June 30, 2007

I got to spend the entire day in Milano (Milan)! As many of you fashion savvy readers know, Milan is recognized as the fashion capital of the world. As one would imagine, the shopping is quite incredible! Although I planned to devote a good portion of the day to exploring the shops, it would be a sin...literally....not to visit the Duomo, the third largest cathedral in the world. There was also a castle to visit and Santa Maria delle Grazie, the church were Da Vincis Last Supper is being restored (unfortunately we were not able to see the fresco, because you are required to book a viewing ahead of time). The castle (Castello Sforzesco) is a massive brick fortress with a huge grass moat surrounding its perimeter. I learned that it is actually a myth that moats were full of water. In fact, the majority were grass...I am quite sorry to squelch some of your allusions...I know that I felt a sense of loss at this newly acquired knowledge :-) So, I made myself visit these touristy sites first, before I plunged into the shops...which I knew would suck me in, with their shiny shoes, and colorful clothes :-)

I was not sorry to have taken a bit of time to explore the Duomo. It is absolutely massive, with hundreds of spires pointing towards the sky and thousands of (approximately 5,000) sculptures in the church. The artwork was also incredible to behold. The church is gothic in design and so was particularly elaborate. Architects and sculptures began work in 1386, but it was not completed until 1813...quite new by Italian standards! After about an hour of exploration, I said a brief prayer asking for forgiveness for the unadulterated consumerism that was about to take place, and set off in search of the shops :-)

The shopping was quite an adventure. I first visited the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, which is filled with many world famous boutiques, cafes, restaurants, and bookshops. The open-air Galleria is in the shape of a huge cross and is covered in beautiful frescos, painted high above the shops and with a glass dome letting in the afternoon light...it really was quite spectacular. However, I soon found that many of the shops were (just a bit!) out of my price range. So, I headed to H & M (a popular European clothing store..which is also in New York City) and bought a half a dozen new sun dresses, shoes, a couple of shirts, and a pair of capris...all for what one bottle of perfume at Gucci would have cost...I will not be taken in by expansive brand names :-) Now, there is only one problem: where am I to put all of this stuff???