I’m out like a rocket in Milano…

My first trip to another country on my own. I picked this weekend, October 12-14th, because there was a race at the Monza Autodromo…Endurance Touring Car Series. I didn’t really have a gameplan other than that in Milan…and it worked out perfect.

Thursday night I found out that the S-Bahn train to take me to the airport was going to be on strike. Great…two other options….take a bus from another station which could take a few hours of waiting since everyone would be using it…or take a taxi for around $50 Euro which might have been more since they know the tourists would be begging for rides. I went to the train station anyhow and luckily they had one train working…only to the airport. Sweet.

I get to Milan around 11 or so…and took a train to the city and then to my hotel. I’m pretty used to living undergound and getting around like that so it wasn’t too big of a deal. The hotel was nice and right near a train station. I unload my things and go for my first meal…pizza (pizza meal 1 of 4)!

I went to the city center and picked up a tourist guide that had a map. This is where things got interesting. Inside the book they have numbers corresponding to the pictures in the book. They also have landmarks on the map with numbers next to them. I start heading towards what I think is Cenacolo Vinciano…a place next to the St. Maria della Grazie cathedral that houses Da Vinci’s “Last Supper”. I’m walking for awhile and trying to find it but to no avail. I asked for help three times from random Italian people…finally being shown that the Grazie is about 2 miles southeast. Apparently, the map has it’s own set of numbers which are listed on the back. Nice.

But something strange happened as I started onwards again, a lady walking in front of me heading towards me noticed something on the ground. As I passed she was picking up a gold men’s ring. She motioned at me seeing if it was mine, and I shook my head no, and then started to leave. Then she walked over to me and offered me the ring. I refused, but she took my hand and placed it in it and then closed my hand, all the while saying something in Italian with a sincerity I can’t even describe. She gave my this ring, and I don’t know why, but now I feel all superstitious like it’s supposed to be a good luck charm or give me magic power or something. Either way I put it in my bag and moved on.

Walked by the Arena Civica And then I went and check out the Arco della Pace, a statue of sorts that celebrates Napolean’s triumph. Unfortunately it was under renovation at the time so the left side had scaffolding and white plastic tarps covering it. I phoned Federico and made plans for the evening and started making my way to the Cenacolo Vinciano where Da Vinci’s painting is held. After walking for about an hour or so, I arrive. The place is pretty busy with people…and I find out that the only way to get a ticket to get inside is to make a reservation online…and those are booked for the next two weeks. Looks like I won’t be seeing Da Vinci’s painting this trip after all. Defeated…I went inside the St Maria della Grazie cathedral and took some pictures.
Next I moved on to go find the Duomo area in Milan, basically the city center. I stopped in a café to get some gelato…and tried to sit for a minute and rest. Well, apparently you can’t sit in there unless you pay money for the table…so I was asked to leave. A-holes. I get to the area near the Piazza del Duomo cathedral, still not seeing it. I turn one last corner and there it is, just gleaming in the sun about a ¼ mile away from me. It is made of multi color pink marble, is about 700 years old, and was quite possible the biggest church I’ve now seen, bigger than in Prague. The inside had these huge vaulted ceiling that just shot up so far in the air. It was also very dark inside…and had a very calming effect just being inside this place.






Walked around some shops…went to the Ferrari store…then saw this street sweeper vehicle catch fire, sweet.

That night I met up with Federico and went to Rosso Pomodoro for dinner. They specialize in pizza, which I gladly accepted (pizza 2 of 4). They have a special kind of mozzeralla cheese you only get if you ask for it…and it might have been one of the best pizza’s ever. Onwards we went to Club Armani. Federico has some friends around town, so he was able to get us, 4 girls from his gym, and 2 more of his guy friends on the list. This place is in the Armani ‘district’ where he owns like 3 or 4 building blocks. Federico also warned me he shows up sometimes at the club and likes young boys and to stay alert. Will do. But inside, drinks were 20 Euro each…about $28 US dollars. Wow. I got two. Double wow. Why on earth did I do that, wow. I could have had 2 really good steak dinners for that price. I had a good time there but was pretty exhausted from the day, so I didn’t get to crazy and made it back to my little hotel by 3am.




