It was this horrifying image that greeted me to Milano, and which would proceed to haunt my dreams for the next couple of nights. She served me well, however, as I used her as one of the subjects for my sketches for class. If you thought this image couldn’t be any more frightening, you were wrong.
To get a good sense of Milan, you have to realize that they have the most amazing advertisements plastered all over the city. Try as I might, I couldn’t seem to capture this in a picture, but I feel as though this giant lady might come close to doing the trick. (She was about two stories high.)
Oh wait a second. Is that a break dancer? Yes that is. Even Milan can be ghetto fab.
The Duomo in Milan is absolutely stunning.
La Rinascente was the 7 story department store that I popped into, that truly had everything. After my visit, I better understood the mindset of a gold-digger. Unless you rock the black AMEX card, you really have no business being there. I literally found $100 t-shirts (which were adorable, by the way – that store is also quite depressing). The following are the displays in the windows of La Rinascente, and as they are the sexiest displays I’ve ever seen, it was worth taking pictures of all of them and posting them for you.
A little view inside the store, one which does it no justice whatsoever.
This is what rich guys see right before they have sex.
There was an entire floor devoted to sections like “Armani Junior.” I shit you not.
First interesting point to consider about this picture: there is an actual dog being walked through the store. Alright, fine. This is typical of Italy. But in a store like this one? Seemed a little strange to me. But then considering that there was also a section for household pets, I realized that it was probably I that was more out of place than these dogs – which probably have more money to their names than I do.
And then…there was this. The top – and most glorious – floor of La Rinascente. Full of bins upon bins of candy and delicious food, this place was a refuge for a dazed individual like me.
When I said La Rinascente literally had everything, I didn’t make this statement lightly. I even saw an albino in that store. I’m going straight to hell.
T, this one’s for you buddy. This was an ad I saw on the subway. I thought that only I made that face (see kid on right), so when I saw this, it was necessary to share. I realize that my family members are likely the only people to understand this one, mostly because I’m better able to contain my eccentricities in public.
The token Kaitlin picture.
Castello Sforzesco serves as a testament to the fact that Milan is more than just shopping. It’s actually got a whole historical side, one which I’ll stick to the next time I stop in.
The reflection pool…I thought this was pretty.
I finally got around to taking a picture of the people who sell illegal knockoffs in Italy. These guys really intrigue me. They lay out all their wares on blankets, and then the minute they spot the po's coming, they quickly swipe up all their stuff and book it. So far I’ve been scared to buy anything from these crafty buggars, mostly because we had the Italian Consulate come in and talk to us in Florence about how we could get arrested for doing business with them (probably a semi-hollow threat). Needless to say, I haven’t been willing to take the risk. But as these guys came in the dozens in the middle of what was essentially a park, I decided to go for it. And damn, can I barter. What was originally a 45 euro bag, I got down to 13 euro, a handful of coins, and a 5 dollar bill – bear in mind that the exchange rate favors the euro. The guy even asked me if the bill was real, which stirred a thought in me. If these guys can’t tell the difference anyway, why not counterfeit my own money? I would make out like God. One more anecdote about these dudes. They also try to sell little things like bracelets and belts – and these businessmen are actually a bit more pushy. So this one guy comes up to me and starts tying a bracelet around my wrist. I immediately told him, “Hey man, I’m sorry. I’ve don’t have any cash.” “Oh don’t worry, Miss, this is for good luck.” “For good luck you say? And it doesn’t cost me a thing? Sweet deal.” My friend Jessica had a similar interaction with the man in the next moment, and immediately after, he was petitioning us for donations. After weaseling our way out of that one, I had another idea. Why not see how many free good luck bracelets I can collect while out here? They’ll be like trophies. My only concern is that I actually have a terrible cold right now, and I’m wondering if it’s because the guy placed some sort of voodoo curse on the bracelet after I refused to pay him for it. Well guess what? I’m not taking it off. It was free.
Welp. That is all.
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