If there was one city on our Europe trip that I would consider the most interesting, Milan would be my pick. We got to experience the highest of highs, the lowest of lows, the thrills of surprise and the bitter taste of disappointment. Perhaps the most insightful aspect is that Milan, of all places, gave us unique glimpses into our different characters.
The story must start from our train ride from Monaco to Milan. The journey from Nice to the French Italian border was very pleasant. However, once we crossed into Italy, it was as if we had crossed a heavenly-worldly divide. During the stop in Ventimiglia, Segamatic needed to get tickets for the Italian leg of the trip. The conductor from whom we supposedly could buy tickets could not care less about us. Segamatic ended up running into the train station to buy his ticket. For a few tense moments, I was not sure if Segamatic would be able to make it back onto the train in time!
Despite being on the same train, the Italian railway system was remarkably rundown. From out of nowhere, the train became packed with people. Not to be class-biased, but it seemed like all the peasant families from the rural parts of Northern Italia decided to move to Milan today. That’s what it really felt like. From the paradise and comforts that was the French Riviera, this experience was a sharp contrast. Segamatic and I were soon relegated to these pull-down seats in the train’s tight hallway. My backpack became a major obstacle for anyone trying to pass, especially those who were pulling their worldly belongings down that corridor.
After quite an uncomfortable ride (I’m writing this off as part of the backpacking experience), we finally arrived into Milano Centrale. The air felt sticky as we stepped off the train. Everyone else rushed by with a sense of direction that in ensemble was more like a chaotic mess. I felt like a little boy visiting the big city for the first time. Just from her train station, Milan was truly a city. The train station sported some fancy modern Romanesque architecture, but I was a bit bummed by the constant construction in half the station. In retrospect, the construction has now become an integral part of my vivid imagery of Milan - a busy metropolis that is constantly moving and constantly evolving. In such places, there is always construction noises in the background.
From the train station, we took the subway to our hotel. The subway map reminded me of the tube in the sense that there seems to always be more than one way to get between any two stations. The subway system was showing signs of its age. However, we were pleasantly surprised by a musician on the train entertaining the crowds with his accordion. I always love these impromptu performances on subways – a raw sense of Milan’s vibrant culture.
Our hotel ended up being very interesting. Every guest had to fill out forms stating our nationality and passport information. Except for the person who made the reservations, I’ve never had to fill forms like this before. Our room was probably one of the biggest surprises on the entire trip. It was pretty much a bedroom conjoined with a bathroom with no wall separation! True Roman style! Good thing there was a real bathroom outside, otherwise, I’m not sure what BlueOrca would have done. The other quirky aspect was the plastic blinds covering the window. They looked like something to keep robbers out rather than light, though it does a wonderful job at both. The drawing mechanism was also quite primitive, but I guess it’s pretty effective.
We stumbled a bit getting out of the main gate of our hotel complex. You had to push a button on the side wall to unlock the gate. Seeing our difficulties with the door, a lady behind us pointed out the button. She then said one statement that epitomized Milan for me - “This is Milan.” It was the way she said it; her matter-of-fact tone really resonated with me, and made me see the city in a new light.
We took a stroll towards Duomo square, stopping by a small cafe restaurant for dinner. BlueOrca and Segamatic had to satisfy their Italian Pizza cravings, while I went with a lighter pasta dish. We found out while eating that pigeons were both slow and dumb. The early bird doesn’t always get the worm, especially if there’s a faster bird nearby.
We fed more pigeons at the piazza in front of Duomo. Lots of scalpers were handing out seeds to feed the pigeons. We each took our turn feeding some birds. Afterwards, these seed guys demanded some compensation for their goods and service. I was almost going to give them a Euro until I saw Orca starring down at her naggers. First time I witnessed the Don’t-mess-with-the-Orca look, and even I, felt a shiver down my spine.
