THE DOLOMITES – I’m at a bit of a loss on exactly where this was taken because I’m writing this in Connecticut separated from my copy of our Italian itinerary. Next trip I’ll use the iPhone’s gps to help document were I’ve been. So we’ll just look at the pictures, taken with my Leica Monochrom and 50mm Summicron Asph. lens, rather than write about them. The first image is six frames stitched.
Alps!Maria
On this day last year: Todi and Milan. On this day last year we drove from Todi to Milan, an itinerary that we will repeat this year later in our journey.
SCHUTZHAUS TIERSER ALPL – The hardest day in our trek. A long, long uphill slog from Schlern to this refugio in a high saddle. We sleep here in bunk bed accomodations and have a relatively simple meal – our only simple dinner of the entire trip. Well worth the effort. All images with my Leica Monochrom and 50mm Summicron Asph. lens.
On this day last year: Todi. Todi is actually our next stop (after the Dolomites) in this year’s trip.
MILAN ITALY – One last day of tourism in Italy. Maria has finished her meetings so she was able to join me visiting Villa Necchi, Pinacoteca di Brera and shopping on Via Spiga and Via Montenapoleone. One this is clear: these Milanese do design and retail like no one else.
So here are my captures for the day, tank with my Leica M9 and 24mm Lummilux lens.
Villa NecchiVilla NecchiMaria sees the big picture
On this day one year ago: a sick day. I’ve cropped this to be one of my favorite headers for this site.
MILAN ITALY – Well here we are on July 4 and no Independence Day celebration. This seems odd – we were on Capri at this time last year and there is always a big 4th of July celebration there. Oh well . . .
More Milan Tourism. This one is from a triumphal arch built in honor of Vittorio Emanuele II and Napoleon. Milan was briefly under French rule during the Napoleonic era. By the way I borrowed friend’s Leica 18mm lens today and shot with it extensively. Unfortunately it’s outstanding. Distortion free. Amazing detail. Very flair resistant. Not a trace of purple fringing. I’m going to need one of these. Also shot film, which I’ll post later.
Graffiti
The fountain in front of the Sforza Palace, which is largely draped for renovation.
Fountain and the Sforza Palace
An odd entrance to a courtyard. I guy came up and asked me in Italian if I know what it is, but I was clueless.
An odd entrance
The Basilica di S. Ambrogio from the 10th (!) century – the site has been a Christian Church since Roman times. A lovely, simple red brick structure. those guys knew how to build. I took a lot of details on film.
MILAN ITALY – Today was my day for the usual stuff in Milan. I started the day tracking down Villa Necchi, an early 20th century house that starred in the film “I am Love”. I found it; it’s open by appointment only; I made an appointment for Friday so more on it then. I also scoped out Pinocateca di Brera’s hours – Maria and I will spend Friday morning there. The light was pretty good in the late afternoon so I shot the Galleria, the wedding cake Duomo, some architectural detail and a shopping street. That’s pretty much it for Milan. But I actually have a confession to make. I stumbled on a really good Leica dealer today. They had an M3 in excellent working condition for a great price so I bought it. Together with two rolls of film. I’ll be supplementing my Milan posts with film shots once I get home and have it developed. Cool, huh?
Anyway here are my digital shots all taken with my M9 and 24mm Summilux.
MILAN ITALY – I’m a tourist in Milan this week while Maria attends meetings at Mondadori, the large Italian publishing group. Being a tourist in Milan sounds better than the reality. Milan is actually an ugly city with a few high lights. What is of interest (and there is a lot of it) takes place in courtyards and salons and isn’t particularly visual. I spent the entire day working from my computer – catching up from being more or less off the grid for almost two weeks. This is also a chance for me to catch up on editing pictures and writing posts.
This is another image of the Bauhaus-style building that I referred to in yesterday’s post, taken with my Leica M9 and 35mm Summilux lens.
TODI, ON THE ROAD, AND MILAN – We started the day in Todi with brunch with the wedding party – I picked up a couple of images with my Leica M9. On the trip to Milan the M9 was in the center console of our rental car where it fired at random – I’ve been collecting “purse shots” so I’ve included one here. Finally we ended up in Milan where we’re staying with an old friend who is doing a serious job of renovating an important Bauhaus apartment building – which I shot with my M9 and 24mm Summilux.
Maria and PatriziaCaitlin – still in whitePurse shotMy house is Bauhaus
