Wearing black

This morning we left Venice by water taxi and soaked in our parting view as we made our way to the train station. It was about 30 minutes from our hotel and an enjoyable ride. Sadly, we suffered a tragedy; sometime between our departure from the water taxi and our entrance onto the train I lost my new black sweater. I searched and searched and searched for the perfect sweater before our trip and that one was perfect and I miss it. We are in mourning.

I was standing in a queue for train ticket information when I got a tap on the shoulder and a soft, "Hi Stephanie". It was Julie from our Israel/Jordan/Egypt leg! She and Becky had just arrived into Venice and by happenstance she saw us! How random and fun!

Sitting in first class made up a little for the loss of the sweater. (My only concern is the cold airplane rides that are forthcoming but sweet Daniel told me that I could borrow his hoodie. Extra scoop of gelato for him.) First class = leg room, large seats, clean bathrooms. And trains in Italy are on time! (I guess Mussolini would execute the conductor if they weren't and the promptness has remained.)

We arrived at Milan Centrale Station. It's a big and hoppin place and proved reason #41 for small carry-on luggage. Stairs. And lots of them.

We dropped our bags at Hotel Gran Duca di York and headed for the Duomo. (The view from our room isn't quite as lovely as our hotel in Venice, but the location is perfect!! Just blocks from Piazza Duomo it's on that magical line where the streets become quiet.)

Photos inside are prohibited but as the third largest Christian church, the stained-glass windows are stunning. There is an interesting sculpture of Bartholomew the apostle standing with his skin slung over his shoulder. He was the apostle that was skinned alive as punishment for his preaching. He makes an appearance in paint on the Sistine Chapel as well.

Adjacent to the Duomo is a glass covered galleria with very high end shopping. My search for the perfect replacement sweater quickly began and then promptly ended when I saw the price tags. We made our way to the mosaic bull on the floor and took a spin on his privates. Don't ask.

The boys had shopping in mind:

So I obliged and bought them all something: