6 Miracles in Milano, Milan, Italy

Whether you believe in actual miracles, happy coincidences, or good luck, it's all the same. Milan is an incredible city. I loved my four days there, wandering in and out of churches, walking down as many alleys as I could find, and realizing that Milan is yet another wonderful place I could really live.

During my rainy weekend, there were six moments when what I was looking at or experiencing was absolutely miraculous.

Leonardo da Vinci may not be a deity, but I could feel his presence inside the Santa Maria delle Grazie. Where the Mona Lisa may fail to impress in Paris' Louvre, The Last Supper will absolutely blow you away. It is imperative that you reserve a ticket in advance; I booked my online ticket over three weeks before my trip, and I barely made the cut with only two tickets left during the whole weekend I would be there! The painting itself was deteriorating only twenty years after it was finished at the end of the 15th century. After many failed restoration attempts, a vandalizing French army, and the building being bombed during World War II, it's a miracle that The Last Supper has survived to be seen.

Just down the road, a kind white-haired man stands behind a counter filled with journals, notebooks, and all kinds of beautiful stationery. Signore Ruffini's store smells like an antique library, and I wish I could have sat on a sofa with a cup of tea in there for hours. When the Santa Maria delle Grazie was bombed, all of the glass encased cupboards along the walls shattered, leaving the book shop in ruins. This gem of a store has been in Signore Ruffini's family for over 150 years. The postcards are the right price, and the hand-made stationery collection is every writer's paper dream come true. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).