Milano Continued!

Today we told ourselves we would walk to the next museum, but we ended up wandering around the city and running out of time. I don't regret any of it because we have a lot of city to see. My goal here is to become acquainted with the city of Milan like a resident of the city would, beyond other goals of seeing Italy. Anybody that goes on vacation can stop by Milan, see the Duomo, then stop by Rome, check out the Colosseum, go to Venice and check out the carnival, and be back home in a week. I have the fortune of spending 4 months with my home in a single Italian city, and I think seeing as much of my own city is something that will offer me more in the long run. Of course I will be going to other places in Europe during my stay, but I don't want to neglect Milan. I want to cherish an aspect of my trip that separates it from an average vacation: the length of stay. So, here is some more of Milan!

The first 4 pictures are of a small church we found down our canal, far from the center of the city. It's interesting to see how a church practicing the same religion from about the same time period looks when it has less financial backing. The art can still be found on the walls, but they cannot afford as much for restoration. The art is sparse and faded away at many places. The bricks are the same, with just a smaller floor space. There is no gold paint to be found. Very interesting to me, the juxtaposition of the rich chapels to the more modest chapels.

The next picture is from the Italian version of Best Buy, Media World! Virtually the same as a Best Buy inside, but more condensed and with lower ceilings.

The next 3 are of probably the nicest McDonald's I've ever been in. I got a milkshake and it tasted different, as everything here does. It tastes a bit more like chocolate pudding, but still not like pudding. Difficult to explain. Check out their mats-- that is the McDonald's ad campaign in this city. These minimalist posters of McD products can be found EVERYWHERE, on buses, billboards, bus stops, etc. I took my placemat, I think it is an interesting difference between Italy and America. You would never see that sort of campaign here, it doesn't appeal to Americans well. The next two are just of a piazza, to show off how your average square looks outside the city center. For a long while we were walking down Via Giorgio Washington! I don't think it is pictured here, but that's where we got McDonald's. A street in Milan is named after Washington, pretty funny. Then next picture is of a sign telling us the rules of driving down that road. Try to figure it out! Seems just as confusing as in New York. And the last is of a gas station. Gas is even cheaper here!! ...oh wait, that's euros.