This morning we closed up our apartment and headed for the train station at 7:30. The train did not leave until 8:30, but we wanted to leave enough time so that no running would be required. The slow train went from Lucca to Firenze (Florence) where we changed to Eurostar, the ast teain,which would get us to Milano by noon. The Eurostar has a monitor so that you can see just how fast (peak was 230 km/hr) the train is going and duration to destination. The train was pretty full with business people and in our train there were two women who were on their cells the entire time. I sprung for wifi so that i could get more of this blog written... Jeeze, i miss my cell phone.
I was hoping to meet my cousin Elena that lives in Milan... But she is in Solofra and has not returned Carol's emails. Milan is not somewhere super high on my list to visit as it is so commercial and fashion focused, but i want to see the fantatic Duomo.
I have now been in Italy for over 2 weeks, and have not really used my Italian as much as i was hoping. Valeria and I agreed to talk by Skype each week so that she can help each other. She would make a good teacher.
After arriving by train at the Milan Central Station, Carol and I went in search of the Metro that would deliver us to the Duomo. The Park Hyatt, where I am using frequent-stayer-points for 2 nights, is supposed to be next door to the Duomo. After asking a few people where things were, we found the Metro and Carol got us tickets. Now our task was to conquer the stairs up and down. As we waited for the subway, I noticed two young women dressed similar to me sort of hanging out. When the train pulled in, one promptly rushed in and stood blocking the door. Carol had managed to rush past her, but I was not so lucky. I kept trying to pushed her in, but she would not budge. Finally I had to yell at her as I realized that she was trying to unzip my purse. Since this is not the first time someone has tried, I yelled and she jumped off the train. Unfortunately I could not see if her companion had managed to get into my backpack, and since Carol was 6 people from me, I had to wait until we reached the Duomo to determine if I still had my ipad. Loosing two Apple devices on one trip would catostrophic.
After reaching the Duomo, we had to then find the Hotel. If I had been traveling alone, i would have taken a cab from the station to the hotel, but the Metro was convenient. After surfacing from the metro stop, we had no idea of which direction.... So we asked the first Cabinieri...which turned out to be 4 guys. They had no idea about the hotel and said (we need more information). When I dug out the iPad so I could get the address... They had no idea even about the street. So off we go following navigator Carol's interpretation of the map I had also dug out. After going about 1 block we got out the map again, and realized it was turned around.... So we headed back to the Duomo and the Galleria. Stopping to ask a worker who was working on the floor tiles, he pointed us to the hotel, which would have bitten us if we were not looking.
When I checked into the hotel the desk manager first told me that my points would not allow a room with 2 beds. After 2 weeks with my cousin, there was no way I was going to sleep with her, even if it was just for 1 night. So I insisted that I had called to confirm "una stanza con due letti" after punching in his computer a awhile, he said he would see if he could get me an "upgrade" ... With some additional keystrokes, he said a 2 bed room was available, but not ready yet. We would have to wait an hour..... So the concierge took our bags.... But a few more keystrokes later, the room was available, but there was a light that required fixing. I told him that we were going to drop off our bags and then leave, so they could fix the light.
We were hungry, but I wanted to see the Duomo since I would have limited time in Milan... And the line was not long, so without a tour book to know what I was looking at, we went to the Duomo..... Incredible does not do it justice. We wandered for about an hour inside. Carol was getting jumpy for lunch, and had asked the concierge for a suggestion, so we started a trek to Brea. I turned out to be further than we anticipated, and when we go there at about 2:30 some places were empty. Being rather pickynabout where she eats, we finally found a place. Since i was using points for the hotel, Carol volunteered to buy the lunch. She had salad and a pasta. I had parmesan rice, and polpette and potato. It was probably the worst lunch of the trip. Carol wanted to come back to the room while I wanted to see the castle, so we separated.
