This morning the rainy had not quite departed when we boarded a boat for Isola Bella, the summer residence of the Borromeos. The palazzo on the island took 100 years, three generations of Borromeos, to build. It has about 100 rooms--25 of them devoted to a museum. The Borromeos were in residence today--all three of them. They had the other 75. The museum reflects the original Baroque style of the time with the newer parts done in the Neo-classical style. The lavish art and fixtures were done to impress their guests. The king and queen of Italy, Napoleon and Josephine, and other rich and famous people stayed there. Before World War II, Mussolini, Flandin (French PM), Mussolini, and MacDonald met there to try to resolve differences and prevent war. The meeting was a failure. There are ... read more

I arrived in Milan after an uneventful day of travelling with about four hours of sleep on the plane. Immigration went speedily , but then my bag was nearly the last coming off the plane. I always wonder if that's the bad part of arriving early for a flight, and if those who are running for the gate don't get their bags first--sort of "last in, first out." When i exited the customs area, there was no one to meet me. More annoyed than panicked, I looked for phone numbers, but hesitated to call the US at 3 am. It wasn't an "Emergency." So I asked someone waiting to pick up someone else and they sent me to Door 6. I slogged down there with all my luggage to find it was the door for taxis. ... read more