On our second day, I was a bit more coherent when I woke up. I still didn't have it together to have breakfast with David. He went off to the conference for a bit and I tried to find the Etro store. It was a total bust. The main store was completely intimidating: bizarro fashions in the window with enormous prices. I didn't even bother going in. Then I tried to find their outlet store. It was a very frustrating experience. I think I found it, but I didn't bother ringing the buzzer to go in because I found no evidence of it being an actual store. Oh well. I didn't need to spend any money on clothes that I would rarely wear.

David came back to the hotel just before noon. We went to the nearby airport and rented a car to explore the lakes around Milan. David drove, which was fine by me. We got a GPS. I don't know how we could have done it without the GPS - some of the roads that we ended up in were tiny.

Our first stop was Mantova. You may have heard of the anglicized name of Mantua. God only knows how the English mangled that one. I guess it's not as bad as turning Deutscheland into Germany. Anyway, Mantova is a small village built around three lakes. It's the town that Romeo fled to when he was banished. It's the setting of Verdi's Rigoletto. And it's a beautiful little tourism stop. The palazzos are lined with cafes and gelaterias. There was a rock band that performed in front of the clock tower.

There are a few churches to visit. Once of which is built over the blood of Christ. According to the tradition the earth and blood was brought to Mantua by the Roman centurion Longinus, who had scooped up the bloody earth from Christ's crucifixion.

But the mega-highlight is the Palazzo Ducale. The palace is enormous. After about an hour of wandering through rooms, David and I wondered if we were still in Mantova. With the exception of the gardens, I preferred it to the palace at Versailles.

I think we spend around 4-5 hours in Mantova. I found a spot for us to stop for dinner on the way home. So we set off on the back roads to Cremona. Once again, it's a beautiful little medieval village built along the water. This one was on the shores of the river Po. On the drive out of town, we saw a carnival built along the river. The dinner was exquisite. And it was one of those places where they kept giving us things we didn't ask for: a complimentary martini as we sat down, a complimentary appetizer to whet the palate, etc. I was almost full by the time the meal actually started. And it was here that my love of tortellini di zucca (pumpkin tortellini) was solidified. I'm still dreaming about that meal.

After dinner, we took wandered through the palazzo, which was full of people drinking, eating, and enjoying the night air. I took a few pictures of David which he will not allow me to post because they clearly show that he has been travelling all day.

The ride how was uneventful - considering that we were only an hour from Milan.

Canal in Mantova

David Admires Architecture in Mantova

The Site of the Blood of Christ

Rock Band in Mantova

David Reading in Mantova

Commerce Building in Mantova

Cathedral in Cremona

The Piazza at Night

Read the next entry in To Milan and the Lake Region...

Bellinzona

I've tagged this entry with "Italy" even though Bellinzona is in Switzerland. However, you would really never be able to tell that you left Italy in this part of Switzerland.

David and I got an early start and hit the road to a town called Bellinzona. The ride there was pretty great, too. We drove past Lake Como and all sorts of other lakes. I could see that if you lived in northern Italy, it would be quite nice to have a summer condo on the lake.... go on »

Tags: Italy | Part Of To Milan and the Lake Region