Right off the Duomo piazza is an indoor promenade, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is lined with fancy shops and boutiques. There was also the most lavish McDonald’s I have ever visited. We spent the rest of the evening exploring other parts of downtown Milan. Geocaching does take you to places you won’t otherwise see or even thing of visiting. I saw a Banco d’Italia and snapped a picture for my coworkers. After searching futilely for a geocache in some windy street, we stumbled onto a National Geographic exhibit showcasing a variety of beautiful scenic shots. My favourite was a sunrise shot of the city at the base of Mount Vesuvius in Naples, Italy. Another memorable shot was a winter roof-top view of west Toronto! :)
Segamatic wanted to visit some parks in the area. It was a nice evening stroll through the peaceful neighbourhood. In our one and only find in Milan, we searched quite a bit in a slug and snail infested wall. Good thing BlueOrca had her wireless internet and was able to acquire a description of the cache container, because once she said it, I immediately knew that piece of “garbage” I had discarded was the cache itself! We finished off the first night with our first gelato – in what would become a daily ritual during our time in Italy. We also picked up a bag of sour oranges and a giant loaf of bread /cake that Segamatic and I struggled mightily hard to finish. While at Milan, I also picked up a bottle of my favourite red, the Barolo, which was only one of two selections to earn a Tochi-certified 11 / 10 from Wines.
Our plan for the next morning was Duomo Cathedral, Castello Sforzesco, Last Supper Chapel, and Lake Como. After getting up bright and early, we passed by a lively market on our way to the subway station. In a scene that I will always remember, Segamatic turned back towards me as we travelled up an escalator at the Duomo stop. “My wallet is gone”. I paused for a second to absorb what he had just said. “You’re kidding me. I hope you’re not serious.” I was totally expecting him to be kidding. With half a forced laugh, “It’s gone. I don’t have it anymore.” Two subway stops and we were down one wallet. It was hard to believe.
So here we were, standing in front of Duomo. All of us were carrying a mixed bag of emotions at the moment, but there was really only one proper thing for us to do. After a short debate filled with disappointment and frustration, we asked our way to an internet cafe for Segamatic to look up the contact information to report his credit and ID card losses. After that, we again, asked our way to the Police Station to file a report (in case Segamatic needed to claim insurance, etc). I couldn’t believe how hard it was to locate a police station in a foreign country. Fortunately, after finding the station, we only had to wait a short time before Segamatic filled out the paper work and we were back on our merry way. Segamatic definitely got the best souvenir of all – the police papers covered with half a dozen of different Milan cancellation stamps!
Duomo Cathedral was, without a doubt, my favourite church on the entire trip and one of the coolest I’ve ever visited. I usually have a hard time visiting churches (or any places of worship) for the sake of visiting them. Although I’m not a religious person by any means, I have on certain occasions felt the real collective power of worship in bringing inner peace. So whenever I visit places of worship, I would be cool with sitting there mediating or participating in religious ceremonies. However, I am typically uncomfortable going around taking pictures (*click click click*) and viewing these scared places as an attraction.
Duomo was different. Besides having such a cool name, I could not help but be amazed at the its architectural marvel. The inner sanctum is supported by these 45m gigantic pillars that are just wonders of the engineering achievement of the 14th century. It is, after all, the world’s largest Gothic cathedral.
In the past, Duomo was very dark inside. In order to support the spires and statues on its stone roof, the walls could not structurally afford as many stained glass windows as its other smaller, less intricate contemporaries. Unfortunately, with men’s ability to harness electricity, we now have spot lights illuminating the inside of Duomo. I would have loved to see Duomo in its natural lighting – perhaps a little creepy. These photos are probably two times brighter than the true lighting inside the hall.
The best part about Duomo has to be its roof. The ability to go up to the top terrace and view the spires up close is an added bonus! Only at the top do you realize how many and intricate some of these patterns are. It is as if the entire building is yearning and stretching for the sky.
The repeating patterns and geometric constellations are a dream for photographers too. The top terrace totally felt like I was walking through the setting of a Final Fantasy city. I wouldn’t have been surprised if an airship descended towards the cathedral at any moment.
After Duomo, we stopped at Castello Sforzesco. This castle used to be one of the fortified centers of Milan, where the Dukes resided. The castello is essentially a giant square barracks with a giant corner tower and keep just west of city center. The history was quite interesting, as in its storied past, the castle has been burnt, ransacked, demolished several times. Yet, it has been restored for cultural prosperity. It was quite cool that as I walked around the different quadrants of the castle, to imagine that back in the days of the knights and lords - this square in the keep would have housed the stables, the blacksmith would be housed in this other quarter in the back, and all the soldiers and guards would just be lounging around in the center (what is now the garden). BlueOrca and I acquired some new hairdos with the stone sculptures in the garden. We spotted a couple taking some wedding photos in the garden. The walls do make an interesting backdrop for these photos I guess.
