We had a nice breakfast at our hotel today: it was so inexpensive to add that to the cost that I went ahead and did it. And what a spread they have … and they make a nice cappuccino, too. Plus the people who work there are so very nice! Maybe I’ll remember to take a photo or two tomorrow.

After breakfast and a bit of time back in our room we headed a short walk away (I mean REALLY short!) for our scheduled viewing of The Last Supper. As we walked out to the courtyard of the lodging we not only saw the car that was there last night, but some larger vehicles were there as well. It must be a tight squeeze to get in! (The place vehicles enter is in the first photos below, and Dan is walking toward it.)

We weren’t exactly sure where to go to get the tickets we ordered, but it was fairly obvious once we got there — the Ticket Office sign was rather hard to miss. (The first image shows the door you take to get to the image. The second is the ticket office.)

We had paid for the 15 minute viewing (that’s all anyone gets) AND some time after that with a guide who would explain things. Little did we know that it would be in Italian! (I could have sworn it said it was in English. Oops.) Thankfully the guide asked several of us if we spoke Italian and when we said we didn’t she did explain some things in English as she went along. It was really helpful to hear more about the piece, and I would love to read more about it now. The 15 minutes goes by so quickly … you really have to focus to try and see everything. Thankfully we are allowed to take photos, but seeing it in person is best. Trust me.

Our appointment to visit the Duomo of Milan was also today, so after seeing The Last Supper we walked over to see the cathedral and more. The crowds at the Duomo were crazy, and the building itself is astounding.

We did arrive on the early side, so we ambled around for a bit and then had lunch. We opted for a larger lunch so that dinner would be smaller. I’m hoping this will mean I’ll sleep better.

The first thing our ticket said we were to do was take the lift to the rooftop. Of course I should know better than to attempt a rooftop, but part of me always thinks I will get more comfortable with heights. NOT SO! As always I was scared, and I had the pain I always have (yes, a physical pain) when I deal with heights. I didn’t realize the rooftop mean going around the entire thing, and that at one point we are walking the very center of the rooftop. EEK! Poor Dan had to take my hand in a few spots, or sometimes I grabbed his arm. But I did it. And I took photos for a while (by the time we were at the very highest spot we could walk I had packed up things because I was too freaked to do photography!). Here are a few iPhone shots, though, to prove I was there. Isn’t it amazing to see what they have on the rooftop? It’s really something else.

(I do hope readers realize that you can see the full images if you click on them!)

Next up was the inside. Much more comfortable for yours truly. There’s one area with three huge stained glass windows with tons of images that basically go through the entire Bible in pictures. I couldn’t get very good photos of those, though I did try and you can see one of the windows at the end of this next series.

Then we went down some stairs to the Archeological Area. Interesting, but not a good spot for photos. I took this one image of the baptismal spot, but it’s blurry and not so great. Still, shows I was there. I sort of marvel at how much higher the current city is compared to the older ones.

From there it was break and beer time, along with a light snack, but not for long. Next up was the Duomo Museum, and time was passing quickly so we knew we needed to get there or wait until tomorrow. Lots and lots of objects (sculptures and more), none of which I took the time to photograph. I think I was running out of steam. Or maybe I was all the way out already.

At that point we were ready to go back to our hotel, but first …

Don’t worry, Dan didn’t eat both of those! One of those really was mine!

And here I type in our room. I think we’ve opted to skip dinner, since the light snack and gelato were filling enough.

See you tomorrow!