The hurricane was due to hit New York the night before we were supposed to fly out. We originally were making a connection in New York, but then got our flight changed to connect in London instead. Due to the hurricane craziness, our new flight still got delayed, causing us to miss about 6-8 hours in Italy, but we are just thankful we made it there at all!
We got to Milan in late in the evening and ate at a little pizzeria across from our hotel. It was great pizza...probably some of the best we had the whole trip. We ended up eating pizza just about every other day, if not every day. So good! We also had our first gelati (gelato) at that pizzeria...which also started our daily gelato tasting. We decided we were on a quest to find the best gelato! We also learned that there are free water fountains all around the cities in Italy...which was great for filling up our water bottles. (Too bad they make you pay for water at all the restaurants!)
We didn't spend much time in Milan since we only had a couple days there anyway and also lost some time due to our delayed flight. We did get to see Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper in Milan...which was very cool! We also enjoyed seeing the Galleria in Milan, which is a shopping mall with a beautiful glass dome above it. The cathedral in Milan was one of my favorites that we saw in Italy. The gothic style architecture was so beautiful. We climbed to the top of the roof, which was so neat b/c you could see the architecture up close and personal. It is the largest Gothic cathedral and the second largest Catholic cathedral in the world. It was here that I had to learn the hard way to just be either firmly say no or ignore the people on the streets who try to sell stuff (flowers, bracelets, etc.) This guy came up to me while I was photographing the cathedral, and he wanted to put this bracelet on me. I knew he wanted me to pay for it, so I kept on saying no thank you. Finally, he put bird seed in my hand, which then attracted the pigeons. They were everywhere, on my head, on my arm, hand. AHHH! He then quickly tied the bracelet on my hand and then wanted money for it. Ha...good trick!! I told him no and made him take it off. You might be wondering, did Ryan or his parents come to my rescue? No! They stood there, watching, laughing, and taking pictures. Lesson learned.
The next day, we took a day trip from Milan to Lake Como. I had read that Lake Como was gorgeous, with the Swiss Alps as a back drop...so I really wanted to visit there. I also read that George Clooney has a house there, ha. We trained in to the town of Como, at the south end of the lake. I wish we could have had more time at the Lake, because Como was a charming little town and it would have been so fun to stay there for a couple nights! From Como, we then took a boat that goes around the lake, stopping at various villages. We only had limited time, so we just went to the village of Bellagio. It was a beautiful little town. We dined outdoors in a restaurant looking right out at the lake, ate some gelato, and then finished by visiting the pretty gardens there. I am so glad we got to visit Lake Como!
Cathedral in Milan
Inside the cathedral
Breakfast in Milan in the Galleria. This is a typical Italian breakfast. You won't find eggs, bacon, and biscuits! Just croissants!
Bikes for rent...this pic was for James :-) Also, Ryan getting free water from a fountain in Milan. Lastly, Don & Karen on the train ride to Lake Como.
Lake Como and also the town of Como. See George Clooney's house above....okay not really....but maybe!
Bellagio, Lake Como
Bellagio, Lake Como. Gelato, gardens, restaurant where we at lunch. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment