Milan

This was not our first time in Milan. We visited the city on our own some eleven years ago when we were living in the UK. This time, a van took our group into the city that is our tour leader's home town. Luca Angelillo, our leader, grew up in Milan, although he now resides about an hour outside of Venice. He clearly still loves the city of his birth.

Our first stop was church of Santa Maria Delle Graze (St. Mary, Our Lady of Grace) church. We were earlier than our appointed time, so we went to mass. The church was closed to visitors because a service was going on. But it was open to worshipers. We took a place in a pew, crossed ourselves at the proper times, and listened to some great organ music. We didn't understand a word of the prayers.

Leaving church early, we reunited with our group outside with our city guide. With her, we visited the cloister of the monastery adjacent to the church, and heard about some of the architectural features. Then we got our tickets and went into the refectory (dining hall) of the monastery where we saw Da Vinci's Last Supper, which is a fresco painted on the wall there. The original of the famous painting hadn't changed in the last 11 years, but it has certainly changed in the 500 years since it was painted. After multiple attempts at restoration, it is estimated that only about 30 percent of Leonardo's original paint remains.

The van took us to Piazza La Scala, which is essentially the front lawn of the famous opera house La Scala. We had taken a tour of the interior back in 2012, but not this time. On this trip we only saw the exterior and heard about it. Then we walked through the arched shopping street, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. This is the headquarters of various fashion brands, such as Prada and Louis Vitton, and others.

At the other end of the Galleria is the piazza of the Duomo, or Cathedral, of Milan. It is the third largest Roman Catholic church in the world, behind St. Peters in Rome and the cathedral in Seville, Spain. Begun in the 1300s, it was under construction for 600 years and continues under constant renovation. Again, we were inside 11 years ago, but not today.

After a quick luncheon snack and a brief rest in a hotel lobby, we accompanied Luca on a walk to the Castello Sforzesco, the castle that was the home and fortress of Milan's medieval dukes. Today, it is a cultural venue, home to museums and concert halls.

On the way back to Piazza La Scala to rejoin the van and other group members who had used the afternoon for other activities, we stopped at a traditional Italian bar. Unlike and American bar, alcohol is not the only or even primary item on the menu. Bars here specialize in coffees of various kinds (the founder of Starbucks was inspired by Italian coffee bars), pastries, gelato, etc.

On the way out of the city, we got a glimpse of the "vertical forest," an expensive, high-rise apartment building that is covered with vegetation. As an attempt to bring nature into an urban environment, the building has thousands of species of plants, and due to turning leaves, changes colors with the seasons. Instead of window washers, a crane on top of the building lowers gardeners to all levels to tend to the plants and trees.

The van returned us to Lecco, where Mary and I enjoyed sharing a pizza at a restaurant beside the lake and bit of a walk around the town. Tomorrow we move on from here.