Day Six - Milan

Finally!  I wish someone would show me how to use the air con in hotels. I always struggle and my room is at 20 degrees which is far too hot for me. I just saw a made in the corridor and with some universal hand gestures asked her how to turn down the air con.  A great deal of smiling, fiddling with the control and it resulted in ..... nothing!  So I am still sweating at 20 degrees.

Just had breakfast and it was rather lovely.  The Italians love their coffee.  I

think I am going to have to go to rehab to get off caffeine when I get home.  The Americano I have just had with my breakfast was amazing!  Such good coffee.  Breakfast was good too.  I have just come back to my room to freshen up, pack my bag, recharge the phone and get ready to go out for the day.  I do like Italy.  I have been before, to Sorrento and Capri with husband #2 for our belated honeymoon.  I love their food (when it is good and not that rubbish at the hotel), their coffee and just the air they have about them.  The men my age (29) are really stylish, a bit George Clooney like (not that I like him but I just want to give you and example).  They (the Italians) always finish off their meal with an espresso, normally standing at the counter.  It amazes me a they have these little, little cups of really strong coffee and then put one or two sugar sachets in it!  It really must be so sweet.

Out and about early and caught the tube.  There are only three lines in Milan so living in London gave me good experience on how to cope in rush hour.  A great deal cheaper with each journey   1.5 euro!  I caught the metro to the Duomo.

Believe it or not, this is Starbucks

This is a beautiful cathedral in the middle of Milan.  It is beautiful and it is infant of a lovey plaza.  However, once again, the place is swarming with migrants who are hustling you and trying to sell you/con you into something.  However, what was interesting was the fact that I did not get bothered but in fact, three people spoke to me in Italian.  I think it was the Prada sunglasses!!  Not only because they were Prada but they also cover my blue eyes.  My blue eyes always get me into trouble.  In Thailand they were fascinated by them as their eyes are mainly brown and the same in Italy.  

The roastery Starbucks

I went to the Galleria Vittoria which is right opposite the cathedral. Wow!  It was stunning and I have some photos (but just can't download them at the moment.  What I will do is do an extra blog when I get home with just the photos).  In this wonderful building they had every Italian designer name (and more) you could think of.  Needless to say, I did not buy anything.  But it was lovely just to touch around.

I then went to find the Old Post Office.  One of my new Italian friends told me about this.  Starbucks have taken it over as their roastery.  She did say it was amazing and she was not wrong.  It was like something from Willy Wonka.  You could see the unroasted coffee beans going along tubes over your head. It was amazing.  I sat and topped up my

Starbucks

caffeine levels and watched the Milan life goe by.  I have to say, they are all rather stylish and beautiful.  I went for a walk around and then decided to hop on one of the tourist buses.  I did this in Barcelona and it is quite a good way of seeing what there is out there.  It was not that cheap (they never are), but thought that as I have not spent much thus far I could splash out.  I am so pleased that I did as it took you all around Milan and you had a set of headphones where you could listen to what you were seeing.  It was well worth the effort.  I got off the bus at the castle and had a look around there.  Once again, there were many migrants trying to sell you crap you do not want.  I did know before I arrived that Italy has had a lot of migrants, but I can not get over how many.  The main square from the station has hundreds and I mean hundreds.  I popped over there tonight to see the times of the trains to the airport tomorrow and I counted 350.  All men, most of them sitting in groups of 10-15 (hence me being able to count them).  I do wonder what happens to the women!  It really is terribly sad and can be quite intimidating if you are intimidated easily. I am not!  But even I will not venture over that way tonight when I go out.

It was 1.00pm so I decided to go for some lunch and found a lovely restaurant that drew me in because it said that the food was made with love.  This reminded me of Daniel and Jenny's restaurant in Bangkok that is what he said to me the first evening I met him.  'The food is made with love'.  I ordered a four cheese pizza and a bottle of water and an expresso and it was 16 euros.  The pizza was massive but by 1.15 the restaurant was full and I mean full. These tiny Italian women were stuffing pizza and huge salads as if food was going out of fashion.  I feel like I am the size of Sicily at the moment.  I really do not know where they put it all.  Life is very cruel sometimes.  The food was excellent, so I decided to hop on another tourist bus going in a different direction and have look what was out there.  

I went to the major department store in Milan and purchase some pasta and

biscuits and they put it in the most lovey carrier bag.  None of this do you want a bag for 10p lark; just beautifully packed and no charge.  This was very much the day.  Wandering around, getting on and off the bus, exploring, taking photos  (which are still not linking grrrrr) and then, finally, back to the hotel for a shower and hair wash.  I did that London thing, put too much shampoo on. The water in London is so hard and you need plenty of shampoo; here the water is so soft and I had bubbles and bubbles.  It took me ages to wash the damn stuff out of my hair.

All that done and dusted I just went to the local restaurant for dinner.  I could not be bothered to wander around as I have done that all day.  It was a good meal; seafood risotto.  In Milan, they add saffron to their risotto, there is a folk story that goes with it but I cannot remember what it is. Anyway, it was lovely.  So I paid the bill and walked back to my room and here I am contemplating contacting Apple again, or deciding to wait until I get home.  

I have the TV on and there are no programmes in English so I do not have a clue what they are talking about.  Every now and then I hear Brexit!  I am even more angry about it now I have been here.  The Italians on the programme

could not believe it all and I had to spend time trying to explain it as best as I could. They do not understand why 'we' want to leave.  I did say to the American that at least their president makes us look a little bit less stupid, so thank you for that!  I do not think she understood what I was saying to be honest.  We have wonderful opportunity to work, travel and share experiences with our European neighbours.  We bring so much to each others lives; I have seen this first hand the past few days.  We are not the Empire anymore (thank goodness because let us face it, we made a good job of that one didn't we .... NOT), we are a small, insignificant, non-manufacturing, overcrowded island who needs all the friends it can get.  So angry.

Early, lazy night.  I have a rotten cold that just makes you feel miserable. I think I am just over tired and full of food I would not normally eat - too many

carbs.  That aside, it has been a wonderful trip and I have had a great opportunity to meet so many people.  

I will leave you with a selection of photos from my trip.

As always, with my love x

Until next time x