Bella Italia!

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One of the best things about living in the UK is booking a cheap Ryan Air flight and escaping cloudy England for some sunshine on the continent! This trip- Italy!

Good friends of ours (Glaswegian Shirley and Milan local Yuri, who Ariana met in Japan) were kind enough to invite us to stay with them for a weekend and show us around the local sights. We couldn’t have had better tour guides. Without them we wouldn’t have known to punch validate our train tickets in a machine before boarding the train. Nor would we have known how to order cappuccinos (actually pronounced cappuccini for more than one) from one counter and collect them from a different counter. Most of all we enjoyed their company and are grateful for a wonderful introduction to Italy and all it has to offer.

Milan is a wonderfully exciting city full of fashionable Northern Italians, great food and beautiful architecture. First stop was the breathtaking Duomo, a huge gothic cathedral in the centre of the city that took some 600 years to complete! We climbed the stairs to the rooftop and were rewarded with unparalleled 360 degree views of Milan and beyond and enjoyed walking among the hundreds of life size marble carvings and statues- it was spectacular! The inside of the cathedral was so dark that the sunlight coming through the stained glass refracted rainbow like colours on the enormous cylindrical columns and we stared in amazement while listening to Catholic prayers being recited in Italian in the background.

As we had already indulged in real Italian wood fired pizzas on Friday night so we chose some traditional panini filled with Italian meats and cheeses for lunch. Venturing into the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II building, we were overwhelmed by the stunning mosaic floor leading to rows of designer fashion stores (the most notable being Prada Milan) and up to a high glass and steel roof. We spotted a figure of a bull among the mosaic floor and agreed to partake in a tradition where legend has it if you spin around 360degrees on the balls of the bull he will return to Italy! We managed to do it too but, by the indentation into the floor where his balls used to be, we assume that this bull takes some convincing to return. On the far side of the Galleria we marvelled at a larger than life statue of Leonardo Da Vinci and the world famous opera house, La Scala.

The Castello Sforzesco was next on the agenda- a red brick fort surrounded by a moat complete with draw bridges and corner towers. We have only been living in the UK for 4 1/2 months but it was the first super warm sunny day we had experienced since leaving Australia and it left us in constant search for shade and gasping for water at each street stall. A shady pond inside the walls of the fort was the perfect spot for us to cool down and rest our tired feet.

We couldn’t leave Milan without treating ourselves to some real Italian pasta (even though it is more famous in the south), risotto, wine and tiramisu to finish. It was just as we’d hoped- delicious!

On Sunday we caught the train to Verenna, a beautiful lakeside town bordered by the Swiss Alps. We had to walk along the train tracks to get to the platform and may not have managed it without encouragement from Shirley and Yuri. Every building was painted in a different colour with quaint wooden shutter windows latched back with miniature figurines made of brass. People were sunbaking on the sand and swimming in the crystal clear fresh water lake. Small shops and cafés dotted the coastline and summer holiday makers sailed by in the bright sunshine. There were plenty of gelato flavours to choose from and we couldn’t resist trying a few. The day was topped off perfectly with a feast of Italian antipasto meats, cheeses, olives and bread…heaven!

Thanks again Shirley and Yuri for showing us ‘bella Italia’- we can’t wait to go back again! Until our next blog entry… ciao!

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Comments

[Mel]

Wowee!
Italy huh? That's AWESOME guys!! It looks so beautiful, just LOOOVE the photo of you grinding those bull balls Ariana, LOL! Verenna looks amazing, so picturesque it looks like a postcard. It's great to see you guys are having a blast!! :)