Milan - Day 1

AW drove us very early this morning to the airport so that we could catch our 08.25 flight to Milan, the start of my Italian adventure with tag-along Nan.  I slept through the 04.30 alarm but did not realize till I was done emptying the dishwasher that I was an hour late, resulting in a mild panic attack.  Aware that I might forget some really important last-minute stuff, reminded myself to breathe in and breathe out, while rattling aloud all the things I couldn't afford to leave behind, plus waking up AW and hoping he would hurry even though he had no more time for coffee.  The hour late meant some rush hour traffic, thankfully not so thick yet.  No time for a goodbye kiss as we had to run for it, although I had already checked in yesterday, and made it through all the pre-flight protocol just in time to join the queue to board the aircraft.

The flight lasted barely 1.5 hours and the first thing was to look for the hotel, which was close to the central station, a deliberate manipulation on my part because I wanted to be close to trains and buses and the metro.  After cheap airport transport to the city centre, we located our lodgings quickly, then I opted to go for the cathedral right away, which is today's shot.  We bought tickets that allowed us to go to the very top with the lift, and then explored the inside.  After that, we had a very late lunch, then walked a bit through the Victor Emmanuel shopping arcade, and found time to explore the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit.  All this in the same 30-degree heat we had in Scandinavia, but with almost no breeze.

Before returning to the hotel, I bought the train tickets to our next city, to be used three days from now.  I also wanted tickets to Pisa, but all trains to Pisa are full, so a hopeless mission from Milan.  Perhaps from the next city?  I hope so.  Back at the hotel, had a longish chat with AW using FB Messenger (which is free compared to mobile phone texting) and all seems okay his end.  After that, with Nan still awake, I walked back to the train station and bought tickets to another city for a day trip tomorrow, and you'll find out tomorrow which city that is.

Nan okay today.  On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say a 6.5, and on a scale of 5 to 10, I'd say a 6.8.  The cathedral saved the day, but I more than enjoyed it by myself.  This is my first time here and I'm happy to have made it.