Milan

Everyone knows that Milan is a fashion capital. But did you know that Milan has a castle?
Going to Milan was originally for this reason

But it turned out that going to Milan was even better then I though. Milan is the second largest city in Italy and I believe it. It took me an hour to walk from my hostel to the Duomo and it had looked so close on the map. But it was good exercise. Even thought my hostel wasn’t close to city centre it was only 15 minutes from the bus station and as I had to catch a bus at 4h30 it was an added bonus.
Thanks to wikipedia I did a little research on Milan and the history is just about as cool as walking around the city. How about a small dose of cool Milan facts in….*drum roll*… list form!! Lol
-founded by the Insubres, a Celtic people
-captured by the Romans in 222 BC
- It was the capitol of a lot of places through out history to name only a few: Western Roman Empire, Duchy of Milan, Kingdom of Italy (under Napoleon), Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia
-42nd most important global city
-Milan contributes almost 9 percent of the national GDP of Italy
-Was part of the holy Roman Empire after Milan surrendered to Charlemagne/ the Franks in 774 
-war of conquest by Frederick I Barbarossa against the Lombard cities brought the destruction of much of Milan in 1162
-In 1943, anti-German resistance in occupied Italy increased and as the war came to an end, the American 1st Armored Division advanced on Milan but even before they arrived, members of the Italian resistance movement rose up in open revolt in Milan and liberated the city
There’s a wee bit about the city of Milan itself. Now onto to the fun stuff… or as much fun as I could have in the rain.
First though I will admit a great mistake. You see I got off the bus from the airport and it was raining… and I just wanted to get to my hostel so I mapped it on my phone and started walking. I walked past of Santa Maria delle Grazie. At that moment I just thought it was a really pretty looking church but I was too cold and wet to take a picture. It was only after I’d done some looking into sights that I found out it houses Di Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’ painting. I wanted to see the painting but it’s like a lot of famous things I suppose and you have to book tickets ahead since the next free day to see it was in December. But I shalln’t weep over it since I saw a lot of other cool things.
The first place I wandered upon was the Scala. It’s Milan’s Opera House and one of the most prestigious ones in the world. I must say that I don’t think any Opera House will ever compare to the Paris Opera House..

The Scala

Is at least prettier then the Madrid one.

And right there in Piazza Scala is the entrance to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It’s a  covered passage that connects Piazza del Duomo, Milan to the square opposite of La Scala. The galleria was built by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877 to celebrate Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of united Italy. It was really cool to walk through. And it’s so huge! It was weird it was sort of like being outside but you were inside… and it was a nice respite from the rain.

So obviously the next place I saw was Piazza Duomo and the Duomo itself. I think this was one of the prettiest cathedrals I’d seen on my travels. 

Impressive right? And it took nearly six centuries to build. They broke ground for it in 1386 and it was completed in 1965. Which is weird because going in there I totally thought it was older then being completed in the 60s.
-with streets either radiating from the Duomo or circling it, reveals the Duomo occupies what was the most central site in Roman Mediolanum, that of the public basilica facing the forum
-It has the 4th highest nave in the world
-it has135 spires and 3,500 statues
-Saint Ambrose's 'New Basilica' was built on this site at the beginning of the 5th century, with an adjoining basilica added in 836 (They were later damaged in a fire and replaced by the Duomo)
-The construction program was strictly regulated under the "Fabbrica del Duomo", which had 300 employees led by first chief engineer Simone da Orsenigo (they also delt with collecting donations for the building)
-In 1500 to 1510, under Ludovico Sforza, the octagonal cupola was completed, and decorated in the interior with four series of 15 statues each
-1552 Giacomo Antegnati was commissioned to build a large organ for the north side of the choir
-1762 one of the main features of the cathedral, the Madonnina's spire, was erected at the height of 108.5 m
-On May 20, 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte, about to be crowned King of Italy, ordered the façade to be finished. He assured that all expenses would fall to the French treasurer, who would reimburse the Fabbrica for the real estate it had to sell (this reimbursement was never paid). Within seven years, the Cathedral had its façade completed. 
- After 1805 most of the missing arches and spires were constructed, the statues on the southern wall were also finished
-in 1829-1858, new stained glass windows replaced the old ones, 
-the last gate was inaugurated on January 6, 1965
-The Duomo's main façade went under renovation from 2003 to early 2009
Now I think that’s also got to be the coolest history to go with the cathedral. It took all that time and so many engineers and architects to finish it. 

