Blogs from Lombardy, Italy, Europe - page 87

Geo: 45.1511, 8.94482On March 10th, we said goodbye to the Indian sub-continent and headed to the comforts and ease of Europe. It was also a time to meet up with family members who came to visit. We headed to Portugal where we met Sandra and Ralph for five days and lived in the relative lap of luxury. After one night in Lisbon, we rented a car and drove to the coastal city of Peniche. We arrived at a very nice hotel on the coast and we didn't know what to do with ourselves. We played with all the shampoos, put on the robes and slippers and melted into the feather bed with super-soft pillows. Jamie also learned a new trick - how to get upgraded from a plain ol' regular room to a suite. It can ... read more

After leaving Venice, all the highlights of the trip went downhill because so many things went wrong afterwards. Once we arrived in Milan it was late so the buses weren't running to Bergamo. We decided to take a taxi but this ended up costing us nearly 100 euros. Andrea and I didn't know if we needed to pay only in cash for the hostel. If that was the case we couldn't afford the taxi. For some reason Andrea and I decided we could barter with the Italian taxi driver, this was a bad idea. He got upset when we only gave him 45 euros. :) He ended up coming inside the hostel with us yelling loudly and we scrambled to find someone to translate. I could only understand "polizia" and I knew that didn't sound good. ... read more

I had a ten-hour layover in Milano on my way from Amsterdam to Prague, so of course I went into town for a looksy. From the Malpensa Airport, I took an express train to the center of town. I had heard from everyone who had been in Milano that the city does not have much to offer and that it is just a modern Italian city known for its graffiti (which if you have not guessed it is an Italian word). In fact it is Italy’s largest city, but my experience was actually different from what I heard from people. True, there isn’t much to do in Milano except shopping. Unless you’re a fashion fanatic, the top sight in Milan is either the Last Supper painting or the Duomo (the cathedral). Since I didn’t reserve to ... read more

We woke to the smell of freshly baked warm croissants and floated downstairs on the aroma. Let me clarify, our accom this time was what they call an Agrotourista which basically means a farmhouse for tourists. Usually its a husband and wife deal, they have extra rooms and rent them out to travellers, serve them meals, let them help out on the farm etc. This one was a bit more upmarket than that, but VERY cool and still VERY authentic. Today was going to be a real struggle....not. Absolutely beautiful day, not a whisper of a cloud in the sky and after breakfast we were going to walk 20 mins up the road to learn about wine making and then enjoy a homecooked lunch over some tastings..... We had a blissful sleep although I suspect there ... read more

So it is my last day here in Milan.....and I have slightly mixed emotions. I have been a little sad to leave but now that I am all packed and pretty much ready to go, I am ready to come home. It will be good to get settled and stop spending so much money traveling every weekend (even though I love it!) These last few weeks have been great....its really cemented how blessed I have been in this whole endeavor, how much this is exactly the place I was supposed to be. At the beginning I knew that because things kind of came together like they did....I found housing (for free at that!), we had a great bunch of interns that I loved hanging out with, the people I worked with were so welcoming and interested ... read more