The weekend before the 22nd EU PVSEC opened, I had free time to tour Milan and see the sights. I spent Saturday afternoon shopping and looking around. What else? Since my last visit to Milan in June 1996, the Piazza Duomo has changed and gone further upscale.
On Sunday, I ventured to the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci" (English). As I walked about the museum for a few afternoon hours, I found I had photovoltaics on the brain. Leonardo’s machines are no doubt the highlight of the museum’s collections, but anything related to solar resonated with me. In fact, I lingered at aged exhibits on steelmaking and metallurgy because of my new found interests in material science. One exhibit featured the indirect-arc electric furnace invented by Ernesto Stassano for melting steel.
For a professional’s point of view, please see the Blog post, National Museum of Science and Technology ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ in Milan, Italy, by Charlie Trautmann, Executive Director of the Sciencenter.
Here is a photo slideshow around the Duomo and towards Castello Sforzesco near my hotel.
I stayed at the Hotel Genius Downtown which bills itself as a three star hotel, but, being nice, is more like a two star. The basics of clean and safe are covered, and there was a small air conditioner in the room. Frills in the bathroom, like a shower curtain, were lacking, and electrical aspects of the room required maintenance or upgrades. Renovations are in progress, and this hotel has much potential but caveat emptor until you hear otherwise.
Last, I wanted to again acknowledge that blogging mecca, Bar Magenta with BITAGE| HOTSPOT delivering a FreeWiFi Hotspot. I did all of my 22nd EU PVSEC postings from here. With drinks at €5 a pop, I don’t think this saved me any money over paid WiFi, but it was fun hanging out with the locals.
