THE FASHIONABLE MILAN
Milano, Italy

Every guide book I’ve read and every person I’ve spoken to warned me about the dangers of entering Milano Centrale, the main train station in Milan. It was not until I arrived that I understand why. The place is in constant buzz with more than 10 platforms for train arriving and going every 10 minutes. People were in a hurry, in fear of missing their train, or restless from being there too early and therefore off-guard, making them open targets for pickpockets. I hung on tight to my daypack, tried to navigate myself around the station as if I know where I was going.

I had a few hours before meeting Carlo and Salmiah, and I wanted to see a little of Milan before that. I set out to check out SDA Bocconi – this university my brother is supposed to go to. SDA Bocconi was not what I thought it was. I was expecting a big university with lots of college students hanging around, but it was just a building. It is a building where post graduate students attend classes. The area was kinda cool though. I hung out and had coffee in a street café. It was super cheap!! The coffee was less than 1€.

The Duomo was the next place I visited. Unfortunately the church’s incredible façade was under restoration, like many other buildings all over Europe. The sides were still visible and it towers up to the sky magnificently, taking your breath away. There were saints and other figures on every pointy thing above the Duomo, made in great details – a sign of excellent craftsmanship. The inside of the church was not that special (I think it was just me having seen way too many churches in such short time), but the height of the place took my breath away. I don’t know if it’s higher than the other churches, but it was HIGH.

The coolest thing of Milan was this photographic exhibition. One was about the people of EU by 14 fotographers, and how it affects the people of various countries. It talked about issues as the rise of neo-nazi, inter racial relationship, sex, identity and a whole lot more. It made me realize that it’s not all glam. The other one is a personal exhibition on Carlos Fontana.

Nothing beats meeting good friends though, and Milan is just like that. Carlo and Salmiah were nothing but welcoming and hospitable. I was always over-fed by good Italian food, good Italian wine. Milan definitely cured me of the horrible Venezia.

and more of that wine along the way…