The one time on this trip where earlier planning would have paid off was getting tickets to he Church and Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, which houses Da Vinci’s Last Supper mural. You literally have to book a month in advance in order to visit. Perhaps influenced by Da Vinci’s Code, it would have been quite cool to see the real painting in person. Apparently, during WWII, the church got bombed but somehow, as if by the grace of God, the wall with the Last Supper was the one of the few things left standing. We toured the church and confirmed that if you didn’t have tickets beforehand, it doesn’t matter that you travelled a million miles to Milan, you are not getting in. I tried to bribe one of the ladies at the entrance to get ONE ticket, so that BlueOrca could visit (and cheer her up in the process). I offered up to 75 Euros and that lady still denied me!! pfft. Anyway, we’ll catch the last supper next time (if ever). After some consoling, we took the train to Lake Como.
During this visit, we arrived into Lake Como from the south. Besides the shore line and a cool gelato shop, there wasn’t that much to see in this town. The skies were still gloomy, so that took away from some of the atmosphere. Instead of feeding the pigeons, BlueOrca started chasing them. I’m not sure what the Como variants ever did to BlueOrca.
We took a funicular (we are very familiar with these now) up to village of Brunate to get a better view of the Lake Como and walked around the quiet streets up above. When we got back to the take, we also witnessed a bunch of ducks ganging up on one in the lake. Yeah. We got pwned by the intercity train back to Milan. We ended up wasting a day of our Euro Pass AND having to fork out 30 odd Euros to cover the fare.
Lake Como was the most disappointing aspect of Milan for me. The last time I had visited, I came from Switzerland and visited the northern shores of this lake. That was one of highlights on that trip for me, as I was captivated by her most tranquil waters, picturesque shores and white peacocks. The visit this time was nothing too special. Maybe we should have done some water sports or taken a cruise on the lake.
We had dinner back in a southern district of Milan, Ascanio Sforza, a neighbourhood filled with more pubs and youths. Segamatic and I feasted on a mega large pizza and risotto (it has been a long day, to say the least). Also tried one of the two local beers – Birra Moretti. A light beer that I suspect I’m allergic to. I woke up the next morning with my hands all red. :|
Final morning in Milan, we stopped again at Duomo square so BlueOrca can feed pigeons yet again. She got caught this time by a little old lady on patrol. lol.
In retrospect, I had expected that Milan, being a fashion capital of the Western world, to be a really fancy and refreshing city. Heck, Milano is my favourite Pepperidge Farm cookies, so I had really high expectations. However, what I saw of Milan was totally different. The best way to describe my impression would be… if I visited Milan in the 18th century, the city would have been what I expected. Now, it’s like a busy metropolis from the 18th century with some 20th century furnishings. I won’t be at all surprised if I saw some homeless huddled around a fire inside a metal barrel under bridges. I also did not see too much of the fashion elements for which Milan is famous.
After leaving Milan with quite the negative impression, I was surprised to meet the most wonderful ambassadors of Milan in Trieste later on in the trip. During the walk to Miramare, I discovered the couple I met on the bus were visiting from Milano. All my ill-grievances that welled up inside just came spewing out. Instead of apologizing for my experiences, which I would have done if I were in their shoes, they laughed and said I had the true Milan experience. They went on telling me of other places to visit in the city, some of the cool festivals that the city hosts and where to find the more youthful crowd to have a good time. After chatting with them, I really wanted to visit the city once again, as I totally did not get to experience all there were to discover in Milan.
Milan gets a 3.5/5 on Tochi meter. Onward bound to Venice!
Nice is nice.
If I did not say this first, Kabitzin would. So it is better I got that out of the way.
Whenever someone mentions the Côte d'Azur, Nice is always the first city that jumps to mind. While other cities are perhaps more famous for their specialties, like Monaco for her casinos or Saint Tropez for her beaches, Nice is where everything started. The Brits turned Côte d'Azur into a resort area to escape the harsh UK winter and in the process made her famous. The Promenade des Anglais in Nice became the central hub for all these rich Britons.
