Milano

Even though I’m a mutt of nationalities, I’ve always felt especially proud of my Italian heritage. Maybe it’s because of how my mom used to talk about her relatives with their dramatic gestures, plates filled with food and welcoming arms. My brother and I grew up knowing that “manga!” meant it was time to eat. Italians seemed warm and friendly, and Jesse and I talked often about visiting Italy with our cousins and trying to track down some of our roots. Unfortunately my family wasn't with me during my first visit to the country, but I still had a great time in Milan this weekend.
I took the train on Saturday with Raven, a new girl here from California. The weather was ideal, bright sun and the first blue skies I’ve seen in a week. After some initial hotel difficulties, we found one for a pretty good price in the center of town.
As Tyra Banks would tell you on “America’s Next Top Model,” Milan is the fashion capital of the world. It was evident as we walked along streets filled with Gucci, Prada, D&G, Armani, and any other big designer you can think of. We mostly window-shopped, too scared to walk inside and deal with the intimidating salespeople. Armani took up an entire block, with a whole floor dedicated to furniture and another to a café. We also found stores dedicated to Mercedes and Ferrari, which sold everything from bicycles to clothing.
But more than checking out the newest fashions, I liked watching the people wearing them. We definitely saw many stereotypical Italian fashionistas. Nice shoes, designer clothes, hip hairstyles and more aviator sunglasses than I’ve ever seen. I felt pretty grungy in my jeans and tennis shoes.
Milan in general is a very industrial and business-based city, but it also has a lot of history. We walked around Castello Sforzesco, a pretty castle first built in the 1400s. My favorite attraction was Duomo, a huge, and I mean huge, gothic cathedral that we visited on Sunday. We took the stairs to the roof and walked all the way around, looking at the surrounding city and the details on the building, which is the second biggest cathedral in the world (St. Peter’s in Rome is first). I think it looks like a giant sandcastle; there are thousands of statues in the design, each one different. We also went to an art museum that had mostly religious paintings, some pretty, some pretty gruesome.
I really enjoyed my first Italian experience. It was nice to hear a different language spoken other than French, the people were very friendly and the food was great. We had gelato (twice), traditional Milanese risotto and pizza.
One odd event: There was a political riot while we were there. See link:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2083030,00.html
On Saturday afternoon, police had blocked off a lot of the streets, but everything seemed quiet. Later we saw a bunch of the protestors walking with a caravan of police cars following them. But once again, everything seemed peaceful. Apparently not.