Sightseeing and the Giro in Milan

After making it to Milan and reuniting with Dennis and his family, we spent our off day today in Milan. We left Limbiate relatively early and arrived several hours before the race started, so we had some time to look around. There's nothing to describe coming up out of the subway and seeing this...


The duomo, as Scott and Rachel had already told me, is breathtaking - both outside and inside. The details of it are incredible - check out the Facebook album for more pics if you're interested.

For me, one of the most interesting things about Milan (at least the part that we were in, and the fact that we were in today) pulled together so much of my background and passions. We saw the beauty of the architecture and art of the duomo and listened to the mass inside. For me, my passion for Jesus has know superceded everything else, and seeing the duomo was a fitting start to the day. This was from a time when churches weren't built during the summer season or over the coursse of a year or so, but rather over several lifetimes. The result is a building that "worships" as well, and it's incredible.

Beyond my passion for Jesus and art, we moved into the Galleria, where I saw this:
For any former fashion designer and retailer, the Prada store in Milan is comparable to Mecca! However, walking into the Prada store in Milan with a group of men was of course out of the question... I'm sure you can understand.

From there, we moved to the La'Scala, the famous opera house in Milan. It was an integral part of the first Broadway show that Amanda and I saw together about Maria Callas - I'm pretty sure she slept through it, but it was incredible... Here's the current show, which does NOT feature Maria Callas!
Finally, we moved onto the new passion - the Giro itself. The city is CRAZY with the Giro! It's very interesting the difference between watching the race in the mountains and seeing it in an urban environment. The Giro is a party in downtown Milan! The race itself wasn't that exciting because the riders were protesting what they considered to be poor riding conditions. They ended up riding the 165K stage at a pace I could have kept! (At least the average - I wouldn't want to have tried to get in the mix on the last lap) Anyway, here's a shot of the start:
It was a nice day. After the start of the race, we all fell asleep outside the castle in the center of Milan - I got a solid hour! That was the closest to a true "rest" day we had - we were busy seeing things and enjoying the city.

Tomorrow, we start to head towards Tuscany. Roberto and his wife Yessenia (sp) have joined us, and Dennis will be with us as well for the next week. Tomorrow will be an easy start - 100K on basically flat ground as we head out of Milan, and Tuesday will be much the same until we get to the Italian Riveria. But that will but the end of the flat portions of the trip - from there, it should get more exciting! I'm really looking forward to Wednesday, during which we will ride the Giro's Thursday stage, which is a difficult and beautiful time trial that we are going to ride individually.

Milan is a beautiful city (in places), and it was nice to take a little break today. However, breaks make me also miss everyone at home more. Thanks to all for following along.

A quick personal note: one of the many things that I'm learning on this trip is how important my friends and family are. I definitely realized the importance of Amanda and the kids (however, that doesn't stop me from taking them for granted now and then), but I realize how important my friends are to me, and how often I take you all for granted. Thanks for providing a space for me and my family to be "us" and loving us along the way. We love you all! Speaking of, one last note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RE!! Believe it or not, I miss you!