Day Two: Milan Cathedral and More

During our first full day in Italy, Jason headed out on an early morning run through Milan.  It must have been a treat to discover these often crowded spaces nearly empty.

This little courtyard was so enticing that we came back later as a family to wander.

The highlight must have been discovering the Milan Cathedral in the early morning light.

We headed right back to the cathedral not long after Jason returned, this time on metro.  

It's really difficult to capture the immensity of this beautiful structure in a photograph.

After passing through security and showing our immunization cards, we were able to step inside.  I personally loved how a "Covid Green Pass" was requisite for many of the places we visited.  Not only does it provide an incentive to immunize, but I felt much safer knowing that those around me were either vaccinated or had recently provided a negative test result.

Our favorite part of the cathedral was the rooftop.  What an amazing way to see Milan!  I'm so glad we thought ahead and reserved tickets.  (I'm still kicking myself for failing to do so for the Brunelleschi dome in Florence.)

I adore flying buttresses, almost as much as I love my girls.

Sure love my boys too!

Speaking of boys, we found this strategically placed lightning rod a bit hilarious.

From the top, you could see that the plaza was not particularly crowded.  Throughout our trip, we ran into very few foreign tourists from outside the EU.

The biggest crowds were definitely near the pigeons.  As you can imagine, Annika was in heaven chasing them all over the place.

Much to her extreme delight, someone gave her some treats to handfeed them as well.

Perfect place for a family photo.  Never imagined we'd snap this pic!

We then headed back inside to explore the baptistery excavation site directly beneath the cathedral.  It was awe-inspiring to imagine early Christians worshiping in this very spot for literally thousands of years.

Wandering Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, this time filled with people.

Quite hungry, we then picnicked in a city square until the wasps chased us away.  Talia was quite happy to feed her crumbs to the pigeons in a nearby park afterward.

From there, we headed back to the Castello Sforzesco.  We'd reserved tickets for Eli, Talia, Brooklyn and I to visit Il Corpo e l'Anima, da Donatello a Michelangelo: Scultura italiana del Rinascimento.  My favorite sculpture was this unfinished Rondanini Pieta by Michelangelo.  For me, the raw unfinished state evokes so much emotion.

I also loved this Madonna and Child, painted by Francesco Galli, a pupil of Da Vinci.

As for the kids, they were most delighted by the musical instruments.  

Who wants to tune this one?

For the horn lover in me.

Seems like this middle instrument would require some extra hands.

As for this harpsichord, it's got a built in cheat sheet.

The scientists out there might appreciate Galileo's compass.

Meanwhile, Annika and Jason were having a grand time on the castle grounds.  I'm not sure this is exactly what I meant when I said that Annika could put her feet in the fountain, but that's the great thing about Dad being in charge.  :)

Jason was wise enough to put Luca on the iPad so that he could snooze in the grass.

Here's Annika checking out some turtles in the pond.

Also, if you can't make it to Paris, Milan has its very own Arc de Triomphe.

The crowning jewel: our first Italian gelato.  Pure bliss.

With only one day to explore Milan, we continued on to the canal district by Il Naviglio Grande.

Who needs Venice?

Annika was pretty disappointed that I hadn't packed her fishing pole after watching several folks fish straight out of the canals.  But hey, at least she got to watch the swans.

We had to wait a bit for the restaurants to open (never before seven), but the pizza was definitely worth it.

Jason's in his happy place.

Annika befriends a random cat on the way back to the metro station.  When I recently asked her about her favorite European experiences, every single one of them mentioned an animal.

Thanks to long summer days, we made it back to the hotel before dark, feeling pretty delighted by our introduction to Milan.