The 139 Steps

Yup!  That's how many steps up the stairs to our Milanese apartment. [Only 63 up to the top of 28 Rue de Lorraine, so stop grizzling about it.] We were met by a VERY Helpful Harry (apartment welcoming chap), who grabbed Steph's case and took off up the spiral staircase. We grunted on up behind. 

It is a huge climb, but the way is marked by the Stations of the Cross. For any of you who are unacquainted with the Ss of the C, each of the 14 stages is a representation of Jesus' last movements throughout His crucifixion journey to Heaven via the Cross. These Sations can be found around the walls in Catholic Churches and along the routes on mountainsides. This is the first I have seen on apartment stairs.  They are a source of endless fascination for this child of the Methodist Church.]

It seems to me, as I make my way up to the apartment, that my journey stands as an inverse relationship to that of Jesus' last trip: the further He travels, the greater His grief, while my ascention brings me closer to our apartment, warmth and safety. Perhaps this is the very point. 

I wonder if the other of the building's tenants remember their apartment's location by which Station is on their landing ... No such problem for us - ours is at the tippy top!  Here is the last Sation (Número 14):