Day 4

Ciao! Today was a great and random day. Lauren and I explored Milan this morning, despite waking up later than expected.

The first thing we did was go on a walking tour. We woke up only an hour before we left for the tour, so we had a quick breakfast then ran out the door. Our meeting place was at the Duomo, which you can see in the pictures above. Again we didn't go in, but it's definitely on the list of things to do!

The first thing we did was get something to eat at Luini's, a panzerotti place. For those of you who don't know, a panzerotto is like a mix between a calzone and a sandwich, a very delicious mix. I got a spinach and ricotta one for 2,70€, but the mozzarella and tomato one was the most popular, at only 2,30€. Regardless, they were and tasty and cheap treat that I will definitely have to try again. I had actually seen several reviews for this online, especially on Pinterest, before I left. I had been curious why it was so popular when I first saw the posts, but now I'm liable to be making the same reviews. If you ever make it to Milano, go to Luini's.

After getting something to eat, we went into Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II, an extremely popular and very old mall. According to our guide, it was part of the inspiration for malls in the U.S. However, what it's most popular for is a sort of myth or superstition. When the mall was first opened, the architect was making finishing touches to the octagon, or giant glass domed ceiling. He fell to his death, and since then the octagon has been considered bad luck. To counteract it, it's considered good luck to go to the mosaic of the bull, the symbol of the first ruling family, and turn in a full circle with your heel on the bulls balls. While no one in our tour did this, I got a picture of someone else doing it. Even more trivia? This tradition wears the mosaic down so much that a small pit forms and it has to be replaced ever few years.

Next we explored some of the streets past the Galleria. When we passed by this hotel, our guide told us that it was made by an extremely famous architect. In order to persuade him to design the hotel, he was given complete freedom in both design and costs. After creating it, he was asked what his theme or explored idea was. He simply replied that the theme was his obsession. Anyone care to guess what the obsession was? Feel free to guess in the comments below. I'll post it tomorrow.

We explored more of the city throughout the afternoon and we were reminded to always look in courtyards. In government and major political cities, the fronts of buildings are grandious and very expensive. In trade cities such as Milano, however, the fronts are plain and often  mostly contain contrete and small embellishments. Richness isn't shared because it can cause conflict, either socially or as in theft. As was proven throughout our walk throughout the city, courtyards can definitely be gorgeous, even more so than the street and/or store windows, as you can see in the picture above. 

Last but not least, here's a picture of an artist working in San Babila, a small piazza in Milano. You can't see the church he's drawing because it's to his left, but it looks just like his drawing. I always love seeing artists working, and I felt the urge to share it.

In other news, tomorrow I'm going to Lago Maggiore, which is exciting. What else is exciting tomorrow, you may be asking yourself. Well, to satisfy your curiousity, I'll tell you. Tomorrow is my 20th birthday. While it will be so weird not spending my birthday with the other June 7 babies, Alexa and my mom, spending my birthday at the lake should be pretty amazing. I'll let you know how it goes!