To recap, after almost being stranded in Marseilles, BlueOrca and I arrived triumphantly into Nice onboard the French equivalent of the Greyhound. Our approach vector was from the west, traversing along Nice’s famed galet beaches. At one point, we came within 5m of a GZ (geocache) while sitting on the bus!
Our tour continued through Promenade des Anglais. I had really high expectations for the Promenade. From the pictures and descriptions of this place I’ve seen and heard, I pictured a wide boulevard teeming with people and life, against a backdrop of beautifully lit fountains, hotels, museums, music halls, opera houses, etc - a place filled with the pomp and flair of the British wealth. Well, when we drove by, there weren't that many people on the promenade, though the buildings lining both sides of the avenue were very beautiful.
The bus continued pass Promenade des Anglais and finally arrived at the terminal. This station was in a ghetto part of town. I was not sure if the ghettoness was due to the construction and the insufficient street lighting in that area, but this was not a particularly nice area. While making an unsuccessful sojourn down some non-descript street to grab a cache, we passed along the Musee d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain and Central Library, which had some giant sculpture of a cube supported by a person's chin and neck – apparently a famous work titled La Tête au Carré by Sacha Sonso.
Hotels Hotels Hotels
Afterwards, we navigated through some residential areas to find our hotel. Speaking of hotels, we had a terrible time finding accommodations in Nice during trip planning – mainly due to Cannes Film Festival and Monaco Grand Prix. The prices jumped ten times normal values for this one weekend! No single place had any rooms available for the several days we were planning to be in Nice, so we had to select different hotels/hostels for different days. The pickings were so slim that I had originally booked a place with only one bed (for one), just to make sure we did have to sleep on the beach. BlueOrca somehow found this uber Hotel Verdun that offered a room for four for a reasonable price! Unfortunately, it had no vacancy on the first day and last day, so we stayed at Hotel Baccarat for the first night and Hotel Antares on the final night.
The hostels on this trip have been quite good, considering their costs. However, our first Nice stay at Hotel Baccarat was on a totally different level. We were lead into the back courtyard to a room we were sharing with other hostellers. The one key to the room was to be shared by all, which essentially meant that the door was unlocked the entire time. Perhaps influenced by my earlier visit to the Nice’s ghettos, I had thought this place was a bit run down. This was indeed confirmed the next morning when I woke up to find two cockroaches waiting for me in the bathroom sink. WTF. I have not seen cockroaches since … Hong Kong. Two smacks and flushes took care of these unexpected visitors.
To be fair, not all the residents of Nice were that unwelcoming. The next hotel turned out to be much better. The front desk person was super upbeat and friendly, one of those people who brings a smile to everyone’s faces. The Verdun room was much better than the Baccarat dump too. Probably one of the nicest places we stayed all trip (the top prize has to be our home in Venice).
Just to wrap up my review of the hotels, we stayed in Hotel Antares on the last night. If you remember from my Monaco post, we had gotten back from the city-state around 3am in the morning. We stumbled to our room, only to find that our beds were already occupied by others. WTF. Back down to the front desk, and they were kind enough to arrange another (private!) room for us. Slept really well that night, though BlueOrca, who took the top bunk, had to deal with the skylight. I also got an unpleasant towel in the face. :x The front desk person got yelled at by the manager as we checked out, after it was discovered we had occupied a new room. Poor bloke.
Nice Attractions
We had a full day dedicated to exploring Nice. Unfortunately, the morning was drizzling rain. We quickly swept through Place Masséna to head into the Old Nice. Place Masséna, at the intersection of the Avenue Jean Médecin and Avenue des Phocéens, is the central square of Nice and the heart of British influence. The area sports several fancy fountains, optical-illusion-like chequered floor patterns and coolest of all, glowing statues sitting on top of a high rod.
