I did not have the intention to visit Milan - not when it's renown for its luxury goods and being a fashion capital. How to resist temptations??
I met up a good friend Varian when he was attending a meeting in Europe and came to visit. It was also my first experience staying in a mix hostel. I reached one day before Varian and decided to look for a hostel. Going the rugged way is always the most interesting to travel. It wasn't the most comfortable night given the summer heat and having someone that snores louder than a train, but I met some interesting travellers and get to hear some interesting stories.
It pays to do homework before travelling if not disappointment awaits. Milan is the home for Leonardo da Vinci's Ultima Cena
or The Last Supper. Like all things famous, it will have scores of
visitors and of course impossible without reservations. Oh well, I can
just feel it's presence from the outside then.
This is Santa Maria delle Grazie, where Leonardo's master piece is house in the refractory. I tried standing at the edge of the piazza to sketch but could not maintain the posture for too long and so took a picture and sketched on the bench.
Italians in general appreciate art. It's inculcated in them. Whenever I sketch in the open, I get curious passers-by usually Italian. You might argue of course. I am in Italy. But even when in other European countries, the ones who usually stop to look are Italians.
It's fun to travel on my own, but also glad of company, especially at meal times. So I was happy to be on my own for a day and I receive my dear friend at the Milan train station with open arms.
Ciao Varian! Benvenuti a Italia!
At the first glimpse of the Duomo of Milan, my reaction is: Are they for real? Do they have to go to that extent for a cathedral? 6 centuries to complete? And no way am I sketching. It will make me crazy. But I have an appetite for doing pretty crazy things nowadays. Probably just to challenge myself. So here goes.
I could not bear drawing the sides as that is usually my preferred perspective than to capture the façade straight on. I wasn't that crazy.
That's about it I could take home from Milan. I wasn't too impress, although I had to say, some of the Milanese balconies were breath-taking. I felt like Rapunzel could walk out anytime to let her hair down to her prince.
No comments:
Post a Comment