DAY 133

Monday 21 November 2011

Stand by your van (Excalibur)

Paolo

Having spent the night in our "new" heated van, we wanted to be gone before 8 and got up at 7:40 to do it. Drove down the road to pick Nicole up at Lisa's dorm, and she said she was really excited to see our new ride. White and very tall. We said goodbyes to Lisa and hit the road for Milan, straight south, and a reunion with our next door neighbors from the camp in Budapest.

We might not have tried to experience Milan without the invitation of Paulo and Paula, with its reputation as a very big city with not so much antiquity and other sights to recommend it. But with the enticement to be shown "his Milano" by a renowned architect, we wisely said si, and it was one of our best decisions so far.

So back quickly to the border of the Italy we had come to love, and as we pulled over to get our documents in order we looked up to a most interesting sight: a gigantic Christmas tree flying through the air, high above us! It was at the end of a very long rope or chain or something attached to a helicopter, probably headed to some city in Switzerland to become the town tree in the town square.

Digging a heel in this bull's crotch is good luck

We managed to make it to GianPaolo Corda's office without too much difficulty, and he immediately started making it easy for us by sending us around the corner (out of our poorly-chosen illegal parking spot) and into his building's gated lot, where we took his spot and left our motor home secure, and hopped into his comfy Mercedes. Then we were off to a driving tour down the main boulevards of this famous city, with expert commentary from our gracious host, a lifelong resident, benefitting not only from his knowledge of Milan's long history, but his perspective as a city planner, who literally knew every street.

We finally parked for the walking part of the tour, past piazzas never named for the person whose statue was there, to a massive galleria that combined allegiance to city and church, past a building very dear to his musical heart, La Scala. (When he said he loved to go there and attended at least one performance every season but was not among the most wealthy who had season tickets -- often passed down through many generations -- Charles said he understood: he told Paulo he watched the Lakers faithfully on TV but couldn't afford to attend many games in person. Who knew Staples Center was so much like La Scala?)

Elaborate window displays are not only for looking: One could look from
the outside while a worker inside showed you what you wanted to see
upon request

After catching our breath at the sight of the incredibly ornate facade of the famous duomo, Santa Maria Acuna (fourth-largest cathedral in Europe), Paulo put aside his plan to save the inside for the later tour and said we could take a "quick peek," which turned into more than a half an hour of wonder at the acres of art, much of which we might have walked by without the appreciation he offered. A priceless gift. Before much longer Paula was on the phone asking, Where are you? Lunch is ready! and we headed for their home on the edge of the city, the penthouse on the 11th floor, a warm welcome and incredible lunch from the multi-talented Paula, and an introduction to their family friend houseguest, young musician Giovanni, according to Paulo (and he should know) a most gifted jazz saxophonist, and an engaging, enthusiastic conversationalist.

After lunch (the big meal in Europe, late in the afternoon) we drove him to the train station, then continued on our walking tour. We cut through the famous fashion district and covered a lot of kilometers and centuries and wound up walking the entire length of the ancient city, to the old castella, and considered looking inside at a late-in-life pieta by Michelangelo but it was starting to rain so we headed for the metro, back to the car and home to another fantastic meal by Paula. Did we mention they had invited us to stay for a couple of nights? Impossible to consider saying no.