Holiday peace and good cheer

Happy Holidays and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year from Milan.

Enjoy!

(Photo: I snapped this at dusk on the 7th of January, 2013, for your personal non-commercial enjoyment.)

(More) Stupid Strikes: TreniNord 12, 13, 14 Dec

TreniNord departs (mostly) out of Cadorna, the station flanking the Sforza Castle, and runs "nord"--north--to places such as (lovely) Como.

Just in time for Christmas visits and shopping (mean! mean! mean!), the workers are planning strikes.

Friday, the 12th of December the strike will be from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. (in truth, this should spare many commuters), but ATM is also involved, though other sources say ATM will stop from 7 P.M. onwards. Your guess is as good as mine.

Saturday and Sunday the 12th and 14th of December, the trains stop at 9 P.M., and even if your train leaves before 9 P.M., if it doesn't get to your destination by 10 P.M., you're fried.

Get out your walking shoes, and hope that the clouds don't produce rain.

I can hardly say my usual "Enjoy!," can I?

Freebies entrance to civic museums every first Sunday of the month (at least until April 2015)

Good news for museum lovers...especially those with big families, or big groups of friends.

You can get into Milan's civic museums for free the first Sunday of every month -- including TOMORROW, the 7th of December, the day of Milan's patron saint Sant'Ambrogio -- at least until April 2015.

Make it a habit...then don't break it when the entrance fees kick back in.

It's really not that much, anyway, more or less like going to a movie, and--just think--museum entrance fees generally cover no more than 30-40% of a museum's BASIC budget.

Be a good joe. Go.

Enjoy!

Light to bring hope in darkness: a traditional Swedish (free) concert in honor of Santa Lucia, 11 December, 5:30 P.M., San Fedele

In honor of the Early Christian martyr St. Lucy--can you hear the song...More...

"Saaaaaantaaaaa Luuuciiiiiiaaaaaaa" in your head?--whose eyes were gouged out, lights are lit to bring hope in the December darkness.

Her saint day in the Catholic calendar really is the 13th of December, but the Swedish choir is busy between appointments in Rome and Milan, so they'll be giving us a free concert--thanks to the Swedish-Italian Chamber of Commerce--on the 11th of December at 5:30 P.M. in the church of San Fedele on the other side of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele from the Duomo.

While you're there, oogle the little jewel of a (16th century) church, one of the earliest churches to take into consideration the needs of the then new order of the Jesuits. (Want a hint? No more deep side chapels, no more side naves...back to the hall-like formation of Early Christian churches to help the worshippers focus their attention on the altar, on the pulpit and on the sermon.)

Enjoy!

P.S., obviously, I've broken my usual practice of putting only my own photos on the blog...here's the Chamber of Commerce's illustration with info.

P.P.S., thanks to my friend, Jill, who reminded me of this by now annual happening...mark your calendars already for 2015!

48 hours to visit Milan?

48 hours to visit Milan?

Here are my suggestions for two food- and fun-packed days, especially for a first-time trip to the city.

See my "48 hours for your first time in Milan" post for my "Art in Milan" column on the excellent "Where - Milan" web site.

It was so time-consuming to compile and illustrate, you'll probably have time to come and go before I manage to do a second or third one. :-)

(Photo: my snap of Palazzo Belgioioso in Piazza Belgioioso, Milan)