July 12th - pain, shopping and scam-a-lamma-ding dong

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July 12:

Wow! Last night made the night of fire alarms at the Heathrow (so called) comfort Inn seem like paradise. My stomach cramps came back with a fury! They'd get worse and worse till eventually I'd be woken by them and have to go and do... something unpleasant toilet-wise. Then at one point when I was well asleep (no easy task with people partying loudly through the night, even to the point where the rubbish trucks and street sweepers had started up) I got a phone call at about 4am from the NZ blood service asking if I was free to donate plasma... obviously not their fault because (a) they didn't know I was on the other side of the world and (b) I do usually turn my phone off at night, but still grrr. I said "um no...I'm in Switzerland" which seemed to do the trick.

My stomach seems undecided this morning about how it's feeling so I'm giving the burnt toast cure a try.

The train ride was okay on the stomach, ocasional cramps... am starting to wonder whether a visit to the doctor (expensive though it would be for a tourist) might be an idea? Especially just to eliminate that "what if it's my appendix?!" possibility, though that might just be the hypochondria talking.

The train journey itself was fantastic scenery-wise, that train trip is like travelling through Queenstown for 3 hours, all lakes and peaky mountain ranges with the odd little towns in the valleys or on the sides of the mountains.
Milan is really hot and busy and I will be busy trying to fit in some sight-seeing on my brief crampy visit.

-Later-

Plenty of sights seen, beautiful city, I did the painful queueing to get my ticket for Turin/Torino. I tried to ask for it in Italian but my speech obviously didn't sit right with the ticket guy because he just switched to English. :-(
Wandered the streets, Milan being a fashion city it's no surprise that many people look like Italian catwalk models... i.e. stick thin and with an inflated sense of self importance (*much like travel bloggers). Some of the guys here make the guidos on "jersey shore" look positively macho, so much makeup and hair product!
I hung around the public gardens, saw a massive shopping area stuffed with stores like Gucci, Versace, Armani etc, saw the Duomo.. a very impressive cathedral, though a bunch of girls were bitching about having to cover their shoulders when they went inside... don't want to do it? Stay out of the Duomo, simple!
Then had a guy try to scam me, the old "here's a friendship bracelet"

"no I don't want it thanks"

No it's okay, it's a gift" ...which would seem to suggest that no money needs change hands, but obviously that's not the case.

"You know Ghana in Africa?"

"um... yeah" he was shaking my hand, at this point he pulled me right in

"you give money for Africa"

I tried to offer him nothing, pointing out that I didn't ask for the bracelet but he wasn't having it. I offered him a few euro (or so) in change i'd found in my pocket but he insisted on more ("this is nothing, you give me NZ dollars") I put the money away and he got angry... but fuelled by a painful, sleepless night I turned a pretty good dose of anger on him. I told him he wasn't getting any money and he could stick his friendship bracelets!

As soon as I was out of sight I tore the bracelets off in case he had some system worked out with an accomplice, eg "bracelet = chump with money"
Anyway that pissed me off and ruined the good mood that I'd managed to build up in spite of everything, so I was not impressed! Luckily I managed to perk myself up with a quick look around a book shop and the amazing architecture of that area.
-Later-

Much faffing about trying to find accomodation in Verona that is (a) cheapish and (b) reasonably near to the train station. Leave it for today, I just hope I get a good night's sleep and awake not sick!

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Photos

hotel room
the hotel Arno in Milan

The Duomo
more impressive in real life

how they do shopping malls in Milan
wow

Comments

[Tumulamula]

Man, Milan is crap! There are way nicer, less known cities in Italy, like Turin or Aosta! Anyway, yeah. Those African guys pushing their "gifts" on you are quite a common nuisance in cities. Sorry about that. :/