That coat’s from Matalan
Blog: Send The Bugger Back - 5 November 2009
By: Dan Bowen
I was only going to stay 2 nights in Milan but I’ll stay an extra one as the hostel is good, I’ve not had enough time to see what I want to here and I’ve still got loads of working out to figure a route to Madrid. Getting to Andorra directly from the French coast doesn’t look likely so I think I’ll have to go inland to somewhere like Toulouse.
I’ve now booked 2 nights in Nice instead of the 3 I’d originally planned. I may well book an extra one but it just depends on the what I figure out route wise. I’m looking forward to a rest from the constant planning when I get home!
Now I’m waiting for a tram into the city centre where I will get a connecting one to the San Siro. I should be able to see the joint AC/Inter Milan museum at least but I’m hoping to get on the stadium tour as well.
There’s a fella from Perth working at the hostel who is an interesting guy and looks like Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. He’s done 14,000 miles in a battered old Leyland van and had plenty of adventures along the way.
There’s also another strange bloke who does the cleaning. He walks round like a druid with his head permanently facing the floor. Even when cooking or using the laptop (which he tilts and stands over while typing). A weird one he is.
Last night I cracked my travel mirror. Now believe this if you will but the last time I broke a mirror was 7 years ago. Great eh.
I just saw a shop called ‘Fugazzi’, not the best name considering it’s selling jewellery! Donnie Brasco fans will know what I’m on about.
I did to get on the San Siro tour, €12.50 with museum access. It was okay. The museum is quite small and annoyingly you’re not allowed to take pictures and the tour basically consists of the dressing rooms and the pitch. The Nou Camp tour is much better as is the Eastlands one.
Still, it was good to have a proper look at one of the World’s great football arenas. Sitting in Paulo Maldini’s old seat in the AC dressing room was fun and I also had a little word with Jose to give him a few pointers for improving Inter’s Champions League form, I think he appreciated it.
Before I was playing around with the iConvert app and I discovered I’m 1.933084e-16 lightyears tall. Or if you prefer 0.009090909 furlongs, 1.288e+10 angstroms, 0.3636364 rods, 0.000987473 nautical miles, 1 fathom, 0.06666667 shackles, 1.8288e+09 nanometres, 2 yards. Blimey.
The Cathedral of Milan is perhaps the most impressive Duomo I’ve seen in Italy and that is saying something. The intricate detail in the huge stained glass panes is stunning. This is a must see when here, though the massive oriental tour groups are a bit of a pain.
Milan is well known as a world centre of fashion and I saw plenty of evidence to support that today. To be honest though, victim was a word that sprang to mind often.
Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’ Fresco will not be on the menu after all. You have to book a month in advance for a viewing! I’d already read this was the case but had hoped that with it being out of season I might be able to wangle in. Not so, as a lad from Vancouver who tried today confirmed for me.
I actually saw a Lambretta today for the first time in the trip never mind just Italy. It was well ahead of me so I didn’t get the model but it was in immaculate condition with a gloss blue/silver paint job. Lovely stuff.
Back at the hostel now but I’ll save my further route planning for the morning, really can’t be arsed at the moment.
I fancied going to see a flick but after checking the listings they’re all dubbed. Philistines! Just say no (to dubbing).
So now I’m drinking a large bottle of Birra Moretti and it’s going down well. The bloke from Perth is a dab hand in the kitchen and is making a big vat of pasta with more ingredients than you can shake a big wooden spoon at, jobs a good’ n. After the grub there is the lad in my room from Vancouver who fancies checking out the local so I’ll have a little mooch with him.
The head-down fella came into the kitchen while we were having a drink. He seriously will not lift his head above a 90 degree angle, he had a glass of juice but used a straw just to avoid raising his swede. Craig (the Perth lad) shares a large room with him and says he even sleeps like that. It’s actually quite sad as it must be a mental thing, but even if that were to be sorted his posture would probably be a permanent mess by now.
TTFN.
Posted in Italy
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