Ciao Ciao!

I think winter is rolling in. Officially, the sun rose at 7:13 and set at 6:23. And I was up before sunrise! From now on, I think I'll just say that. The conversation will go something like this: "What time did you get up this morning?" And then I'll say, "It was before sunrise, so I dunno...pretty early." Am I the only one who finds this amusing? All this to say, the weather seems to be getting crummier, so maybe, just maybe, you'll find more posts coming soon. Maybe.

Anyway, down to business. LOTS has happened since I posted last. My mom has come to visit...twice. My dad made his maiden voyage to London. Jason has traveled halfway around the world and back (literally). And I've worked 5 whole days this week! So much for part-time, eh? My fabulous Aunt Margaret is coming next week! The last time we hot footed around Europe together was when I was in college...who knows what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into now :)

Lets see...where to begin. OK, so I know ALL of you are just on pins and needles waiting to find out where we went last weekend...all two of you. Jason was in Paris and then Milan two weeks ago on business, so we decided I'd just fly up to Milan for the weekend (EasyJet really is easy). After a 8 hour door to door commute...don't ask...I made it to the hotel in Milan at 2:30am. Let's just say my first 3 hours back to Italy were not the highlight of the weekend. But it was ITALY! My first trip back to Italia since HUF...when was that...almost 7 years ago?? Sheesh. We didn't really have any plans for the weekend, just play tourist. I bought a cheap book about Milan and the lake region (which we WILL visit someday...Lago di Como is calling my name...) and we just set out to do as much of their "top 10" list as we could. Did I mention it was the final weekend of fashion week??? My "Devil Wears Prada" moments keep on coming.

So here's the Duomo. Notice the brellies everywhere (yes that's what the Brits call an umbrella)...started out a gloomy day. We were convinced we should just go back to London...we can get this kind of weather there!

This is inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle. Basically just a shopping mall. But doesn't "gallerie" sound so much more dignified? This one was built in the late 19th century...are there any shopping malls in your area that are this old???? Show me. I dare you.

Ahhhh yes, the Duomo. It was started in 1386, and finished in 1813...yup that's nearly 430 years of construction. And you think road construction in Houston is bad.

This is me experimenting with iPhoto. I heart iPhoto. You don't even really need a fancy schmancy camera...just a super sweet awesome iMac...don't get me started.

Probably THE coolest thing about Milan's Duomo is that you can climb up ONTO the roof of the actual building. Not just the top to admire the view, you can actually walk around ON the roof!

Awesome closeups of the architecture...

Beautiful views of the city...

Look, he's waving! Ciao Milano!!

OK, now this building. This is the Torre Velasca. Basically a 1950's version of an Italian skyscraper. They thought they were cool by making the top floors wider than the rest of the building...but from what I've read, this thing costs a fortune to maintain. Oops.

Hi Jason!!

This is Castello Sforzesco...an Italian castle, right?? Started in 1451, but they had to basically rebuild it after WWI, along with most of the city. It is free to walk around the grounds, but you have to pay to get into the art museum. There was some kind of political conference when we were there...camera crews and all, but they let us tourists keep walkin around amongst everything. So hospitable.

Vorrei un gelato, per favore!

This little church. Ha. So the number one thing to do in Milan is BOOK AHEAD and go see DaVinci's Last Supper painting. I mean book wayyyy ahead. Don't just email and enquire about it, don't try to book the night before you go. This was September, people, and the place was booked up for 2 weeks. I can't imagine trying to go see it during the summer. ANYWAY. If you can't get in to see the painting, this beautiful little church is just next door in the same piazza. It is called Santa Marie delle Grazie and it is worth the walk over.

Next church (come on, its Italy, that's what you do is visit old churches). This is the baptistry of Sant'Ambrogio. Fun memory, a cute little elderly couple was getting married when we walked in. That's right, the church was still open for tourists! Only Italy, right? Anyway, it was started in 379 and pretty much finished in 1080. Pretty amazing structure.

You might not believe me, but all of these photos were taken on the same day. This was just day 1 in Milan for me. Sorry, no pics of day 2...that was reserved for shopping and eating :) I can't count how many cappuccinos (or is it cappuccini?) I had in the under-48-hours I was there...maybe 8?

Buona sera, Milano. We'll be back soon...