Well, my friends, Courtney was a great hostess and we spent a very full four days together in Milan and even scurried down to Florence for the day. It was loverly, despite the chill.
Mostly, I ventured around the city center while she was at work during the day and then we met up for a series of delicious meals ;) Not to point any fingers, but someone (::cough:: Mom ::cough::) had me run on a wild goose chase for two days looking for buttons. But, alas, it seems that the actual material stores in the world's fashion capital are no longer part of the city. The famous couture street, Via Montenapoleone, is now just a series of international mega-designers like Chanel, Dolce and Gabana, Bvlgari, Armani, Versace, and Dior. It sort of made me sad. I could just as easily see the same thing in any other major Western city: San Fran, LA, New York, London, Paris. It just didn't seem very special or unique. I guess it doesn't help that places like Walnut Creek, Las Vegas, and The Grove pretty much directly copied it's distinct architectural style so that it's now become a cookie cutter design for all high-end retail areas.
BUT, I did manage to stumble upon two really cool museums tucked away on two adjoining side streets- The City of Milan Museum and Museo Bagatti Valsecchi. In the latter I was pretty much the only patron and, being super nice attendants, I pretty much got the deluxe VIP tour. The docent, who spoke a little English, took me from room to room and even wished me a "Good sojourn!" which I thought quite impressive. And the man at the front desk refused to let me pay for a post-card I wanted to buy, insisting I take it as a gift! (...probably because my wet mop of hair and raggedy travel clothes led him to believe me a charity case.) So, all-in-all, I considered the ventures to be incredibly successful. :)
And for our one day in Florence we took the train through the lovely Tuscan countryside and enjoyed much warmer weather. We saw the magnificent Moorish style Duomo and hunted down the original David, which was absolutely stunning. Also, of course, we ate. I had a chocolate Affogatto (espresso with gelato) and yummy pudding like hot coco. Delicioso! I wish we had more time to explore the city, but even in our limited time it was well worth the trip :)
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