Saturday, November 13, 2010

Milan Mishaps

We left Cinque Terre dripping in the rain and made our way to Milan. We had originally planned to go to Avignon, France after Cinque Terre. Unfortunately, the French strikes had paralyzed much of the transportation and we didn't want to get stuck in France. We had heard many horror stories of people who were unable to travel and ended up buying plane tickets to get to their next destination. We elected to take a flight to Barcelona and avoid train travel in France. We found a cheap ticket online and made our way to Milan.

Milan is a big city and compares itself to New York. It is the financial and fashion capital of Italy. A lowly backpacker feels quite shabby walking the streets of Milan. We saw many mink coats and other furs and women whose faces were plastered with make up. We were very wet and tired when we arrived. The train journey had been delayed and extended due to the rain. We boarded the train quickly, wanting to make sure we were at least on the train before it took off again only to sit in our seats for an hour and twenty minutes before it even left the station. Milan was cold and grey and rainy as well. A huge front covered northern Italy. We stayed one night in the hostel. The following day, we went off on a search to mail stuff home, got lost along the way and ended up paying an exorbitant amount of money. Then we went to see the cathedral in Milan which is located next to the main shopping area. At this point, I'm a bit cathedraled out. I feel that Siena's was the best and nothing can compare. There is a huge covered shopping center. Where the pedestrian walkways meet there is a Prada, Louis Vitton and McDonalds. We sang, "One of these things is not like the other." We then set off for the airport. It took a bit longer to get there than we had anticipated. We knew our flight was with Iberia but when we got to the check in, there was a massive line and no one was doing anything. We stood in that line for 45 minutes. When we finally got to the front we were informed that we were in the wrong line and needed to be at Vueling, Iberia's little brother airline check-in instead. We ran across the airport, our bags bobbing. Our ridiculous sprint was in vain as check in had closed. So we had to rebook our flight, paying more than the original ticket. Oh well. Live and learn. Learn and live. We finally arrived in Barcelona and as we were trying to figure out the ticket system, just missed the train into the city and had to wait another 30 minutes. It was now quite late and by the time we reached the transfer station to switch metro lines, the metro had closed. So we took a taxi to the hostel. I was a bit relieved. I was tired and I didn't relish the thought of wandering the streets in a new city searching for the hostel after midnight. Especially since Barcelona has a reputation for pickpocketers and thieves. So best not to look completely lost and vulnerable. Milan, a fancy big city with crap weather, probably not my favorite place. But it didn't matter. We had arrived in Spain.

Things I Didn't Expect When I Woke Up
Milan Edition

-Wonder if a Canadian was going to cry as they recounted the gold winning hockey goal in the 2010 Olympics
-Be inspired to volunteer at the Olympics
-Hear a comment that was as offensive it was funny "All you non-Asians look the same" This came from a middle aged Asian lady clearly concerned with being politically correct
-Fall down the stairs and make the Asian lady scream. I slipped. She watched it and let out a death piercing scream. The Italian hostel host ran down the stairs, convinced that someone was getting murdered. Nope, Kate just fell down the stairs.

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