You would think three days in Milan would easily fit into one blog post... I will try:
Sarah & I met up in the Milano airport Malpensa, and rode the shuttle bus into the city. A 40 minute drive was exactly what we needed to begin debriefing on our oh-so-different lives over the past 2 months. We landed at Stazione Centrale, which is both a bus and train station - and oh yes, it was built by Mussolini. People say this is one of the most beautiful train stations in the entire world, and they are right: the station towers above the little piazza in glistening white marble. The structure is intricate and also imposing.
Christopher & Jelena ('Yelena') picked us up in their little BMW, and took us to the Studio. Christopher & his dad Alfredo are internationally-acclaimed photographers, which I knew - but maybe I didn't realize how cool that was until I walked inside their Studio. Beautiful black and white pictures cover the walls of this huge apartment. I've never felt so totally engulfed in the world of an artist. Sarah and I slept right in the middle of the action - on a pullout couch next to the black set, and underneath some cool nude photos. It was great to get the artists' perspective on a lot of their paintings, and of course Jelena had a lot to add since she works as a model.
The first afternoon, we mostly hung out at the Studio - drank espresso and talked about life. We went out for panini's, and Sarah & I kept saying to each other: "We are in
Italy!"
The next day, we all woke up around noon (don't question - just embrace it) and Chris & Jelena took Sarah & me all around Milan. We started at Armani's house (which is above his store, above his restaurant, above his hotel - he owns the whole block). Sarah & I took a few moments just to breathe the same air as Armani. Then we walked down the high fashion street - past Prada, Gucci, Fendi, and every other designer you can remember. Jelena told us that the window displays in Milano are considered even more beautiful than the ones in Paris. The streets were full of lovely Italians - little kids, old people, the middle aged - everyone has that smooth skin, and the italian phrases rippling from their mouths. I'm going to speak for Sarah too - because we agree that we could listen to people speak Italian for the rest of time.
We came upon the Duomo from behind - the church is breathtaking. The white marble sparkles in the sunlight, and the intricacy of the spires has a dizzying effect. We jetted to the top of the church, where we wandered on the roof for an hour - the best view of the city is found on top of the Duomo. We basked in the old-ness and wonder of the sculpture and architecture. You can look out onto Piazza Duomo, where there is a fountain and a beautiful archway dedicated to Emanuelo Milano. We trudged down the winding staircase, and went inside the church. Like so many cathedrals, the building has beautiful rose windows and an altar that you would really like to get married at, but what struck me was how much of everything there was - not just 3 rose windows, but 5 or 6 - not just 1 statue or 2, but multitudes. Also the floor is this beautiful and complex tiled pattern - made it hard to walk around - as I kept looking at my shoes. Finally, we went outside to see the front of the building - breathtaking again, even after we had seen the outside & the top!
Next we met up with Anna (who is living in Switzerland and decided to pop up for the weekend - love Europe). We all wandered across the piazza through the archway toward my first real gelatto experience - wow. I got Stracciatella mixed with something else delicious - it was so, so good. Then we wandered through the local castle, down some other streets, and generally got a taste of the city.
We got back to the studio in time to get ready for our night on the town - Jelena had vip passes to Club 71, which was very fun & very full of italians dancing to trance music. Sarah hadn't danced in months, and I hadn't danced anywhere near Sarah in months - and I am not sure Italy was ready for those moves, but we broke them out anyway. awesome (see
here)
The next day Jelena & Chris told us that we 'had pretty much seen everything,' so Sarah, Anna, & I decided to wander the streets where the poor people shop (poor as in 150 euros for a pair of cheap boots), eat gelato, and get ourselves lost. We passed an old European car show, and checked out the various Ferrari's & Citroen's. Sarah bought italian leather boots, Anna bought everything else in sight. Just kidding - it's hard to resist the fashion!
Sunday evening, after an unbelievably tasty homemade dinner by Alfredo (Papa Sabbatini, as I like to call him), Sarah & I were models in a super fun photo shoot. This was a very new experience for me - so it was really helpful to have Jelena doing hair & makeup, Seba setting the lights, and Chris yelling 'be a monkey!' Just kidding. I loved it - every minute. For the results - see
here and
here.
Thanks to Chris, Jelena, Seba, Alfredo - and all of Milan - for such a fun weekend. Pictures will be uploaded eventually - until then, ciao bella!
How does it feel to come back to somewhere that was home for 5 months? Scary. Good scary and bad scary - I know Juba has changed since I've been gone, but my friends are still there, which is really all that matters. I'm excited to see everyone - late nights of sweat and debate over weak Tusker beers, pizza night at Afex, Saturday mornings at the pool, days bathed in sunshine, nights doused in crickets and moonlight, Indian food galore, all my favorite taxi drivers, and my old phone number! Will culture shock hit me again? What about on the way back? Nobody knows... The adventure continues.
