Milan - June 6

Tylenol PM is my friend. I took a couple before going to bed last night and I slept about 12 hours. I hope that my jet lag goes away quickly.

After having the usual Italian buffet breakfast (juice, coffee, cereal, yogurt and bread), I left the hotel at 10:00 and started exploring. My first stop was at La Scala. I couldn't get into the opera house, but I could get into its museum where there were lots of momentos of composers, opera stars, instruments, etc. There were a few boxes open where I could look out into the opera house and stage. The stage is huge and the seating area looks comfortable. It is a large venue but not nearly as ornate as the one in Venice.

In the square opposite the opera house a quartet of young musicians were giving a concert. They were playing different types of saxophones.

I was hungry so I went to a restaurant nearby and had penne pasta with vegetables in a tomato sauce.

After lunch, I strolled down to the city's main duomo. This is Europe's fourth largest church. It has lots of spires, carvings and gargoyles and it is all done with marble. I walked around the church and then went inside. The columns supporting the roof are sequoia-size. The interior is not as fancy as some churches that I have seen but the stained glass windows are beautiful. Rick Steve's said that the tour of the roof should not be missed, so I bought my ticket, climbed the stairs and popped out amidst the spires and gargoyles. I could see lots of the city from the top and can report that Milan is just as hazy as all of the other big cities that I have been in.

Planning my walk back to the hotel, I wandered through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and then over to the Sforza Castle. The Galleria is upscale and a good place to people-watch. The castle is old and a good place to stroll with its huge park-like setting. In the meantime, I stopped for gelato (licorice and cream) and got a new sim card for my Italian phone.

I got back to the hotel around 4:30. After showering I caught up on Internet things and transferred my photos to my iPad and to a photo sharing site on the Internet. I am trying to integrate the photos into this blog but I am having trouble doing it with the iPad and the mixed Internet response time in the hotel. I will get it figured out soon.

Dinner tonight was I n the same trattoria as last night. This time I had cold shellfish antipasti and a mixed salad.

I am getting to bed later than last night but that should get me onto a normal schedule. Tomorrow I am meeting the BAC group for our bus ride to the Italian Alps.