Pit-stop in Florence, Italy

                After our late night in Venice, Nicole and I woke up and scadoodled over to the train station to check out tickets for Rome.  Nicole had an idea of going to Florence on the way to Rome, just to walk around a bit.  People had told both of us not to skip Florence, but it didn’t really work into our fast paced agenda. 

Lots of  ties!

                We figured out that we could stop in Florence for two hours and hop back on a train to Rome and not extra expense than going directly.  So we purchased our tickets, and went back to the hostel to pull our stuff together.  We had one last Venetian pasta meal at a café on our way back to the train station and we were off across the Italian countryside again via train.

                The train was cutting through beautiful foggy valleys the whole way to Florence.  Often the fields were full of rows of grapes.  It was a beautiful ride.  We had to switch onto a local train to get to the central train station for Florence, where we checked our backpacks at the station.

                It was dark out by the time we got to Florence and we really weren’t sure where to go.  But the first thing we saw when we walked out of the station was a cathedral.  It was huge and right there in front of us.  We walked around the first big brown cathedral and came upon a big white marble cathedral.  So we walked around that one as well. 

Pretty Bright Cathedral

                All along the streets in Florence there are tons of street vendors selling leather goods, clothing, and scarves.  Behind the street vendors are stores selling the same items, one after another.  The sales men are using broken English lines to get our attention.  “You look like you need new jacket.” 

                “Really?  No thanks…” Rolling my eyes, I keep walking.

Fancy Coffee & Candy Shop

                Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the train station.  I was turned around, but luckily a shop keeper sent us in the right direction.  We hopped onto our empty cheap night train to Rome and started the second leg of our journey to Rome. 

                The cheap night train was very empty and very quiet.  At one point it stopped at a station and didn’t move for at least twenty minutes.  I began to think we were on the wrong train and at the end of the line in a random town… but then the train lurched silently forward all of a sudden... Sigh…

Milan, Not Just a Fashion Runway

When I arrived in Milan, I had no idea what to expect.  I kept seeing fashion runways in my head. Turns out, there’s more to the city than fashion.

               I only stayed in Milan one night, with plans to take the train to Venice first thing the next day.  I was really excited to see Venice!

               My hotel told me to take the metro to the Duomo.  The duomo is the cathedral and it was beautiful.  The cathedral faces a big square where there’s lot of people and pigeons.  It was a Saturday, so it was super crowded.  Then as you walk away from the square there are several pedestrian only roads with lots of shopping and coffee shops. 

               The coffee shops in Milan are beautiful, with an array of perfectly designed pastries and bustling espresso counters.  Luckily, I walked into one where a waiter spoke English.  The waiter was the head waiter and he was wearing a very fancy suit for just serving coffee and cookies, but hey it’s Milan!  He brought hot chocolate syrup with my cappuccino.  It tasted amazing!

               I wandered through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which is an immense ancient indoor mall basically.  It’s a street covered with a lovely arching glass ceiling.  I walked past Gucci and Louis Vutton and went on my way to the Sforzesco Castle.

               This castle is very large and looks like it’s been through some battles.  You can walk freely from courtyard to courtyard and you realize how big the compound is.  I can imagine a large army bustling about the courtyards in the past, but of course I have no idea what the real history is.

               At the back of the castle, I came upon a beautiful view of the Parco Sempione.  This park is very green with walkways going every which way.  At the far end of the park I could see the Arco Della Pace, a beautiful archway with the statue of a man in a chariot with four horses on top.  It was a beautiful view from the back of the castle, but I was hitting my maximum of walking for my feet. 

               I headed back to the hotel to rest and refresh.  I was hitting a wall, because I had taken the red eye from JFK to Milan and I hadn’t really gone to sleep yet.  I took a nap and got up in time to go out for a late dinner and drinks.

               I asked the hotel where to go and I ended up in the Navigli District.  It’s a cute strip of restaurants and bars with apperativos along a canal.  I found a crowded bar with loads of apperativos on the bar.  I bellied up to the bar and took in the atmosphere.

               The bartenders were amazing, shaking and dancing as they made every cocktail.  I stared for I don’t know how long as they made beautiful cocktails, with all fresh squeezed juices as their mixers.  After finishing my beer, I asked for a fancy cocktail.  The bartender laughed and asked what kind of liquor I like.  I said Vodka, but he said he was going to make me a gin cocktail.  He said by the time I finished my drink I’d be a gin fan.  I laughed and agreed to give it a shot.

               He mashed up some mint, squeezed some fresh citrus and I missed a couple ingredients, but next thing I knew I had a big cognac glass with a very tasty gin drink in it.  After I finished the drink, I told him that gin is good when he makes it for me.  Next, I asked for a red drink, so he made me something kind of pink and served it in a champagne flute.  It was frothy and it had a beautiful twist of lemon peel on top.  I savored it to the last drop.  

               Overall, I enjoyed my day in Milan a lot more than I expected.  I was very impressed with the cathedral and the nightlife I found.  But Venice was calling to me!