Milan, Italy

Having returned from Dublin on Monday afternoon I spent the week recovering from my travels and doing little beyond the ordinary. Our class visit for Art and Society was to the Tate Britain art gallery. We will be going back in a few weeks to explore the Millais exhibit, at which time I will make further comments on my blog.

My weekend trip to Milan began with an early morning flight on Friday, a week and a half ago. As a student trying to save money and maximize my holiday times, I often find myself on the first flight out of London on Friday morning. With the airport a little over an hour from my flat (which is convenient to the Victoria coach station and a one stop for many coaches to the airport) and a required check-in two hours prior to the flight I often leave my flat at 3:30 a.m. For the second Friday in a row I returned from class on Thursday evening, finished packing, and struggled to get a few hours of sleep. Often when I leave my neighbors are returning from a night out in London. Honestly, even though I am young, waking up so early and staying busy throughout the weekend is beginning to take its toll - although, the opportunities I have to explore Europe keep me flowing with adrenaline throughout the weekend.

I arrived in Milan at the Bergamo airport, about forty minutes north of Milan. A bus to the city center brought me to Stazinoe Centrale where I was going to meet Chelsea where the bus unloaded. Not having purchased a cell phone makes these little meetings slightly more difficult. Although, with no where in particular to be I don't mind waiting for someone to meet me or leisurely following directions to where I need to be. As I wandered near the bus depot I noticed three to four street vendors set up on cardboard boxes selling cell phone chargers, fake designer sunglasses, and dancing dolls (similar vendors were present throughout Milan). Observing from afar I noticed one street vendor quickly grab his goods in a blanket and start running while yelling at the others nearby. Within seconds the others (one who was in the middle of a transaction) snatched their wares and followed the first vendor. About ten second later an Italian police officer meandered towards the cardboard boxes the vendors had left and slowly folded them and put them along the wall. I guess selling knockoff items in Italy is illegal. Although, the nonchalant attitude of the police makes me wonder if they even enforce such regulations.

Chelsea and I made our way via the underground and tram to her room about 5 km from the city center. As we made our way to the "suburbs" of the city I realized Milan is much dirtier than I had anticipated. The walls are covered in graffiti, the underground is old and falling apart, and trash lines certain areas of the street. Additionally, although Milan is the fashion capital of the world - I would argue the average Londoner cares much more about their appearance than the "fashionistas" in Milan. After dropping my bag we headed to Milan to explore Chelsea's school, the Duomo, the galleria, Castello Sforzesco, and the area surrounding central Milan.

Stopping at Chelsea's school for lunch I had my first experience of the crazy Italian lifestyle. Life in London is very orderly and makes sense, or at least it does to the English, this however is not the case in Milan. While I understand the importance of cultural differences, you cannot fully understand their way of completing certain tasks until you have experienced it first hand. The queue, or line from those who haven't crossed the pond, is nonexistent in Italy. The Italians do not respect that the person who arrived before you should be served before you, etc. They seem to all clump together and slowly push their way to the front of the line. Second, parking... I think I have mentioned in the past that I am amazed how Londoners can get away with parking in both directions on the street (still upsets me since I got a parking ticket in America for parking against traffic in front of my house in Colorado :) ). Well, in Milan not only do they park on both sides of the street facing whichever direction is most convenient, they also park on the sidewalks, double park on the streets, etc. At one point someone stopped in their lane on a major road and tossed on their hazards and hopped out to grab something at a nearby store. These and many other cultural phenomenons of the Italians I will never understand.

Continuing from the University we walked near the Duomo, the third largest church in Europe and the second largest in Italy. The magnificent size, attention to detail, and ornate sculptures present on the Duomo are unlike any other church I have seen in Europe. With construction of the Duomo spanning nearly 500 years I am amazed at how seemingly the design and style of the building flows through obvious periods of change in architecture. With a capacity to hold nearly 40,000 people the Duomo has seen its fair share of world renowned religious ceremonies. Following the Duomo we wandered amongst the Castle, the park, and saw the Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace). Following our stroll through the park we grabbed some gelato (which, Italians know how to make gelato - more on this later) and wandered through the galleria.

Milan became the fashion center of the world following the relocation of many of the Italian textiles to the area surrounding the city. The Galleria and surrounding area is home to the designer stores of many of the worlds finest designers - Dolce and Gabanna, Prada, a reasonable tie shop, the Ferrari store (visiting is like being a kid in a candy shop) and a McDonalds (for some reason, I don't feel like the cost of the McDonalds food, regardless of its traffic, can make a profit in a location such as the galleria).
Following the Galleria, we met with Chelsea's friend from New Zealand for an amazing pizza dinner (pizza in Italy is about as good as you could imagine) and a night exploring the nightlife around the Naviglio Grande (Northern Italy's main canal). It was a great way to start a weekend in Milan and I quickly concluded that I appreciate Milan's beauty much more in the nighttime when the graffiti is not so apparent, the landmarks are lit up, and the nightlife comes alive.