Wake up Saturday….time to head to Monza. I get on the train around 12.…realizing racing might be over by 2 or 3, but I had to make it there anyhow. All was good til I got to the Monza city center….and had to board a train. I took the wrong direction, and ended up getting there in one hour instead of 15 minutes. And the whole time there was this crazy Italian lady who got on and was talking to herself the entire time. I kept looking back and the old people beside her just had these frozen stares of disbelief that never left their faces the entire time. She soon got off, and the bus driver just shook his head and said ‘she smokes too much cannabis’…and I responded ‘sounds like meth to me.’ I get off the bus, grab a slice of pizza (3 of 4) and head to the track. I still didn’t know if I was going the right way, but soon I heard the sounds of engines roaring and cars whizzing by. I had arrived. I almost couldn’t contain my excitement as I was walking closer and closer still not being able to see the cars. But soon I walked inside and saw 350z’s racing around…and the stands were almost completely empty.


I walked around for a bit, then noticed people taking the tunnel underneath to get to the middle. On that side is the staging area and all the cars getting ready for their race times. The Renault Clio’s were getting ready, so I made my way to the far side of the track to go watch. One car lost control as he was coming through the S curve right towards me, but corrected at the last minute to regain control and got back on course, leaving the dust unsettled and rocks everywhere on the track. I did catch the tail end of one car spinning out at the end of the same curve.


On to the F. Junior Monza 1.2 race cars…these things were super tiny but pretty quick. About 30 or so of them on the track, looked awesome watching them all shoot through the turns one by one.



I make it back to the main stands by the starting line for the start of the EGTS series. I can hear the cars coming out, warming their engines…but I still didn’t know what cars were involved in the race. Then the Ferrari’s growling in the alley came out…a 612, 360, and F430. Followed by two Audi TT’s, Lamborghini Gallardo, a few Porsche 911s…two Vipers, and even a little Lotus Exige to bring up the rear. Here was the start….so amazing….


My seat was vibrating like no other, and the sound was almost deafening but at the same time was the greatest thing you’ve ever heard. The two TT’s held the lead the entire time, just lapping some of the other cars during the hour long race. Now the stands were a little more occupied with people. The day was finished out with the F. Monza series and then the IPS (Italian Prototype Series). I left feeling satisfied, because this is what I came to see and my mission was accomplished.

Saturday night, meet back with Federico and head to the Beach Club. This was a little more ‘regular’ of a club. 10 Euro drinks. The only problem was how to order them. I go to the bartender, try to order (mind you I don’t speak Italian and English is hard to come by) and he tells me to go to the girl at the cash register and pay her. I walk the 5 steps to get to her. So I pay her and then tell her what I want to drink. She then hands me a coupon and stamps my hand, and tell me to see the bartender again. This time I give him my coupon and I get my whiskey. Geez, all that seems pretty complicated just to get one freakin drink. But we were in a group of about 8 of us and one of the guys got a bottle of rum towards the end of the night, so that saved my some cash.

Sunday morning I had some time to kill before my flight, so I went to the Museum Civico Storia Nature, where they held a collection of dinosaurs, bones, animals, and rocks. Yay. Left there and went to the Comune di Milano, where they hold a large collection of modern art. The mural to the building was funny, which is basically a bunch of drug addicted cartoon characters hooked on cocaine, which a huge pile of it in the center. You almost wouldn’t notice it if you didn’t stop to look at it…..I thought it was pretty clever. Here’s some of my favorites from the gallery….



I then made my way to the Palazzo di Brera museum and saw works from such artists as Tintoretto, Montegna, Giovanni Bellini. Montegna’s “Cristo Morto (Dead Christ)” was there and was so impressive to see in real life. It is not a large painting, and had a tinted glass over the front to keep it protected. Other paintings were so large they must have been 20 feet by 10 feet at least. There were seismographs in every corner of every room, and they had ‘humidor’s of sorts with hundreds of unhung paintings…probably from lesser known artists of the same time period.


I last went to the Piazza Castello castle and walked around there a bit, then got picked up by Federico and headed to the airport, where I had pizza for the fourth and final time. 4 out of my 6 meals were pizza in Italy, awesome. I ate pizza almost every day for lunch in high school…so this is no big deal for me.I realize that by only telling you the big exciting things I do it negates the days I sit at work, come home and have nothing to do but lollygag on the internet, or are just plain bored. But I realize I am getting to do some pretty wild stuff out here and really have no complaints.

Parker