After the epicness of the cathedral I thought it would be cool to see the castl, Castello Sforzesco to be exact. Honestly I didn’t see a lot of it. At this point in my travels I was low on cash and decided to opt out of going inside (which was just a museum) I put the six euro toward dinner instead. But it was cool to walk through the courtyards and to take a few pictures of it. I mean it’s a freaking castle! It was begun in the 14th century and by the 1450s Francesco Sforza decided it already needed reconstruction done. Under the Spanish rule (between 15th and 16th century), the castle was developed and protected by 1000 to 3000 men, and was one of the biggest citadels in Europe. The external fortifications reached 3 km in length and covered an area of 25,9 hectares (aka 10,000 meters). In 1943 the castle was severely damaged from allied bombings but it has been restored and reconstructed for museum purposes.

Behind the castle is Parco Sempione. Which I got the pleasure of walking through while it rained.

And at the far end of the park is The Peace Arch, erected in 1807 by Napoleon in Neoclassical style. I guess this dude really like arches. When I saw it in the park I didn’t know it was built by Napoleon, all I thought was that someone ripped off the Arch de Triumph. Now reading into it, it wasn’t ripped off it was another of Napoleon’s great ideas.

As it decided to rain a little harder I asked myself ‘Should I go back to the hostel?’ and I said no. I’m nearly to the Cimitero Monumentale, it’s only a stone’s throw away and I’m wet already. So I walked for about 20 minutes to see this epic cemetery. Here’s the write up from the website
“The Cimitero Monumentale is therefore a complex architectural landscape whose contents can be interpreted at different levels. The cemetery not only offers a means of witnessing the passage of various artistic phases, but also provides a window on the history of the city and the forms of self-representation adopted by its inhabitants. Studying the names engraved on the tombs is like checking up a sort of Milanese Who 's Who of those times, since to be buried in the Cimitero Monumentale was proof of economic stability and social status”
Sounds really cool right? And I wish I could tell you it was really cool. But just my luck it’s closed for restoration work. Wooo!! All I could do was take a few pictures from outside the gate and make my way back toward city centre. 

The day was growing late and I was growing hungry. So on my hour and a half hike back to my hostel I stopped by a grocery store picked up a baguette, meat (that tasted like bologna), cheese and seafood pasta. The baguette, meat and cheese were to make a sandwich so I would have something to eat at the airport. I’m really glad I thought ahead because I spent less then 3 euros on everything and the sandwiches at the airport were at least 5 euros. And I spent the 6 euros that would have been for the castle museum on my food for the night. 
The seafood pasta was just one of those packages that you mix up. So I went up to the kitchen in my hostel and was all ready to cook. Thank goodness there was a guy there who had been using the pan I needed and he cleaned it for me and since the sink wasn’t giving out hot water he put the pan on the stove. Why is this a blessing? Because the stove was so retarded! You had to light the gas stove with a lighter. I joke you not! It was so shitty and I’m so glad I didn’t have to do it. The guy had been there for a few nights I think because he had no problem doing it.
I ate an early dinner and was in bed by 22h00. It was a wee bit hard to sleep good because people were moving around in the room. But I managed some sleep before my alarm went off at 3h30. I threw on some clothes gathered my stuff packed my backpack nicely. Then I donned my rain gear as it was pouring outside.
I saw 3 people on the street while I walked. I was very careful to walk around puddles and I kept my feet dry. That is till I crossed the road to the bus stop. I step down into the street and my left foot sinks into a puddle. I curse a lot at my soggy shoe but I continue on and catch the bus. I got a nice nap in on the hour bus ride to the airport since Ryanair never flies out of somewhere convenient. 
Security was a breeze. I didn’t get weighed, thank god, I was almost 3 kilos over then limit. And I was off to Frankfurt Hahn. 
It was sort of cool my journey home. I was awake for less then 12 hours and I was in 4 countries. I started in Italy, left at 7h15. I landed in Germany at 10h00. I caught my bus which dropped me in Luxembourg at noon. And from Luxembourg a connecting bus brought me to France. An epic journey home but so worth it. To get back and see Damien and be able to relax was wonderful.
It was amazing to travel but sleeping in hostels will never be one of my favorite things. To be able to relax and really sleep and not have to cuddle with a hard backpack was the most welcome thing. 
I still have one more blog on Milan to bore you with. It’s about the elephants I saw in the city. So stay tuned.
Cheers,

