Milan and Pavia

On Saturday we got up bright and early and went into Milan. We knew we were going to go to the Milan center and then we wanted to go to the Certosa of Pavia as well as we had dinner planned with a friend and colleague of dad’s. So you can imagine that we had a very full day planned. 

Duomo, Milan

The Duomo of Milan. It is just as spectacular as everyone says it is.

Duomo, Milan

Stunningly beautiful.

Duomo, Milan. Facade shot

Downright scary it is so awesome.

Rose window in the duomo of Milan

A lovely stained glass window that though it seems small was enormous. Giant.

Crypt in the Duomo of Milan

The crypt down below in the Duomo

Lions in Piazza del Duomo

In the piazza del Duomo there were these HUGE lions. And we all know just how De Piantes act around lions or other such statues. So naturally we got a picture.

Walking in Milan, Italy

As we turned the corner from the Duomo, we happened upon the filming of the next Samsung Galaxy 4 commercial.

Commercial filming in Milan. Some street style!

Filming it!!

Street style commercial filming in Milan

 

All of the people on “set” were models, but the main people were the extremely tall, skinny, pretty girl, the dude in the cranberry pants. (Yes, they were cranberry.) and the little boy (he needed a haircut, just sayin’). It was very intriguing how they kept on shooting over and over again all the while trying to capture the finicky sun perfectly.

We next went to the “big disk” – a very imaginative name, no? We started out…

Big disk of Milan

Like this

Big disk of Milan

And this

But gradually progressed to…

Climbing on the big disk in milan

This

Climbing on the big disk in Milan

Annnnd this. Yes, we climb on stuff.

After leaving the big climbing wall, I mean monumental piece of art, we went to the Magnum store. Magnums are a type of ice cream bar that is actually based out of Milan. And at the store there you can actually have a Magnum custom made. We ordered two for the family to split around. They start with the ice cream on the stick. You pick whether you want Vanilla or Chocolate, then they ask you what type of chocolate you want covering the ice cream. After that you get to choose 3 toppings.

Magnum ice cream topping bar in Milan

The topping bar

Magnum ice cream topping bar, Milan, Italy

Decisions decisions!

Magnums in Milan

Next they move onto what type of chocolate drizzle you want.

Custom Magnums in Milan

This one that we got we had them put rose petals, dried raspberries and pine nuts.

Eating a custom Magnum ice cream bar in Milan

 

Omnomnom!! Andrew chowing down! This one had little chocolate/brownie pieces, nuggets of salted caramel and pistachio bits. It was yummy. very yummy. I am drooling on my keyboard now. 😉

 

After that we went to the Certosa of Pavia. The Certosa was commisioned to be built by the Visconti family (he was the first Duke of Milan) and was built in 1396. The Certosa originally belonged to the Carthusian monks, then it went to the Cistercians, the Carmelites and ended up back in the hands of the Carthusians. It then went to some Benedictines for a short time and then went to the Cistercians who currently reside there. We all loved the Certosa because of its beauty but also because of the serenity that seemed to exude from the buildings and gardens.

Certosa in Pavia.

A close up of the facade.

La Certosa di Pavia

A shot that has been backed out a little.

Obelisk in a water fountain in La Certosa di Pavia

Inside the actual church there was this really cool holy water font that had its own obelisk. I don’t even have an obelisk. It was insane.

La Certosa di Pavia

Some of you might notice the resemblance of this ceiling and the ceiling in Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome.

The courtyard in La Certosa di Pavia

The Courtyard. Each of those little buildings was actually a small apartment for each monk. They now live in community because the apartments are in dis-repair and to save money on heat.

La Certosa La Certosa

 

After site seeing, we went over to Lattanzio and Carlas’ house. We ate a superb dinner courtesy of Carla and her lovely family before getting a guided tour of center-city Pavia.

Eating dinner in Milan

Sitting down to dinner.

Eating

Three of the boys. Andrew, Francesco and Alex.

moon in Milan

The moon peeking out.

The church of St. Augustine in Pavia

The Duomo of Pavia. It houses the remains of St. Augustine. Unfortunately it was closed when we were around.

Winterass

Also while we were out walking we noticed this comical sign selling insurance. The company’s name was… WINTERASS. Andrew mentioned that he was using his Summer one. 😀

 

 

 

 

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Turin

On Friday, June 14th in the morning we went to Turin. Dad actually went to talk with someone about work and so while he was in there we all went to the Juventus Stadium. Alex (a Juventus fan) trotted around grinning while we took pictures. 

Stadium in Turin, Italy Stadium in Turin, Italy

After that we went into the town (we picked dad up first…. we contemplated leaving him but we didn’t want any axe murderers to get him. We had already bought his tickets after all! 😉 )

We first went into the National Museum of Cinema. (which didn’t allow you to take pictures. and quite honestly was only “eh”)

National Museum of Cinema in Turin, Italy

The outside, all we were able to take a picture of.

The duomo in Turin, Italy Duomo in Turin, Italy

The duomo where the Shroud is kept.

The Shroud of Turin in Turin, Italy

Where the Shroud is. The box above it was where the royal family would hear the mass. The Shroud is only actually on display once every blue moon. Usually it is covered.

Motorcycle in Turin, Italy

A cool shot of a motorcycle that Andrew got.

The bar that never closes in Turin, Italy

The famous bar of Turin that never closes.

The River Po, in Turin, Italy

The river Po.

Bull in the Piazza in Turin, Italy

It is a popular tradition to stand on the bull in one of the main Piazzas of Turin.

Juventus store in Turin, Italy

We somehow always seemed to end up at this street corner… Hmm… Is someone trying to hint something…?

 

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