Our second morning in Milan was an early one, we had tickets to see the Last Supper at 8 am. Not only was it a rough morning because it was so early, we awoke to discover Bethy had been eaten alive by mosquitos in the middle of the night, and Vienne had a mysterious rash covering her angelic, little face. We were all stumped over what it could be, it kind of looked like chicken pox, but it was only on her face and she had been vaccinated, so the chances were pretty slim. We didn't have much time to investigate and figured we would sort it out after the Last Supper since she didn't have a fever and wasn't in any pain.
When we arrived at the Santa Maria delle Grazie we almost weren't allowed in because the guide took one look at V and thought she had chicken pox and didn't want her to spread it to anyone in the group. Sadly, V did look worse for wear since she was tired and cold so she looked super lethargic in addition to her spots. But we told the guide we would keep a safe distance from the group in the back and they reluctantly let us in.
The Last Supper is one of the most recognized and appreciated artistic masterpieces in the world – by Da Vinci and in general – and is the only fresco of its kind still visible today.
The painting’s theme is that of the Gospel of John, in which Jesus announces that one of his apostles will betray him. Da Vinci set the long refectory table at stage center in this room, with Christ at the center of a pyramid formed by extended arms.
Seeing this stunning work of art had been on my "To See" list for years, it was hard to comprehend that I was actually standing in front of the real fresco. It's gorgeous and detailed and unlike a lot of other famous works of art, larger in person.
Around Christ the apostles are painted in four groups of three, varied but symmetrically level. The use of perspective and the placement of the personages draws focus to the center of the painting, whence it seems that it is Christ who not only watches over the entire scene, but who seems to be living this decisive moment intensely, and in the very present.
Seeing this masterpiece in it's original surrounding adds to the entire experience. The church is beautiful with it's romanesque architecture and the other frescos on the walls are just as beautiful as Da Vinci's work. The experience would be completely different, and not nearly as life changing, if we were viewing it in a museum setting.
Once V woke up a little more, she was her usual sunshiny self which made all of us feel a little better about her curious spots.
Across the room from The Last Supper, is this impressive work of art painted by Milanese painter, Giovanni Donato da Montorfano. Montorfano was a painter during the renaissance and is most famous for this fresco, The Crucifixion.
Guests are only allowed in the Refectory with the frescos for a short 15 minutes, and they are very strict with their timing. After our 15 minutes with fame, we were anxious to find a pharmacy to see if they would be able to prescribe/ recommend anything for V's rash. We were able to find a pharmacy rather quickly, but they said there wasn't much they could do, but they did give us the card of a near by pediatrician. So we set out to see if we would be lucky enough to get in to see a dr.
The pediatricians office was in a beautiful part of town.
The doctor's office was in this building, which is by far the most beautiful place I have ever been to see a dr.
We were greeted by a receptionist who spoke limited English, but she was able to get across the dr. wasn't in the office yet, but she had a full day of appointments. A nurse heard us talking to the receptionist, and came over to help, she had studied in the U.S. and spoke wonderful english and she was unbelievably nice and so helpful. She told us to wait until the doctor arrived and she would see if she would be able to quickly fit us in.
We waited in a fun playroom wait area, V loved all the toys. The doctor was so kind and agreed to meet with us as soon as she got in. The doctor didn't speak much English, so our nurse friend translated for us.
As soon as she looked at Vienne's rash, the doctor put all our minds at ease and said it definitely wasn't chicken pox. While we didn't think there was much of a chance it was chicken pox, there was still that slime chance that had us worried, so we were relieved to hear it wasn't. The doctor spent a long time with us, asking us different questions to try and pin down a diagnosis. She did a quick exam, which V did not like, I don't blame her. But the doctor was so sweet and very gentle. In the end she wasn't quite sure what was causing the rash. But she said it would most likely go away in a couple of days. V didn't even seem to notice she had the spots, she wasn't itching them, she didn't have a fever, she wasn't acting lethargic so they dr didn't seem too concerned about it being something serious or contagious. She gave us her phone number and told us to call if we had anymore concerns. What a tender mercy this amazing pediatrician's office was. The staff was so sweet and accommodating.
V got a balloon on our way out of the doctor's office, which made it all worth it to her, she thought that balloon was the coolest thing ever.
We treated Vienne to some gelato since she had had a pretty rough morning with everyone being so worried about her. The doctor had recommended a gelato place close to her office that we decided to try out.
After our delicious gelato, we strolled back to our airbnb. We passed by fun floral stands and souvenir stands that were fun to browse.
Reece got Vienne this adorable little scooter as a fun memento from her first trip to Italy. She loved it so much and took such great care of it throughout our trip. It was a treasure.
We spent the rest of the afternoon napping and relaxing at home, it had been a pretty emotionally and physically exhausting morning.
But we had special evening plans that got us out of the house on our last night in Milan. Bethy had found a cooking class for us to take! The class took place in our instructor's home, which was so intimate and lovely. It was a private cooking class, so we were the only students which was so nice.
The class was described as follows:
THE SECRET of Italian HOMEMADE PASTA.
Dear friends, how about carrying a memory of Italy in your heart forever? I will take some time to unveil the magic secrets of Italian traditional cooking, either in my flower-lined roof garden or in the orangery, amidst blooming flowers and fruit trees, my secret garden in downtown Milan a mere 20-minute walk or 5-minute journey by underground or tram from Piazza del Duomo.
You will quickly learn to prepare a lip-smacking lasagna using homemade pasta and a meat-based or vegetarian/vegan topping, and you can also use the same dough for an impromptu ravioli or tagliatelle recipe. Once we are done, we will sit by the blooming jasmine or in the romantic orangery to enjoy our creations with a glass of white wine or red and, before leaving, a Italian coffee from a very very old napoletana.
I loved our instructor so much. She was just what you would want an Italian grandmother to be.
We made three homemade pasta dishes!
First, we made a meat and red sauce lasagna. We made our own pasta and watched while our instructor showed us how to make the filling.
Next, we made a vegetarian lasagna with herbs and vegetables from our teacher's rooftop garden.
Lastly, we made cheese filled ravioli, again with our own homemade pasta.
When all of our dished were finished, we were invited to dine in our teacher's magical rooftop garden.
I loved our teacher for many reasons, one of the top reasons being she had countless cats, and a big, black shaggy dog. When I say countless, I mean we kept finding more and more throughout the evening, I think we tallied at least five.
I was so proud of all my handmade pasta dishes! I liked the ravioli the best, they were cooked in a heavenly butter sauce. Next best was the meat and red sauce lasagna and last came the vegetarian lasagna.
The sweet dog sat by me a lot of the night and I loved it.
We enjoyed our meal while we chatted with our teacher, she was so sweet and smart and was fascinating to talk with. This entire evening was so enchanting and so much fun. I have been to a handful of cooking classes, even one in Florence on my study abroad, but none of them were as amazing as this one. I loved the one on one instruction, I loved cooking in our instructor's home and eating in her hidden garden. It felt like best friends getting together for a night of delicious food and good conversation. It was the perfect ending to our visit to Milan
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