The second biggest downside of my nearly passing out/weakened state is that we didn't get to tour Milan.
The biggest downside was that we were going to have to give up our small tour of The Last Supper painting. It was the one thing we were doing on the trip Carol was most looking forward to.
Seeing The Last Supper painting has been on Carol's bucket list since she was a teenager, and I was on the verge of ruining our opportunity (not to mention wasting the money I had spent buying the tour tickets).
Well, Carol had already decided that we shouldn't do the tour. I, of course, counter-planned that I would drop her off and she would see it without me. However, by the time we got back to the car at 2:30 pm, I felt much better and decided we both should go.
The church that contains the painting is only a 10-15 minute drive from the garage we were parked in. It took us a half hour to get to our 3pm tour, cutting it as close as can be.
Waze was always a beat late telling us where to turn, so we drove around the center of Milan, occasionally legally, but mostly illegal. At one point we were following a tram on tram-only tracks/street. We were supposed to be on the other side of the divide.
And, the number of illegal turns, U-turns and driving partly in the wrong direction on one way streets may have set a new record. The whole thing had a very "Chevy Chase/National Lampoon's European Vacation" vibe to it. And yes, I know my role -- Clark Griswold.
Anyhoo, we eventually got out of the mess we were in and headed to the church, Santa Maria delle Grazie. I dropped Carol off so she could find the group and tell them I would be there shortly. . .gratefully there is a parking garage less than a half block from the church and there were spaces. Incredibly tight spaces, but I was able to back into a space without scraping the posts.
I was in such a rush that I forgot to grab the camera, which is a bummer. The photos in the picture post were taken by iPhone, mostly by Carol with a few by me.
I joined the group just as our guide (name forgotten. . .it was a pretty crazy time) started his spiel. As it turns out, we had plenty of time before our time to enter the refectory (dining hall) where the painting is. First he talked about the church, the painting, and then we went into the church (the painting is not in the church itself) and visited the church cloister.
The church is relatively understated for a Catholic church of those times. Built in the 1490s, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, because of the painting.
(Editor: Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know -- "UNESCO means you must go!" Blogger: I should trademark that and sell it to UNESCO. Editor: Oh I'm sure they will be rushing to pay you!)
The painting represents the scene of the Last Supper of Jesus with the Twelve Apostles, as it is told in the Gospel of John – specifically the moment after Jesus announces that one of his apostles will betray him.[1] Its handling of space, mastery of perspective, treatment of motion and complex display of human emotion has made it one of the Western world's most recognizable paintings and among Leonardo's most celebrated works.[2] Some commentators consider it pivotal in inaugurating the transition into what is now termed the High Renaissance.
Carol was so happy to see it she nearly cried. I got goosebumps. I was also relieved beyond measure that I had rallied enough that we could go see it.
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