Roadtrip begins

Last Supper

Today I am leaving Milan with in friends’ car, bound for Turin.  But I figured that as I hadn’t seen much of the city’s art galleries, I’d splurge out on seeing the Last Supper.  Quite surprisingly, I had been able to pre-book this just over a day in advance.

I woke at 0630 and was out of the apartment around 0740.  Despite still being relatively dark, the street markets were partially set up selling fruit, vegetables and various consumer goods.

Taking the metro to Cenacolo Vinciano (the home of the Last Supper), I bought my ticket from the kiosk in the normal manner and found that the ticket wouldn’t let me through the turnstiles.  I signalled to the officer in the booth.  He acknowledged me and continued talking and laughing on the phone.  I gave up and returned to the kiosk and realised that my ticket was still sitting in there.  I had picked up a receipt or something in the same card format that was invalid for travel.  Lesson learnt!

At Cenacolo Viciano, I had to wait outside for about 20 mins before I could be processed.  First out green passes were checked, then our temperature, then out email confirmations checked against a form of ID before our tickets were given out.

From there, it was a short walk to the next building.  Our group entered and waited in the hallway until exactly our booking time of 0845.  The Last Supper had been painted on the wall to our right.  Despite restoration it was looking a little tatty.

The Last Supper.

While everyone was admiring it, I turned around and noticed that The Crucifixion on the opposite wall was looking in much finer state.  Both are from the late 1400s.  Somehow the Last Supper hadn’t lasted as well and/or hasn’t been able to be better-restored.

The Crucifixion.

The group left the room on-the-dot at 0900.  I made it back on the metro within the 90 minutes allowed on the same ticket.

Back at the apartment, I had some to relax and prepared for departure.

Getting picked up for a road trip

After check-out from the apartment, I had to eat at McDonald’s nearby to use the wifi to do a time-critical application on my computer.  Fortunately that worked well and I left soon after, by the green line on the metro to Casci na Gobba.

I had about 30 mins wait there before I was picked up about 1330 by friends Lou and Riccardo.  They live in France but had been in their holiday home in Sicily.  I’m joining them on their journey back to France and had taken several stops in Italy.

Tonight and tomorrow, we’ll be staying at an old castle hotel-spa outside Turin.  We arrived around 1530 at Castello di Montaldo.

My expectations had not been high of the place due to mediocre reviews.  It was perfectly fine except that the interior décor was not exactly tasteful modern and not in keeping with its exterior.

After trying out the sauna (hot) and jacuzzi (not warm enough), we rested and then prepared for dinner out.  The showers weren’t warm enough.  Fortunately the rooms were very nicely heated and that helped make it more bearable.

We took dinner at an Italian restaurant in Chivasso, run by Middle Eastern people, with Riccardo’s grand-nephew Lorenzo.  My octopus with potato was awesome.  We took a wander around the town before and after.  It was a lovely town but the weather was cold tonight.