The next morning Ross and I put on our Milan game faces. We'd had a very full first day in Milan already but the following morning meant our second, and last, attempt at seeing 'everything'. I'd planned on beginning the morning going shopping for a late Christmas present for Ross, but he talked me out of it. I guess I was happier being with him sightseeing for the morning instead of shopping for him, but I was disheartened that he wouldn't let me get him a present. After breakfast and showers our first stop was the church across from our hotel. The Maria del Grazie was home to the Last Supper (but you had to have a reservation). Ross and I entered the church and, to our surprise, walked in on a mass. A priest near the entrance looked at us, and all those recently entering with suspicion. A sign clearly said 'No Tourists During Services'. Adopting our most Milan strut Ross and I found our places in one of the last pews. The church was on the small side but a true treasure. All the surfaces were covered in colorful drawings and symbols. The frowning priest watched Ross and I gazing around at all the decoration but kept his distance. I noticed, and had noticed already, that all the elderly women in Milan seemed to wear fur coats and clutch a Louis Vuitton purse. Once I mentioned my observation to Ross we were vigilant to watch the people entering the church. With a poke and the whisper 'fur' coat, we'd add another to our count throughout our time in the church. The 'fur coat (& Louis Vuitton)' game was played the entire day. We left the church, the mass was lasting far too long, vowing to come back before it closed that evening, and we headed for the metro.
We'd already seen Castle Sforzesco in the dark (twice) but we wanted to explore it by day. Ross kept a lookout for the obnoxious flower men and made jokes about my 'hostility' toward them the night before. Instead of flower men, the square in front of the castle was dotted with string bracelet men. "Free! From Africa. Support Africa" the men said as they quite literally pushed the bracelets at me while I tried to take pictures of the castle and the huge fountain in the square. One bold bracelet man laid the little freebie on my shoulder which I promptly put into the basket of a nearby street entertainer. This seemed to amuse the man who retrieved the bracelet and proceeded to follow Ross and I with it, motioning for me to take it. Though we were in broad daylight I felt threatened. Ross, with his arm around my waist, turned suddenly and used his 'harsh' voice, telling the man to 'back off'. Then we were through the outer wall and into the castle's outer courtyard. It was clear that the castle wasn't the 'Harry Potter' kind. No rising spires. No maze of corridors and staircases. This was a fortification castle meant for defending those within. Thick walls, few windows, and everything laid out clearly, the place was pretty but imposing at the same time. It was New Year's Day which meant that the castle wasn't officially open for tours in the hallways, but Ross and I were able to see the inner courtyard complete with a rectangle reflection pool. Lots of other tourists were visiting the castle as well. Perhaps the strangest thing we saw were the brides. Multiple, Asian brides were in the middle of photos. One was getting into a limo in front of the castle. A couple more were walking inside the outer courtyard. Ross was confused and interested in why all these Asian brides were around the castle. I was appalled that they were all dragging the hems of their gowns in the dirt without seeming to mind. We exited the other side of the castle without reaching a logical conclusion about the presence of the brides.
Through the castle the path opened into a big, pretty public park, Parc Sempione. Before entering into the actual park Ross and I were caught by another tourist couple. We struck a photo deal; we'd capture one of them (with the Arco della Pace - Arch) in the distance and they'd do the same for us. The view was glorious. Across the green of the park the vanilla arch was crystal clear against the blue background of the sky. My trust guidebook mentioned a tower (Torre Branca) that Ross has wanted to visit inside the park, but to our dismay the 'work of art' turned out to be an ugly metal structure that was closed. Of course...because everything was closed right? Again I felt bad that Ross and I were visiting such a fabulous Italian city and it felt like most things we wanted to see we would not be able to see. Kindly, my boyfriend assured me that it was "no big deal" and that walking through the park was cool enough. We'd crossed the park from the castle, and finally stood at the arch on the other end of it. Triumphal arches are always quite beautiful and historically interesting. The Arch in Paris allows visitors to travel to the top! This one, which only drew a couple of people while Ross and I were there, was less interesting. After being forced into a photo by my boyfriend, he and I passed through the park once more, around the outside of the castle (instead of through it again) and back onto the metro toward La Scala and lunch.
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