Travel & Milan - Days 1, 2, 3

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DAY 1 - Thursday

Our lives have been so insanely busy for the last few weeks, we worked up until the last minute, finishing up right before we walked out the door. As usual, it's very hard to say goodbye to our baby kitties, knowing how sad they are when we leave.
The airport was smooth and fast, security has lessened a lot for now. We flew to New York and had to change planes. The 8 hour flight to Milan was one of the most uncomfortable, awful flights we've taken. Marleah has really bad knees and was in misery, the food was horrible, we had only gotten 2 hours of sleep the night before and it's so hard to sleep on the plane. We managed to make it through fueled by our excitement for Italy and looking forward to getting two days by ourselves!

DAY 2 - Friday
We left Denver on Thursday at 11 am and arrived in Milan Friday at 9:30 am, it's 8 hours ahead. After winding our way though the airport we made it to the lower levels where the trains are, we bought tickets to the city center and were told the train leaves in "five minutes". So, in Italy that could mean 30 minutes or more.
When we arrived at our stop in the city, the Garibaldi station, we got so super lost. We were in the bottom level, we ended up in some shopping mall and even though the place we're staying was very close (we learned later) we were too tired to deal and opted for a taxi. The driver was nice but super confused and we drove around the area 3 times while the driver checked every map and electronic device he had. We finally found the building and the driver apologized profusely, knocking down the fare. We rented an apartment through Airbnb in the Porta Nuova (new gate) neighborhood. Paolo met us there, showed us the apartment and we immediately put on our jammmies and got in bed. Marleah struggles severely with the symptoms of jet lag and always gets a fever. We slept until we were starving and John went out to explore a bit and get sandwiches and water. For some reason, our first day is always like this; Marleah temporarily sick and John wandering around unfamiliar cities alone to find food. Hunter/gatherer/survival style living.

DAY 3 - Saturday
We were up pretty early, unable to sleep anymore and went for coffee and pastries. The good thing about Europe is that Marleah can eat gluten because they don't use hybridized wheat and it doesn't make her as sick. It would be hard to eat here otherwise, it's all bread, pasta, bread, more bread, pasta and meat. Sounds great on paper but it gets old quick when you're used to an extremely varied diet, like one featuring vegetables! Our first stop after breakfast was the San Bernardino alle Ossa, an ossuary attached to a church that was started in 1210 when an adjacent cemetery ran out of space. You walked in the main church doors (there was a mass going on) and immediately turned right and straight down a corridor into a little chapel. There were alcoves in all the walls filled with human skulls and leg bones. Designs out of bones in every corner, a tile design in the floor, a beautiful fresco on the ceiling. We spent about an hour in the tiny little chapel room and when we left, heading back down the corridor, the people from mass came down to see the bone church and we were sized up by almost every person in that line. Marleah got a little fighty and John hissed at one of them. It amazes us that someone who just finished praying and worshiping god can be so judgmental right away! It didn't ruin our experience, that place was AMAZING!!!!
We walked out to the main piazza, saw the Duomo, couldn't really handle the tourists, crowds and people trying to force you to buy their cheap crap by getting right in your face. We bought a couple bottles of coke and headed back to our apartment for a break.
A little lie down, a little rest and around 2 pm we went for lunch. We ate outside (almost all restaurants main seating areas are outside) and had pizza. It was bland, as John says, "Italy has a different idea of seasoning than we do, they use it lightly". All of the Italian-Americans in our lives always assume that food in Italy is just like it is in "Little Italy"; drowned in garlic, huge portions, spicy, etc. The reality in 90% of Italy couldn't be farther from that. After lunch we walked about six blocks to the Cimitero Monumentale (Monumental Cemetery). We always try to check out at least one cemetery wherever we go. Not just for the "we're so dark and goth" aspect, but because the details and aesthetics really give you a lot of insight into particular cultures, stuff you don't get exposed to as a regular tourist. Plus, it's peaceful and usually very quiet. To get into the cemetery you have to walk across a huge courtyard area and through big gates, then through a building that looks like a palace that holds many burial plots and when you get to the other side it's completely overwhelming. Tree lined lanes, old old old, huge cathedral sized mausoleums, it is the most opulent cemetery we have ever been to. Those massive mausoleums are through the whole cemetery and huge groups of tourists were taking tours with a tour guide. It didn't feel very personal, as if you could connect to the human who's life this used to be, it felt like everyone was competing to have the biggest and most elaborate tomb in death. The new ones were worse, solid marble and glass, two stories tall, bigger than our house... And even though we aren't religious, it's hard to understand why people would build a church to themselves to house their bones for all eternity, it feels vain. Anyway, it was beautiful if slightly cold. We wandered around for about an hour. We're so tired and walking in the sun and humidity wearing all black is exhausting. Poor goth tourists!
Back to the apartment, another nap/rest, John went back out for sandwiches again (delicious, simple Caprese sandwiches), we spent the rest of the night in, packing up and cleaning. Tomorrow we meet up with John's students and head to Parma.

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Photos

Our Apartment Courtyard
Our door was on the left before the gate.

Old Buildings and New
Our street and the neighborhood we stayed in.

Modern Shopping Center
Near our apartment. We had to walk through here to get to the train station.