We weren’t
sure how useful our last morning in Milan would be but an early rise meant we
could quickly get out and about. After packing our bags in readiness to leave
at noon, we headed out to a church where foreshortening had been used to astonishing
effect, making an area short of one metre look like 10 metres when viewed from
the entrance. We arrived at Santa Maria Presso di San Sotiro even before the
staff and so spent some time in a nearby cafe as they unlocked and prepared.
Though we’d had a sort of breakfast at the apartment, the lure of the menu was
too great and I sat down to a plate of scrambled eggs and toast while Johnny
had toast and jam. We made the mistake of ordering large cappuccinos, which for
unknown reasons came with a liberal dose of Nutella. Still, it did taste good.
Rather than
immediately returning to Santa Maria Presso di San Sotiro, we decided to see if
we could make it to San Mauritzio al Monastero Maggiore which had been closed yesterday
due to the transport strike. It was a rapid 20 minute walk away but my god it
was worth it. Every surface had been painted with some astonishing scenes. Some
of the work had been done by students of Leonardo Da Vinci and there was even
their version of the last supper over one of the doorways. My favourite part
was the deep blue sky studded with stars and deities. A little three year old
was being shown a wonderful panel of Noah’s ark by her mother and entranced by
the vista of animals, promptly escaped from her mother and began climbing over
the rope to get to them. This is a must see church for someone visiting Milan.
From here
we returned to Santa Maria Presso di San Sotiro and again it was worth the
walk. It was a total visual illusion. The architect and artists had perfectly
judged the vanishing point and the whole space was made to look so much larger
than it was.
It was
then, back to the apartment to collect our luggage and catch a taxi to the
central railway station. Johnny didn’t have much faith in the app, but it
worked a treat and a very nice taxi driver was soon pulling up outside. Unlike the
last guy, this one was a chatter and we found out a lot about him. He moved out
of central Milan once he had two children as a larger apartment was
prohibitively expensive. Though he is very close to the 67 year retirement age
there is no prospect of him retiring as his pernsion is pitiably small. His daughter
once had ongoing work but due to the economy not being in good shape she has
become a contractor and there are periods when there is no work and no income. His
son studied physics has had a scholarship to both Oxford and Tokyo universities
to complete his doctorate in radio telescopes. Thanks to the road works closing
the direct route to the railway station, we had taken the circular route, hence
the time to have this long conversation.
We were quite early for the train so like a few hundred others we sat outside in the sun and people watched. The railway station was of very grand proportions and had something of a martial flavour, decorated with forms that suggested the past glories of ancient Rome. Being quite early we had our choice of seats when we finally boarded. Johnny tried to find a luggage store but in the end we just stood our bags between the seats. This was a good solution up until the train suddenly filled with passengers. Eventually an animated young man told us that we would have to remove our luggage as he and his girlfriend needed the seats. “Where will we put them?” we asked. In the end, he heaved then up into an overhead locker for us.
After a while we got talking to the guys opposite and found out that they were both from Argentina and in Italy to study. He is studying dance and the girl is studying acting. He came to Italy via Norway, where he was planning to live and study with his girlfriend. When the relationship broke down he went back to Argentina and got together with this girl. Then suddenly he was granted a place in the university in Norway. After a few months he transferred to an Italian uni and his girlfriend also arrived here to be with him. Well, they were both very nice, and as with the taxi driver, our conversation with them made the journey memorable and pleasant. He also helped us to heave the cases down as we approached Como.
For a while we wondered if we might have to walk from the station to the hotel, as there were no taxis to be seen, eventually one did show. Well Johnny chose very well with this hotel. It was right on the lake front and very nice, even luxurious. The room was lovely etc but when I found that there was internet and that it was fast and free I wanted to kiss the reception staff!!
We quickly
ditched our bags and took off for an orienting tour of the town. It was Saturday
and clearly Como was the the place to be. The streets were full of both locals
and tourists enjoying themselves. We passed at least 5 areas with markets but
also the shops were open and the cafes were full. We walked well past the
lakeside area and even found the areas where the locals live and work.
Eventually
we circled back to the lakeside promenade, where Johnny wanted to check out the
times and ticketing for a lake cruise in the next couple of days. We could hear
the sound of a band and then suddenly, the whole scene changed as hundreds of old
returned soldiers all wearing something like khaki Austrian hunting caps (complete
with a feather and pinned with all the medals each man had won) came marching five abreast down the middle of the seafront promenade before turning up into the
town and disappearing into the distance. The police in front and behind ensured
that the traffic stopped and they could proceed safely. It being 11 November,
we guessed they might be marching for Remembrance Day but as the losing side.
