From Milan to the Matterhorn

Today was another packed day, and we started by touring the 4th biggest church in the world-- the Milan Duomo. It's dominating gothic design is tremendously memorable and feels almost too big. The church was originally designed to hold 40,000 people, giving it a bit of a stadium feel as well as the spectacle. We climbed onto the duomo roof for some great views of Milan, before heading down to the adjacent Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. (Much like Pisa, the iPad didn't make the trip because of safety and theft issues.) We took in the shops and scenes before grabbing our luggage and boarding our train for Zermatt.

The train ride was so gorgeous that I skipped writing...so this will be short!

The opera last night was an experience of a lifetime. So passionate and in an acoustically perfect space. It was so much more intimate that anything I have experienced at the MET or the other major American houses...including sitting front row center a few years ago at the MET. Now that I have been spoiled, I know what I will have to do when I want a truly perfect opera experience! Mom and Andrew loved it too, and we all had descent sight lines. Scalpers were selling tickets for 600 euros...got ours for 22 or so!

After seeing bits of the northern lakes of Italy (Maggiore, Garda, and and Como), I am adding the to my list of places to visit sometime in my life-- just breathtaking to see the pastel towns with the blue water and Alps jutting up in the background.

We are in Zermatt now and had a fantastic and freezing trip up a cog wheel train to get some incredible views of the Matterhorn and all the mountains around. They are phenomenally grandiose and stunning. The feel is quite different than the Rockies. We are staying in a charming Chalet tonight, and we basically have the town to ourselves as it is between ski season and hiking season!

That's all for now, but I will add a few more pictures in a bit. It has been another absolutely memorable day!