68 Days of Summer - Day 19 - Milan

For the first time in years, I was a little nervous about traveling, primarily because I had no idea about exactly how to get around where I was heading. Milan is probably the biggest Italian city that I had never been to, before today.

My overnight flight from JFK aboard Emirates Airlines was great because I had a whole four-seat row to myself so I was able to lay down and stretch out. Having four little pillows helped too. The Arabic lamb stew was also a tasty dinner. We got into Milan on time, even though we taxied in New York for an hour. Immediately following the meal service, the lights began to dim, for about 30 minutes. They started as a light orange that morphed into pink, then into purple, then into a midnight blue, along with stars lighting up the ceiling of the craft. As we landed, they played the sounds of a running stream with birds chirping.

I immediately went to the hotel and went to sleep, which ended up costing me being able to set up my phones and internet. Well, it was a combination of me sleeping from 2-5 p.m. thus missing the 5:05 shuttle to the airport, and the Italian indifference toward making money. I got the shuttle, a train to near the town center, and a subway to the center of town, and arrived at the phone store 10 minutes before closing. Only the employee had locked the door and wasn't letting anyone else in the door. They were packed and he didn't want to stay longer than they had to, and it was only 7:20 p.m.

Duomo

On the plus side, as I got out of the subway station, I was treated to an inspiring sight, Milan's Duomo. It is a neat church to see, and immediately jolts one from modern metropolis to gothic yesterdays. The cathedral, which is the largest in Italian state history, took nearly six centuries to complete, with construction starting in 1386.

My original plan for the night was to get my phone and wifi situation cleared up and then head to dinner. Neither of those happened as planned. After trying to get to the phone store, the heaven's opened and I was caught in a thunderstorm without an umbrella. I began to walk around the streets of Milan looking for a more "local" restaurant. I finally found that I was back at the station for the return train to the airport, so I grabbed a slice of pizza and hopped on the train back to the hotel. I ended up eating a delicious piece of lasagna Bolognese in the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express and it was great and cheap.

After 9 p.m., still daylight

On the train back to the hotel, I also noticed how bright it was for after 9 p.m. I had to do a double take at my watch.

Tomorrow I pick up a rental car and take a 7-hour road trip to our hometown, Campomarino.