Milan: The Lost opportunity/Supper

17/5

Today is our last day in Milano and the blog is finally up to date as we have had good wifi for a few days and the photos/phone thing is still working by magic sometimes though not always.

Bored  with shopping we decided to see the important stuff in Milan like the Chiesa of Santa Maria Delle Grazie.  This church is well-known for its huge fresco of the Last Supper, one of Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpieces.  Unfortunately and we knew this beforehand,  you have to book ahead for tickets to see this great work and due to our #$%^& wifi issues of the last week, we were unable to do so. We thought we would go along and try to get in anyway just in case. No.

This is it sort of. It is actually a print outside the church where you cannot enter without a ticket but where this is displayed behind a locked gate. How symbolic. 

The church itself is quite beautiful

.

And then to Castello  Sforzesco  which is where World Expo 2015 will be held in Milan.

We caught the metro for our first time in Milan today and were able to see both the church and the Castello. 

Aside: The Metro is fantastic but I cannot see any way of discerning which way it is going. Fine once you are on but how do you tell prior?????????  Thankfully nice people have helped us with trains and directions every time we have used one.

The Castello was built in the 15th Century for Milan's ducal family and has amazing museums of beautiful paintings which we ignored.  All the Expo stuff was a bit weird as its theme has something to do with swallows (birds) which are around everywhere and all year round.  Personally I would have chosen a more interesting bird that was a bit more unique.

The first photos are of an expo/market type thing that is apparently on Saturdays until Expo to get into practice for the expo. (They need practice?)  They are like markets everywhere, and we even found cupcakes. (I have a radar)

sausages

cupcakes

the ubiquitous swallow in pink. Gab's favourite

Pork and a real pig in case you were in doubt

The castle

you can see the coloured swallows in the background at the foot of the wall, pink, green, yellow and blue.  Surreal.

 

 

and more shopping in the afternoon..

Look a real ferrari in the ferrari shop.

these seem to be the expo mascots or just statues in the street?

 In the streets, on a Saturday, we were assaulted by bubbles from bubble machines, huge noise from both people and blaring music but worst of all by smoke.  Still cannot get used to the numbers of people smoking. For such an advanced country, they are well behind Australia in their view of smoking and for that matter, the place of women in society, and consumerism in general.  Berlusconi has a lot to answer for.