The rains came down and the floods came up...

Local time: Wednesday 16 September 7:15pm

You remember how a few posts ago I mentioned that it rained? Well since then it has been raining on and off (more on than off).

I bought an umbrella. It's the only thing that's saved me from getting completely soaked (more than the few times I already have). It seems that some people profit from this rain: pretty much from the moment it started, there have been street sellers on every corner trying to sell you an umbrella. These people are often right in your face, telling you you need to buy one. Most of them are black, but very very black like I haven't really seen before.

So that was the rains coming down. This is the floods coming up: It appears that in Milan there's very poor drainage on the roads, meaning which even the slightest dip in the pavement (and there are many on the uneven roads of Milan) causes a HUGE puddle to appear, some of them over your ankle. I've accidentally stepped in a few, getting very wet feet.

So walking has become very fun recently and requiring much concentration.

Yesterday I explained my saga about buying a ticket to see the Last Supper, and I went back yesterday afternoon to actually see it.
Different people would say different things about seeing the Last Supper. Most would say it was amazing, beautiful, awe-inspiring. To me it was just sad. The 'fresco' method of painting, which would have been normal for this type of painting, involved painting onto wet plaster so the painting was technically part of the wall. Leonardo, however, chose to use a different method where he painted onto the dry wall instead. This meant that the painting deteriorated very rapidly. The painting had begun to flake less than 20 years after it was begun. So you can imagine what it might look like now, 511 years after its completion. Actually you don't have to imagine, because here is a pretty acurate depiction: Sad, right?

Today I pretty much did nothing. Laura finished uni early, so she took me to her school to show me around. Pretty fancy for a uni I must say. Then we went to a hairdressers and she got her haircut, which I bought her as her birthday present. (Her birthday is just over a month after I leave Milan). That's pretty much it for today.

Tomorrow I am taking a trip to Verona. Unfortunately it's just me... no star-crossed lovers here.

G

Oh by the way Mum can you tell Minga I saw a dog today who was just like Smudge! Seems like even on the other side of the world the Smudge clan has roamed...