Along the way i came across this statue in front of a church
Inset i formation about castle
Noticing an arch behind the castle, i headed in that direction. It is the Peace arch
From the time. Left the restaurant, i noticed this tall guy carrying a cannon rebel that was touring. As i came back through the garden we stopped to chat and walk together. He was from Vienna and traveling on business, but spending the day to see the sights.
From here I walked to Via Dante to look in the shops, and have a gelatto before heading back to the Duomo and the Galleria.
When I got back to the room, Carol was in a tizzy as the lights in the room would not stay on and the repair workman was spending alot of time trying to fix. She was frustrated so the front desk had come up and shown her another room, which was smaller so she didnt want to take it. They had asked her what they could do to make up for the inconvenience, but she didnt want to accept anything....when I got back I said that she was the one inconvenienced, so she should have whatever she wants. Gelato was the answer.
I returned to the room tired and ready for a telecon... But of course Carol had to call her mother, Joseph, and Lindo... So I went into the bathroom for my call. After my call I went out to take nite photos of the Duomo and get a Diet Coke and roll for the morning breakfast. When I got back around 9 Carol was in bed - she planned to get up at 5:30 to go to the airport for a 9am flight. I did some work and then to bed so that I could explore in the AM.
Wednesday Nov 23-
Carol left as planned around 5:30... So I slept until 7:30. After walking around the Duomo for a bit. Which didnt open intil 8:30, I headed off on foot to the Chiesa St Maria delle Grazie where the last supper is located. I decided that a map was not necessary, but was wrong. After heading in opposite directions based on asking people, I was fearful that my italian was really not as good as I thought... But then realized that the people of Milan do not know their city. In the 2 days in Milan, I must have asked directions of 12 people and only 2 knew where famous tourist sights were (the Chiesa and Pecks, as the hotel is not famous).
When I found the Chiesa, I went into the ticket office to find out that there were no tickets available today.... Bummer. I should have asked the hotel to get me in, but I figured it was November and no problem. However when I got there, 2 bus loads ok kids were entering, explaining why they were full. I went into the church, but due to construction you couldn't really see much.. So back to the Duomo, where. Walked around for a while and decided to do the hop-on-hop-off bus so I could get around to the sights. Skipping lunch today, as would normally, I went on both the red and blue line. I stopped in the shopping area and bought a beautiful cashmere sweater. Next door was the famous Gelato Gom, so I had to have two scoops. Nothing special, but their stratachella was good. From here I took a cab to Pecks, the food store that is supposed to have all of Italy's best. If that's is true, then they put their name on it...as it looked like a snooty place. Since my suitcase is already overloaded, it didn't buy anything. From here I walked to the Duomo to take the elevator to the top to see the view. When will I learn .... $10e later, my fear of heights let me go part way... Not not the whole enchilada. I did take a few pictures, but not of a spectacular view of the city.
I had noticed an interesting art museum nearby, so I visited and debated having a late lunch there... But it was pretty snooty...so I ventured into a bookstore next door and bought several books in italian. Realizing it was quickly approaching 4pm, I went back to the hotel to drop off the books and by big camera, walked up Via Dante to catch the last red bus around.
After seeing all of the sights that I could see, I figured that dinner was warranted, so into the Galleria. My last dinner in Milan would be the Milanese Saffron Rice, Salad, and Pizza. Despite no lunch, I could only eat half of the rice and pizza. I headed over to Chocola-taly. And debated another gelato... But decided against, but would love one of their tee shirts.
It was now 8pm, I would have a 3 AM wakeup for my 6:20 AM departure... And an hour drive to the airport....it took me about an hour to pack and unpack all the stuff... But that was in hand and by 11 PM I was asleep.
3 AM came very early....but I was up and down at the front desk by 3:30... And in a cab that cost me $120e. Got to airport at 4:45, checked bags at Lufthansa, and nothing was open at 5:10 ..... But flights were on time and now I sit in Frankfurt waiting for my 10 hr flight.
