Flying can be a real hassle, but I have to say that the
people on the United flight today were a great crew and made the flight
painless. The food was, well, standard airline slop. The takeoffs and landings,
though, were flawless. I tried to sleep in my economy-plus seat, but I only
dozed a little as even the most of leg rooms is still really too small for me.
I tried every position, but nothing seemed to work. 
After checking into the hotel and napping for a few hours, I
wandered into Milan alone to get the phones and internet connected. On the train
ride into Milan’s city center from the airport, I noticed the contrast that is
Milan and Northern Italy; striving to be industrial and businesslike, yet
agriculture is at the heart of the most successful industries. I would pass a stretch
of nothing but industry, then in a flash it was gone and all that was visible
was rich farmland with tile roofed farm houses. Just as quickly, the farmland
morphed into industry again. From our hotel room, we can look out and see the Alps in the distance. It was a pretty neat view as we were arriving and we could see the snow capped mountains on an 85 degree day.
Tomorrow we head to the beach house in Campomarino. I am
hoping that it’s not too dirty and will be an easy cleanup.
