Sunday, June 10, 2007

Va Bene!

I am told that "va bene" means "very good" in Italian, and that is how life is right now. Husband and I left Florence this morning and took the train to Milan. When we arrived, I discovered that he had forgone earning points at the Westin so that I may experience the wonder that is the Four Seasons Milano. All I can say is, holy shit. (I so do not belong here, although entering the hotel with my Ferragamo shopping bag - free from the reception I attended on Thursday - fooled people into thinking that I am the right type of person for the Four Seasons. Little did they know that the bag held a wood toy, Husband's jacket, and a bottle of hand santizer.) But don't take my word for it. Here are pictures of my room:There are two bathrooms: one has the shower and bath in it, the other is next to the dressing area and contains the toilet and bidet. Both rooms have sinks with full counters. Va bene indeed.Once we unpacked, Husband and I headed over to Santa Maria della Grazie, the church that has Leonardo's The Last Supper. Unfortunately, we did not get the notice that we had to reserve a spot at the table (so to speak) one month in advance. The church only lets in 25 people at a time to see the work at a pre-assigned time, and it is sold out until July. Oooops. We did stop in the church to catch a glimpse of Saint Catherine's cloak.For a 350 year old garment, I think it has held up pretty well. St. Catherine is my favorite saint because when her wealthy family tried to marry her against her will, she suddenly developed "invisible stigmata" and was spared the wedding. Instead, she was sent to a convent, which is what she wanted all along. Now that is fucking clever.

From the church, we wandered over to a museum and saw some good and some awful art. Then we walked over to the local synagogue, which was built in 1890. More walking, then dinner and gelato before retiring to the hotel. It was very nice to spend time touring with Husband. He has a slew of meetings tomorrow, so I am off to see as many churches with nutty objects (ossuaries, relics, etc.) and art as I can cram in. He hates going to churches, whereas I am fascinated by these things. It's supposed to rain, which will be most displeasing, but I will soldier on.

3 comments:

  1. I don't like when hotel rooms are better than my home.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so jealous! I was talking about your trip to my friends on Friday as we were changing our kids' diapers. I mentioned that I talked to one of my favorite friends who just happened to be getting things together before catchuing a flight to Italy :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's nicer than my apartment, too.

    ReplyDelete