Lake Como, Italy

Day two in Milan found us making our way to Lake Como, a large lake spanning 46 km and a villa retreat to many rich and famous, including George Clooney. We arrived at Lake Como via train from Milan in about an hour. Leaving the bus station we referenced the guidebook and determined we wanted to climb to the top of Brunate via the hiking trail and take the funicular back to the city. We set off through Lake Como admiring the stunning views of the lakes, the snow capped Alps in the distance, and planned our ascent up the side of the mountain. We purchased tickets for a one way journey and started our hike.

Without being able to communicate well with the salesman at the funicular base we started heading in what we thought was the correct direction. After hiking for about an hour up hundreds of stairs around the backside of the mountain we determined we were lost. However, with return tickets in hand that we paid for there was no way either of us were turning around and admitting defeat. We continued up the mountain, came to a clearing and walked near various villas and up long windy roads (by this point we were off the dirt path and on a road for cars) until we sent Chelsea to ask a local for directions. This was quite possibly the most comical exchange of Italian and English I have ever seen. We tried to ask where the top was via broken translation, English, hand movements, and other gestures. Eventually we all agreed, as did our new Italian friend, that we should continue up the hill until we reach a "unique stop" before veering right for 200 meters to the top. Fifteen minutes later, after breathtaking views of the Alps and the Lake below, we reached the depot for the funicular. Success!


Returning to Lake Como we witnessed the conclusion of a bicycle road race, complete with Television cameras, news crews, grand stands, and us American study abroad students a few feet from the victor as he addressed the media and cameras shoved in his face. It was a neat experience to feel the energy of the crowd with the sweeping views that surround us. I can only imagine what the Tour de France must feel like. After the race we returned to Milan via the train where we met with Chelsea's friends to celebrate a birthday with a night on the town. Milan once again came to life and reminded me why I enjoyed the city much more at night than I did during the day.

Sunday - Chocolat... need I say more?

After a very busy past two days we slept late on Sunday. After attempting to make a pannetone French Toast (still can not figure out why the skillet will not work on the electric Italian ranges but a saucepan will heat up in seconds) we creatively turned the pannetone mixture into a sort of bread pudding... regardless, the home cooked Sunday breakfast was very homey and the perfect way to start our day. Although, it was near mid-afternoon by the time we left Chelsea's apartment.

We had one primary goal -- find the Chocolat gelato store I had read about online. Walking by the Duomo and the castle again also allowed us the opportunity to do a little shopping. A little off the beaten path we came across the Chocolat store. Inside we were greeted with the most amazing display of gelato, chocolate cakes, drinking chocolate, chocolate bars, almost anything chocolate imaginable. Needless to say the dark chocolate gelato was amazing. As we sat in the warm suspended room above the gelato displays (check the website to understand) I realized that Denver needs an outlet like this. So, if ten years from now the whole accounting thing is not working out for me, I am making a pilgrimage back to Milan and learning the tricks of the trade to open a Chocolat branch in Denver. :) It was that amazing and the perfect cap to a weekend in Italy.


Airport Return Home

My final realization in Italy was the Italians (generalizations of course and not the case for the entire culture) are very inefficient people. Case in point. I arrived at the airport two hours prior to my departure. I check in at the RyanAir terminal and notice there is a large line for security. With my flight boarding in about 45 minutes I figured I would tackle the security line and then relax and read once I was at the gate. Now mind you, Bergamo is not a large airport but was still buzzing with 10 flights or so an hour. I wait in the line for about twenty minutes and get to the front where my boarding pass and id are checked. The Italian lady who checked my boarding pass shooed me from the line and said come back later. Confused, an Italian whom had been similarly shooed from the line but able to carry on a conversation with the airline personnel looked at me and asked if I understood what to do. Thankfully she spoke amazing English and told me that the attendant told us to come back at 9:10 a.m. (the time our flight was to board) and proceed through security at that point. Although, she said she would arrive a few minutes before that.

A half an hour later I am back in line (at the back again of a line that is now longer) about one hour prior to my flights departure. Slowly creeping through security I begin to realize this would take much longer than anticipated. Without boring you with the details an hour and a quarter later (ten minutes after the flight was supposed to take off) I made it through security and border patrol and was one of the last passengers to board the plane that was held for those of us who struggled through security. Luckily, RyanAir is the most efficient airline I have ever flown and had us in the air within minutes of boarding and managed to make up the twenty minutes delayed departure and landed on time in London - what a relief it was to be back in a country that spoke a language I understood and had customs that seemed to make sense.

Milan was an amazing trip!