with a lot of beautiful glass in long panels depicting numerous biblical stories. There is clever use of colour contrast of the panels – so one will have a purple theme to the window, another may be in greens with highlight colours and so on. Your entry ticket gives you access to an old Paleo Christian church underneath the Duomo where they have discovered some amazing Roman ruins (as recently as the 1990’s). There is even a tiled big baptistery pool from the early Christians, tombs, and other artifacts. We almost enjoyed wandering around there as much as above – it made me think of the early church history and I wonder what it was like back then? This particular Paleo Christian period is around 200-300 AD.
As part of our premium tickets we could take the lift up to the roof verses the stairs. Great idea in this heat for sure however, this meant exiting the Duomo and going outside to the back and participating in another queue (albeit in shade but still hot) and a new security check. Once out of the lift there are a few steps and you are on the lower part of the roof, some nice stairs more you get to walk on the very top spine! We also loved the rooftop experience as it is rather a unique thing to wander around on top of a tall cathedral and the beauty in the varied detail everywhere you rested your eyes was exciting. Vernon queried why they would have gone to such lengths given most would not have gone up so high and a lot of the detail would not be visible from down below, even with binoculars? Maybe some further research sometime wil answer that one. One of the key things I like about the historical art over here is there are no rules on repeating patterns or what colour to put with what, or mixing shapes – or perhaps the rule is there is no rule! On the Duomo if you look at the detail – in rows of sculpture there will be differences to each flower or shape within a row or a line or theme. Just awesome.
After decending we headed for some liquids and a look at the Victor Emmanuel Galleria (shopping arcade) next door. This is another magnificent building c. 1861, and the oldest ‘shopping mall’ in the world. It is four stories high and has impressive glass and iron work in large domes and arcade roofing. On the floor is lovely mosaic work, including a ‘bull’ which myth has if you spin on your heel on his testicle you will have good luck. We don’t feel the need to partake in this custom but it was fun watching others to do it.
Having spent probably 2hrs in queues (including metro ticket lines) and also taking our time to enjoy the whole Duomo experience unrushed, there was little time left over of the day so we grabbed an early dinner – late lunch at 5:15pm before collecting our bags and getting the train to our next destination Verona. My original plan was to knock off Milan in the morning and transit early afternoon. Despite being semi experienced with travel planning I have to admit I have had amnesia about the amount of time some of these things take, and have underestimated timings in general. The result is a somewhat busy itinerary and very full on pace. We have asked ourselves if its the heat, or our age or both – but we are just not able to fit the same amount in as we have done on previous trips and are feeling more tired, and like its a lot more effort to push through some days (keep going till 11pm). I do think the heat is affecting both our mental and physical stamina quite a bit – we have had pretty much non stop – except for UK, Chamonix, Luzern and a couple of days in the Netherlands – of 30+ degrees.
Anyway, now I have done the confession and sought some sympathy for our summer in Europe 🙂 dinner was worth a note. We scanned some places near the station and found a simple traditional place on the corner. We just got an iced coffee each and shared a pizza but OMG both were worthy of the NOM NOM award. The coffee was lovely with a good brew and ice cream and cream and the pizza was one of the best we have ever had. I chose a mozzarella, blue cheese, cream, italian sausage and saffron flavour at 13 euro. Not only was the combination of flavours superb, the dough was almost flakey light, crispy on the edges where it needed to be and a soft chew to support the topping with a lightly crisp base. Milan is one of the best places we have eaten in Italy – and we ate a lot in 2013 from top to bottom!
Our train to Vernona left at 1835 and we had regular seats as the train is regional vs. bullet intercity. Accordingly there was no seat allocation and lucky dip for a seat or aircon. We lucked out on both accounts for the first 3/4 hour, and it transported our minds and bodies back to most uncomfortable memories of our trip from Bordeaux to Carcassone. We stood at the entry point at the end of a carriage and just melted – along with a few other poor travelers holding the door to the carriage open in order to try and get some air flow – even if it was pathetic whisps. I went on a reconnaissance for about 5 carriages and found some to air con, some not but there were no seats at the beginning regardless. Half way through the nearly 2 hour trip we did manage to score a couple of seats in an airconditioned carriage and felt as though we had won the lottery!
Once we were in a bearable temperature we could enjoy the scenery out the window. It now looks like we are in Italy, vs. the Swiss influenced scenery in both alpine France and Italy. There are lots of grapes, dryer golden pastures – plus irrigated green, Italian cypress and more modern (not stone, or hundreds of years old). We even got a peek at Lake Garde – which is a very popular large Nothern Italian lake, and the foot hills of the Dolomites in the distance. Vernona Porto Nova station is the main station in Verona and a close 13 minute walk to our accommodation. It is medium large but not a modern station and even though it was 8:30pm it was still very hot – bringing a sweat on within minutes of exiting the train. We noticed a lot of African looking people at train station and in cars which was unexpected this far north. The hotel is nice and airconditioned and on a Main Street only 6 minutes walk from the entry into the old town centre.
After settling into our very comfy room with a bidet (complete with complimentary female specific cleanser – love them) we headed out to grab a top up dinner snack at about 9:30pm at a small bar up the road recommended by reception. It was pretty cheap and semi cheerful – meaning not great but when you are tired and its late – you get what you can. We also got given a discount card by the hotel and this gave us 10% off – bringing our meal of lasagne and carbonara plus a wine and a beer to under 20 euro. What was more entertaining was the waiter who dropped glasses and plates about 5 times (smashing them) during our dining. Mmmmm me thinks reasonable cause drug and alcohol testing for him. He even got told off after the 4th time by a senior or boss person.
And despite being tired we enjoyed as is custom for us here a relaxed stroll in the warm evening in the golden glow of street lights reflecting the warm stone buildings and pavement, soaking up the atmosphere and being in the moment.
Travels with Valrock 