04.17.10

With DC still living the good life in Switzerland and a "free day" on my hands, I decided to throw on my walking shoes and get out of my little neighborhood.  Milan is a great city to live and work in but it isn't Rome or Florence in that there are a million things you must do so I was able to cover a lot of ground today.  I started out at the Sforza Castle and, without David to force me into appreciating its history, simply wandered around it.  It is surrounded by this huge moat that is now grassy and has an inordinate amount of stray (but cute) cats living in it.  The castle is located in Milan's version of Central Park (Sempione) and, while it is much tamer than NYC's version, it was fun to get lost in for a bit. 

From Sempione, I walked down Via Dante, a cool "no cars allowed" street that connects the castle with the Duomo, and treated myself to my favorite sandwich for lunch.  I then wandered through Brera and shopped for furniture that was way out of my budget.  

It was starting to get rainy and cool so I popped into the Brera Gallery, which just so happened to be free that day, and spent a few hours looking at its collection.  The gallery is located in the same building as some art school so it feels very funky and the collection is very religious / political, including quite a few artists I had not seen before.  The weather had not improved by the time I was finished so I treated myself to some gelato on the way home and holed up in my apartment with a book.

I have to admit, traveling alone is odd.  David and I both feel that without the other to see what we are seeing, it's almost as if it didn't really happen.  I know the benefits (in terms of learning / exposure) are still there but if a tree falls in an empty forest, does anyone know (or care)?