Spain Diaries: The End

From Cordoba I took a seven hour bus ride to get back to Murcia to spend a few more days with Ana. We pretty much just hung out the whole time. It was grand!
And we also went to a Medieval festival. There was some really cool music. Like this band

And there were cool stalls set up selling nifty things. I thought it was super fun!
It was a tiny bit depressing that I was leaving Spain but I was rather anxious to get back to France and just relax. But before I could catch my flight to Frankfurt I swung by Milan. It was originally for cost reasons that I ended up stopping by Italy but looking back now I’m glad I did. Milan is a great city. But that’s another post really.
To sum up my Spain travels I’m choosing my favorite picture from each place I went and posting it right here.
Murcia

Granada

Madrid

Santiago de Compostela

Seville

Cordoba

And there it is. You now have a full account of my entire Spain extravaganza!! Hope you enjoyed because I sure as hell enjoyed Spain. I want to go back… when it’s not the rainy season.


Cheers,

Spain Diaries: Cordoba

Cordoba was a bitter sweet visit for me. It was a pretty town but it was also my last stop on my Spain travels. That and the fact that it was raining so it made it rather difficult to properly sight see. But lucky for me I like the rain so I didn’t mind walking around in it too much.


I got to Cordoba just as the sun was setting. And I caught the right bus to city centre but got off at the wrong stop. So I whipped out my phone and mapped it back to my hostel. It was here at my hostel that I had my very first and only language crisis. I had booked my hostel for one night but I decided I wanted to stay an extra one. The girl who checked me in only knew a tiny bit of English and I know like 0 Spanish. So I was at a loss for what to do. We got the situation resolved when she called her boss (I think) and I spoke English to her boss and the her boss spoke Spanish to her and we got it sorted. Lucky for me that was the only crisis I had in Spain. I’d even prepared myself for the worst expecting a lot of language mishaps but I sailed right through with no problem.


The tourist office in Cordoba was fantastic. Lucky for me there was one a three minute walk from my hostel so after check in I popped around there and picked up some info to plan my trip around the city. Turns out there is quite a bit to see and I was excited. So I went to bed quite excited to go about the town the next day.


I had intended to sleep in the next day as I’d been low on sleep since traveling. But my dormmates were all up and moving around early. So I got up and was moving around early too. I was ready and out by 10h00. My first planned stop was going to be the Cathedral-Mosque. It was €8.50 to get in during the day but free between 9h30 and 10h30 but you had to be silent. So I decided it was best to save money and get up early. So I walked on to my first main visit the Fortress of the Christian Kings. Normally it’s €6 to get in. I paid nothing because it’s free on Wednesdays. Here’s the history paraphrased from the sign out front. The fortress was constructed by order of King Alfonso XI in1328 and was the place where Christian Kings stayed whenever the visited Cordoba. The donjon and Leons tower in the main façade are original. The Inquisition tower was added in the 15th century. The Palomas tower is a 20th century reconstruction. There were important things planned in the fortress like the discovery of America and the reconquest of Granada. During the modern age it was the seat of the Inquisition. In the 19th century it was used as a prison building. It was bought by the city council and restored in the 20th century.