At this time, BlueOrca revealed her secret weapon, the musical umbrella. I was quite shocked when I first saw this umbrella. It’d definitely be stylish in Vienna, but …we’re in Nice! I guess if BlueOrca wore a Victorian dress, the umbrella could suit the neo-classic architecture/atmosphere of Nice too. ._.;
Vieille Ville of Nice consists of a triangular chunk of land filled with orange-topped 5-6 story buildings. It is bounded by the Promenade and beach to the south, Avenue des Phocéens to the north and Colline du Château to the East.
Our first stop was Eglise Saint François de Paule - a 17th church. The following picture shows all that there is to see.
We cut across the street and passed by one of the nicest buildings in Vieille Ville – the City Opera House (Théâtre municipal de l'Opéra). It would have been pretty neat to see an opera here.
One of the biggest attractions in Nice is her famous pebbles beaches. I missed my chance in Cannes a day earlier, so I'd come prepared to take a swim in the Mediterranean. However, with the rainy weather, I wasn't sure whether the sun would come out to dry my body afterwards. Walking around Nice in wet clothes would not do my cold any good, so I skipped. :( We strolled along the beach and took in the carefree breeze from the sea. BlueOrca took the chance to collect some nice looking pebbles for keepsakes. I personally do not collect rocks or stones from places – I was brought up with the belief that I should not disturb the 土地神. Not much of a reason, but it’s pretty amazing how well these beliefs stick.
I love the pebbles.
We were quite hungry so we stopped by a crêperie for some lunch. The sun had come out full blast, so we got a nice outdoor table to take in the vitamin D. I had some coconut, chocolate crêpes that was flambéed with Grand Marnier. It was so bright that neither the owner nor I could see the flame! After a few more clicks with his lighter, he declared the flaming completed. I totally missed it! Anyway, I remember from B. Lang that flambéing was first invented for crêpes, so I had great anticipation of the transformation in flavour. The crêpes was super good, though not having a with-vs-without comparison, it’s hard to tell how much the flaming improved the taste. :x
We were right by the Marché aux Fleurs (Flower Market), so it couldn’t hurt to check it out. Pretty much your typical market, cheese, flowers, crafts, lavender stuff and MEATS. We picked up some strawberries for the road - unfortunately, they were not as sweet as I was hoping.
Tour Belanda is a this giant tower leading up to Colline du Château, a giant park onto of a hill just to the east of Nice proper. From the top, you get some very spectacular views of Nice and her beaches. That first picture in this post was taken from this location. Unfortunately, as we found out later, the area is closed off during night time. No night shots of Nice.
The park has a bit of everything, and we took the time to explore. There were some old ruins of the various dwellings, warehouses and workshops – this was urban settlement from the Chateau de Nice until it was destroyed by the Seige of Cueno in 1691.
In the park, there was a rope pyramid built for little kids (and me). I was tempted to climb on but there were half a dozen kids playing already. BlueOrca gave the push and I scampered my way to the top. The kids all looked at me like “What the heck are you doing?!?” - with stares only the French can do. One of the most triumphant moments of my life!
On the east side, we also got a good view of the Nice harbour, known as Bassin du Commerce/Bassin Lympia. This is where all the yachts and cruises would dock. I had been wondering with the massive beach front, where ships were actually coming into Nice. It’s nice they have this bay tucked away behind the hill, shielded away from ruining the pristine beach environment on the other side. The square harbour actually reminded me of Marseille, though, of course, not quite as beautiful. :)
We made our way down the hill, on the way, passing by an interesting selection of passage ways and waterfalls. BlueOrca mentioned that there was a cemetery around here. As you guys can probably guess, I wasn’t too thrilled with the idea. We found the place, but unfortunately, we couldn’t get in. Cannot say I was too disappointed. :x
Descended into Old Nice via the Ménica Rondelly Stairs. Things were a lot livelier in the afternoon; much more people walking about enjoying their weekend day. Many of the boutique and food shops were bustling with traffic. It definitely feels a lot nicer walking around town filled with people, unlike the much quieter streets that greeted us this morning. In one particular square, there were people dancing to music and kids lining up to swing at some piñatas. So awesome! I should mention that there was a flatiron near that square too!
