Weatherman had said clouds.
It’s prohibited to the driver to speak.
The fog comes
Taxis waiting at Cadorna's side exit, mid-morning yesterday.
While I confer with my artist friend about which pictures I snapped in his studio yesterday to put on my blog, here's another of my metro snaps....More......
Adorable delicate portico with two lithe female caryatids over the ionic capitals...Who built this, and for whom? My trusty "Milano" by the Touring Club Italiano has....More......
Men's fashion week is a happening in Milan. Not quite as big as the women's fashion week, but Milan lives on and for upper end readymade wear just the same...and it conveniently coincides this year (at least) with the winter time sales (proof in the pudding is in the eating...here's a snap I took this foschia*-touched afternoon down via Spiga, together with via Montenapoleone, one of the two most chic readymade wear shopping streets in Milan...and that means in the world....More......
Fashion buyers, fans, journalists, photographers and bloggers from all over the world gather here...and those yearning for their ten minutes of Warhol-esque fame get their golden opportunity. (I didn't have the courage to take a picture of one ripe example of a fashion victum, uh, buyer, et al. ... a pudgy fellow with wild and crazy curly hair, heavy dark-rimmed round glasses, a hunter-style mid-thigh length plaid jacket in a dusty mustard and siena, dark pants and strappy army style boots ... how does one politely say, "Excuse me, you look like a hick from the sticks, may I take your picture in order to poke fun of you on my blog?" ... what *is* it with "high" fashion, anyway? Why does so much of it have to look goofy, or purposefully odd? "Signs o' the times" would probably be the answer.)
In past years, the streets in the Montenapoleone area, where the (enchanting) Bagatti Valsecchi Museum where I work also is located, were packed with strolling local window shoppers and (sticking out like sore thumbs) fashion floods, but this year I was hard pressed to get some populated shots. Could have been bad timing...right after lunch...could have been the freezing weather (2°C / 36°F)...I hope it's not the crumbling economy. Here's a snap in via Montenapoleone with some typical Italian and Milanese details and the brightly colored Gucci shop enlivening the shot.
This couple is stylin' down via Spiga (though the woman should do something with all that HAIR). Guys, please notice that you CAN wear comfortable AND attractive shoes that AREN'T tennies (one of my pet peeves).
Here's proof that it really was a sunny day. A stylin' guy on the left, a couple of visitors checking their map on the right, and one of Milan's two remaining medieval gates in the rear, right where via Spiga hits via Manzoni.
"Uhhh...thanks...you shouldn't have...really.... Pssst, what are we going to do with it?"
Apparently, the Italians in charge of San Siro don't understand either: there are big banners touting "Leonardo's horse" all over the front of the gallop stadium (as opposed to the trotting stadium) in front of which the statue has been perched.
Get yourself to Piazzale Lotto. Various busses go, but since the numbers may change it's not helpful to cite them. There is a Lotto stop on the red number 1 metro (subway) line, too. The subway exits all seem to be on the opposite side of the piazza from the direction that you need to go. Get above ground, and look for trees. There's a snippet of park next to the entrance of the Lido di Milano, a 1930s historic sport center with a city-owned pool, tennis courts, etc. You'll need to walk along the park next to the Lido on Via Caprilli. (For Lido entrance info in Italian: http://www.milanosport.it/intranet/MILANOSPOR/Impianti/LIDO1/index.htm)
Across the street from where the little park stops Via Ciprilli continues along a grafitti-covered stuccoed brick wall enclosing the race track grounds. 
In the background on the left, the Late Renaissance drum of the Early Christian church, San Lorenzo*. In the foreground on the right,...More......
Went to Chiaravalle, just outside of Milan, again. It's a Romanesque and Gothic period monastery with some 16th century frescoes and architectural bits, 17th century frescoes, and...since the last time I went there...a revamped shop and bar.More......
The little bar is now snuggled into a little recessed slant-roofed building on the left after entering this street-side gate (in front of which stops the bus 77 available in Piazza Medaglia d'Oro, the "Porta Romana" stop of the yellow metro line) built by Giuliano della Rovere around 1500 (before becoming THAT Pope Julius II...Michelangelo's patron and nightmare), which I photographed around 4 P.M. on the 2nd of July 2005.
Another afternoon shot from July, this time of the Romanesque (brick) church façade with a Renaissance (white marble) porch tacked onto it.
My lovely new friend L. and her sweet kids G. and G. and I poked around in the church a bit (thanks for the lovely afternoon!)...
...then in the cloisters, which--because of the wintery blight--are less spectacular this time of the year, but ever so refreshingly quiet, and the light was right for...
...a snap through the glass of the monk's refectory (dining hall), while the...
...chapterhouse (council room) is seen better in this 2005 snap because the door was open (for once).
Encouraged by the happy memory of a new friend (Hi, N.!), I finally stopped into Bar Magenta at the corner of Via Carducci and Corso Magenta in Largo d'Ancona. I've only been meaning to do it for, oh, maybe 15 years...More......
Never miss a good honest opportunity for more chocolates, or gifts, that's my advice. The Befana is on her way, if you're in Italy...More......
Perched, a bit doubtful but at the same time hopeful that 2012 will be a good year.