Climbing to the top of the tower made for a great view!

Surprisingly there’s a lot of Roman things to see. Like
The Roman Bridge- I had a grand stroll across some of it.

The Roman Temple remains - sorry for the bad picture but the bars were annoying

The Roman Mausoleum - again shitty picture. But this was depressing to see because it was right next to the road.

The city is home to 12 Christians churches that were to built (many as transformations of mosques) by Ferdinand III of Castile after the reconquest of the city in the 13th century. I saw 2.
San Nicolás de la Villa

San Miguel

There are also other style churches. Like
San Francisco

Chapel of San Bartolomé

Scattered throughout the city are ten statues of Archangel Raphael, protector and custodian of the city. These are called Triumphs of Saint Raphael and are located in landmarks such as the one I saw by the Roman Bridge

And in Plaza del Potro

If I had known this before I would have gone on a hunt for them but I only just found this our while researching for this post.


Jardines de Colón was one of my last stops as I walked toward the bus station.

I also passed the Church and former Palace/Convent of La Merced Provincial Government. That’s a hell of a mouth full. But it was pretty.

Andalusi House
This place was totally cool it was right down the street from the Synagogue. And this is where they used to make paper during the caliphate in the 12th century. Caliphate is an Islamic government system as an fyi. They made their paper with rags. Cool right?

The Synagogue
This is paraphrased from the sign again. It was built in 1315. After the expulsion of the Jews in 1492 it is one of only three remaining synagogues in all of Spain. After the Jews left the synagogue was used as a verity of things. In 1492 the synagogue was used as the Saint Quiteria hermitage and the house as a hospital for hydrophobic people. In 1588 it became property of the Shoemakers cooperation. During this time they paneled over the old plasterwork walls and the roof was replaced. In 1884 a pries discovered the old plaster work and a year later it was declared a national monument and they began restoration.

And just a few other places that I saw:
The old city wall and gate

Malmuerta Tower

A super cute courtyard tucked away by the Synagogue

Plaza de la Corredera

And of course I saved the best for last. The Cathedral and former Great Mosque of Córdoba. I really had mixed feeling about this place. On one hand it’s so pretty but on the other it’s got a sad story. But I’ll depress you later.


The site was originally a pagan temple, then a Visigothic Christian church, then the Moors converted it into a mosque and then built a new mosque on the site. After the Reconquista it became a Roman Catholic church, with a cathedral later inserted into the centre of the large Moorish building. The Mezquita is regarded as the one of the most accomplished monuments of Islamic architecture.


The building was begun around the year 600 as the Christian Visigothic church of St. Vincent. Ancient right?


The Great Mosque of Córdoba was used for a verity of purposes during Moorish rule. It served as a central hall for teaching and to manage law and order within al-Andalus during the rule of Abd ar-Rahman.


There are 856 columns made of jasper, onyx, marble, and granite.

That’s a lot. And it’s so impressive to see and to walk around them all. These pillars were made from pieces of a Roman temple that used to be in the same place.


And there’s the courtyard. It was originally unpaved with natural irrigation for the citrus (lemons and limes and the such) palm trees. Today it’s paved…

In 1236, Córdoba was captured by King Ferdinand III in the Reconquista, and the mosque was turned back into a Christian church. Over then next centuries tons of changes were made to the mosque. Chapels were added and during the renaissance a cathedral nave was built right in the middle of the mosque and the minaret was converted to a bell tower. On the bright side the Christian conversions saved the mosque from destruction during the Spanish Inquisition. And it was continually added on until the late 18th century.

And the sad part? As I said it’s one of the most accomplished Islamic architectural feats and yet Muslims aren’t allowed to pray there. They’ve been lobbying to pray there for a few years now but both Spanish authorities and the Vatican have said no. I think it’s sad that it’s a converted Islamic building and they’re not even allowed to pray there when it’s original purpose was for them to pray.


To leave you on a happier not I have some more Cathedral-Mosque pictures.

Cheers,