curtains up at

TEATRO ALLA SCALA, MILAN







LA SCALA 





IS BREATHTAKING!!

lots of great energy 


just sitting here taking it all in

came with three friends - 
ANN and LISA - old friends, 

and SYDNEY - new friend


took train and stayed the night at
THE WINDSOR HOTEL
walking distance to train station
which is very convenient






this is ANN

this is the LOBBY - SO ELEGANT

and this is SYDNEY

THE STUNNING HOUSE - THE BOX IN MIDDLE OF BACK BALCONY IS FOR ROYALTY

THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR ALL OF US

WE ARE ATTENDING THE 3:00 SUNDAY PERFORMANCE
OF

JEWELS
by
GEORGE  BALANCHINE

MUSIC BY
IGOR STRAVINSKI

ANOTHER GLANCE AROUND BEFORE THE LAST JEWEL - DIAMONDS

the only time we could take pictures - THE FOURTH CURTAIN CALL

LA SCALA, WHICH HAS JUST BEEN COMPLETELY RENOVATED, IS ITALY'S PREMIER THEATRE AND ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS IN THE WORLD.

built on the site of the 14th century churh of SANTA MARIA ALLA SCALA, this world famous theater was commissioned from piermarini by maria theresa of austria, following the fire that destroyed the old TEATRO REGIO DUALE

INAUGURATED IN 1778, IT BECAME A PLACE OF ENCOUNTER AND ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE RULING CLASSES OF MILAN AND THEIR SERVANTS.

the roof was rebuilt after being destroyed in the bombing of 1943 and the theatre has been restructured and enlarged over the last decade.

IT HOSTS THE FINEST THEATRE PERFORMANES IN THE WORLD, AND TODAY PRESENTS A SEASON OF OPERA, BALLET AND CLASSICAL CONCERTS OF SUPREME EXCELLENCE.

THE UNASSUMING BUILDING THAT HAS HOUSED THE WORLD'S GREATEST OPERAS AND PERFORMANCES

HOLDS WONDERFUL ENERGY
most of attendees were tourists who were as excited as we four

the air was titillating the entire time

and our reward for sitting most quietly and politely at this MOST IMPRESSIVE, important theater. . . 

GELATO 

yogurt and black cherry

and strawberry and lemon



at a wonderful wonderful place run by a great couple who loved what they did - 

made gelato to make every customer want to come back for their gelato

even though there are 100's of others in the city!!!!!

and then walked back to the hotel 

past that daunting

cathedral . . . .



MILAN IS MEMORABLE!!!!!

MILAN TO LAKE COMO

my brother greg flew into MILAN so i took a train and met him there

we ventured to the center for a great lunch in BRERE an artsy area with many shops and restaurants - great energy

then walked farther to the CATHEDRAL and the GALLERIA

the cathedral is the third largest gothic cathedral in the world

on the summit which you can see in middle of picture stands the MADONNINA, an emblem of milan

no building can exceed it 

and, yes, that is a electronic billboard on the side of it - ohmy

galleria vittorio emanuele II  

176 architects participated in a competition to build a modern gallery dedicated to the king who had united the city with the kingdom of italy 

it is gorgeous - 
next to the cathedral

we took the underground from statione centrale to statione garilbaldi to catch the train to como

and here we are in the best of all seasons - spring

it was sunny every day greg was here - such a joy

we are walking along the lake to get to funicular ride up the mountain to get a bird's-eye view - fun

and here we are at the top looking for a place to eat & to enjoy the view

found these along waterfront - look a bit silly but also like a bit of fun 

WE FOUND A GREAT PLACE TO STAY JUST BLOCKS FROM THE LAKE - FIRST PLACE WE STOPPED - USED TO BE A CONVENT AND STILL HAS THAT SAME LAYOUT 

SO GO UP ON ELEVATOR TO FLOOR ONE, DOWN THE HALL, TURN LEFT AND GO DOWN ANOTHER HALL, ACROSS A SMALL PARLOR, TURN RIGHT AND GO DOWN ANOTHER HALL, TURN LEFT AND GO UP 6 STEPS, DOWN A HALL, TURN LEFT, UP THREE STEPS AND THERE IS THE ROOM - OHMY
CALLED THREE KINGS IN ENGLISH

 these pictures are taken from the 
slow boat that takes two hours to get us from COMO to BELLAGIO

just breathtaking - a hazy day but just makes it seem all the more surreal

mountains, villas, churches, waterfulls, villages - and quiet

but cool to cold so i was only one on outside of boat

did not want to miss one eye-full

we stopped at many stations along the way to pick up or drop off - 

all attendants in uniform - 
all stations were uniform

it was all so sweet and calm and pristine

what was there not to like - it was hazy and dreamy

and here we are at VILLA CARLOTTA - WHAT A TREAT!!

THIS PLACE WAS ONE STOP BEFORE OUR FINAL DESTINATION OF BELLAGIO

every time we turned a corner another blast of color

it could not have been more striking and glorious

everything is in bloom - it is breathtaking

no matter where you turned it was gorgeous

they also had a citrus garden, a bamboo garden , etc. etc.

we then took boat that got us to BELLAGIO in 5 minutes

what a fun place

we shopped 
and
we ate lunch
and
we climbed
and
we shopped
and we shopped
and
we climbed
and
we shopped 
and then 
we ate an ice cream treat

and then we went back to COMO on THE FAST BOAT which only took 45 minutes
WHAT A WONDERFUL COUPLE OF DAYS - ANOTHER ITALIAN EXPERIENCE!!!!!