Milan

Rooftops of Milan

Ryan and I made another trip to Italy to visit Ryan’s worksites.  This trip we decided to drive instead of fly. On our return we spent a day in Milan. Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and a major world fashion and design capital. 

Duomo di Milano

  During our visit to Milan we stopped to admire the Milan Cathedral or Duomo di Milano. This cathedral is the fifth largest cathedral in the world. The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete.  Construction began in 1386 and the cathedral was finally completed in 1965. The Cathedral is located in the Piazza del Duomo or “Cathedral Square” is the main piazza of Milan. The 14^th century piazza marks the center of the city, both in a geographic sense and because of its social importance.

Piazza del Duomo

Galleria Vittorio Emanele II

Of course while we were in the “fashion capital of the world” we had to do some window-shopping. Our first stop was the world’s oldest shopping mall the Galleria Vittorio Emanele II.  The mall is housed within a four-storey double arcade in central Milan. The 18^th century glass and iron covered gallery is home to many beautiful shops, restaurants and cafes. Prada's flagship store has been in business here since 1913. The ceiling vaults are decorated with mosaics representing Asia, Africa, Europe and America. The reliefs on the mosaic floor represent the cities of Milan, Rome, Florence and Turin. Our second stop was the “Golden Triangle”, the name given to Milan’s famous shopping streets. 

Fountain in front of Sforza Castle

 Sforza Castle was built in the 15^th century on the remains of a 14^th century fortification. The Castle was later renovated and enlarged in the 16^th and 17^th centuries making it one of the largest citadels in Europe. Today Sforza houses several of the city’s museums and art collections. After admiring the castle we spent time relaxing and enjoying the beautiful fountain in front of the castle. 

Sforza Castle

Sforza Castle

 On our way home we traveled through Switzerland and were lucky enough to find Saint Gotthard Pass open. St. Gotthard Pass is a high mountain pass in the Lepontine Alps of southern Switzerland. The pass lies at an elevation of 6,916 feet and is 16 miles long. The first road over the pass was opened in 1830. We endured the winding roads and enjoyed the spectacular views

View From St. Gotthard Pass

French Exploration

Vauban Fortress

  

I apologize for the long delay in my blog update! July was a very busy month for both Ryan and I. We made trips to both France and Italy in July; Ryan finally heard about his promotion from Lieutenant to Captain; and I became a CPR instructor for the American Red Cross. Now on to our French adventure.....

The beginning of our French adventure started with a drive across the French countryside to the Atlantic Ocean. Along the coast Ryan and I were able to visit a fortress dating back to before 1480.  The Vauban Fortress was “rebuilt” between 1480 and 1490. 

Chateau of La Roche Courbon

We spent an afternoon visiting a French Chateau. The beautiful Chateau of La Roche Courbon is a large chateau developed from a castle built around 1475. The site the castle was built on has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In the 17th century, the Courbon family, which had occupied the castle for two centuries, transformed the castle into a more comfortable residence. More alterations were made in the 18th century, and the Chateau was eventually sold in 1817 and then abandoned. The Chateau was purchased and restored in 1920. Today the Chateau is owned and inhabited by descendants. The traditional French garden behind the Chateau is listed by the French Ministry of Culture as one of the “Notable Gardens of France”. 

Traditional French Garden Behind the Chateau

La Rochelle

One of our afternoons was spent visiting the historic city of La Rochelle. This city was founded during the 10^th century and became an important harbor in the late 12^th century. This picturesque city is one of the most historically rich cities on the Atlantic coast. La Rochelle’s main attraction is the Vieux Port or Old Harbor. Three towers left from the middle Ages surround the historic harbor. Saint-Nicolas Tower is a maze of military facilities and a royal residence. The Chaine Tower was built to control access of vessels into the port. The Lanterne Tower is the only surviving medieval lighthouse on the Atlantic coast. The lighthouse was converted into a prison in the 17^th century; the walls of were covered in graffiti evidence of the many pirates and other prisoners held there.  After walking through the historic downtown we made our way to the beach where we gathered seashells and put our feet in the Atlantic Ocean. 

Lanterne Tower

Disneyland Paris

Arc de Triomphe

On our way home we took two days one where we went to Disneyland Paris and the second where we took the train into Paris. Our first stop in Paris was the Arc de Triomphe. This arch honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The names of all the French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces and beneath the Arc lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WWI. The monument stands 164 feet tall, 148 feet wide and 72 feet deep. 

 

Our next stop in Paris was the iconic Eiffel Tower. The iron lattice tower was erected in 1889as the entrance arch to the 1889 World’s Fair. The tower stands 1,063 feet tall or about the same height as an 81-storey building.  The Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world, with 7.1 million people ascending it in 2011. We did not take the time to go up the tower; instead we enjoyed the park surrounding the monument and took some fun pictures using the tower as a backdrop. 

Eiffel Tower

 

 

The Notre-Dame Cathedral was our next stop. The cathedral was constructed in several phases between 1160 and 1345. Notre-Dame is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and among the largest and most well known church buildings in the world. During the construction period numerous architects worked on the Cathedral, as is evidenced by the differing styles at different heights of the towers. 

Notre-Dame Cathedral

Centre Georges Pompidou

 The architecture of Centre Georges Pompidou caught Ryan’s eye. The 1977 building was designed in the style of high-tech architecture and houses the museum of modern art. The building has a very unique look with its exposed skeleton of brightly colored tubs displaying its mechanical systems.  The building is named after Georges Pompidou, the President of France from 1969 to 1974.

 

The Louvre

 We ended our day in Paris at the Louvre. This is one of the world’s largest museums containing nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21^st century. The Louvre occupies an area of 652,300 square feet and records an average of 8 million visitors each year. The museum opened in 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings. The museum itself is housed in the Louvre Palace, which began as a fortress built in the late 12^th century. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. 

The Louvre