The best shop was this ice-cream store where you can buy a 15 scopes for 17.5 euros. I was taking a picture of the awesome ice-cream pricing sign when some guy DEMANDED that I show him the last picture I took. WTF. He apparently thought I was taking a picture of his male friend. I thought “Dude.. why would I even bother taking a picture of your guy?!?” And you are in a public place; there were probably a bunch of other tourists and surveillance cameras taking photos of you anyway. Of course, he was bigger than me, so I just feebly complied. :x
The one main attraction in the area we visited was Palais Lascaris, the former residence of the Lascaris-Vintimille family, now turned into free museum. We had quite a bit of trouble finding this museum, as we only knew the general vicinity. Finally located its non-descript entrance and discovered that the interior of the beautifully decorated residence had been restored to its splendour of the 18th century.
On the ground floor was a 18th century pharmacy that totally reminded me of the traditional Chinese herbal stores – it was lined with urns that resembled 百子櫃!!!
The upper floors Palais Lascaris showcased a lot of very unique musical instruments. It was a marvel seeing how varied and different the instruments of old were and getting a snapshot of the evolution of some of the more familiar tools we see today. It was also a pity that these instruments are now pretty much extinct and live in a museum. I’d love to be able to hear how some of these instruments sound.
As expected from a mansion built from this era, Palais Lascaris was inordinately decorated - from fancy ceiling and wall frescoes down to the carvings on the mouldings and trims. You would have never suspected such a luxurious mansion laid within from the outside. I guess this area must have been a particularly affluent part of Nice back in the days, and the Lascaris family was super rich!!
Afterwards, we made a pit stop back at the hotel. For some reason, we really wanted ice-cream. I realized today that whenever it’s hot outside, BlueOrca must eat something cold. We asked around for a supermarket, and somehow stumbled onto a frozen goods store. There was quite a selection of ice creams – after careful consideration of price and value (mainly price – we were broke), we picked up a pack of ice-cream bars.
We had to pick up Segamatic at the Nice airport later that evening. Nice transit system has a day pass for four Euros which allows you unlimited travel on its routes; the pass also makes a great souvenir card. We got confused by the two terminals and the multiple levels at Nice International, but in the end, Segamatic spotted us fairly quickly. We had awful luck introducing Segamatic to geocaching. 3 DNF’s in a row!!! (We made up for it in Monaco.)
We toyed with the idea of seeing Indiana Jones that night, but the show times didn’t work out. Good thing too, as we found out later that the showing would have been in French – it might have been as cryptic as the alien language for me. We had dinner back by the flower market area. The strip totally transformed at night and was bustling with fancy restaurants and many diners. Got to try out ratatouille, Niçoise sampler and rabbit. Back country game is one of the specialities of Provencal cuisine. :)
All-in-all, I have to say my Nice experience was nice, but not super. I came away with the distinct feeling that part of the Nice’s splendour that I’ve heard so much was more of a facade. If the weather cooperated and if the entire town were not in Monaco or Cannes during this time, then I'd probably enjoy Nice a lot more. 3.5 / 5.
Almost one year anniversary of the trip. Time flies. :(
A big day… Baby Toyo achieved the TOCHI level of Speech. This surprise totally made my day. I just want to squeeze those cheeks. Thank you Amelia!!!! <3 <3 <3
She doesn’t even want to say good bye!! XD Many thanks to Mr and Mrs. Toyo for the awesome training. :P
P.S. I dunno about the UNCLE part tho. haha.
Was running down Hall Street by Whitby yesterday morning, when a car in the opposite direction drove up. The guy rolled down his window and warned me about a wolf they just saw at the trailhead into Lynde Shores Conservation Area (~500m ahead).
I don’t know about wolves in Toronto, but I’m guessing they saw a coyote. Nevertheless, I was about 15-20 km into my run, I doubt I had enough hp to outrun or fight off a coyote spawn. Maybe I could bribe the coyote with some powerade and gel packs.
Speaking of gels, I almost barfed the first time I tasted these GU energy gels. However, that sugar rush feels so good. I need to optimize my gel consumption some more.
My mom called me today to say that I have a surprise waiting at home. With my interest perked, I came home to find a copy of 四十二章經! WHAT!!! NO WAY!!!
I was awestruck in reverence for all the wrong reasons. This scripture exists for real?! I should have known!! And more importantly, where is the secret treasure map?!!?
第一章 出家證果... lol