Milan

Now that we have a chance to travel more frequently, we're starting to fly by the seat of our pants a little more. We didn't reserve a hotel room before we went to Milan. We arrived around 11:00 on Friday night, and our first goal was to find a place to stay. We headed for a busy area and started the search. It wasn't difficult to find a place. We checked in, left our stuff and went for something to eat.

Well, last year I had duty on the long weekend. :-( So this year I was very excited to know that I could get away. I was determined to go somewhere, and Milan was the place! It's not very far from here. I went with Tracy (again!) & Ian Page. We rented a car and left on Friday after school. On Saturday, Mark Lentz & Matt Backus drove down. We did some things together....mostly ate like pigs!!

On Saturday morning, after sleeping quite late, we took the metro to the Duomo. This was my first trip to Italy, and I didn't realize we were going to see the main cathedral. As we walked out of the metro station, I had to catch my breath. It was a beautiful day, and I had just walked into a totally different setting!!

We explored the area around the Duomo quite a bit. After a while, we decided we would go into the Duomo. All 3 of us went in, but soon I was kicked out because I was wearing a tank top. It isn't allowed. I had to go back on another day. Once again I was amazed that something like this could have been built so many years ago. It had to have been generations of work. The inside is just as beautiful as the outside--from the floor to the ceiling.

Saturday afternoon we met Mark & Matt in front of this statue. It's directly across from the Duomo. They were flying by the seats of their pants, too, so they still needed to find a hotel. Plans for dinner were made, and later we met them at their hotel. Dinner was quite good. The deskman at their hotel had suggested a place that had a selection of seafood. We had good food, lots of laughs and grappa. After dinner we went dancing. I have to admit that I didn't dance much. Not only did the music not do much for me, the dance floor was so crowded that we were lucky to have space! We stayed out late, though. I'm sure we burned off whatever we ate and drank at dinner!

We slept late again on Sunday....almost until 11! Finally we were out of the hotel. Ian (the science teacher) wanted to see the Da Vinci museum. While we were out we met up with Matt. Mark was still asleep, but he happened across us while we were eating.

After quite a bit of searching and looking at the map, we found the Da Vinci museum. (It was a LONG walk!) It was interesting, I guess. The Dav Vinci stuff was certainly the best part. He was truly a genius!! These 2 pictures were taken there. One is of hedges in the cloitre and the other is of the top of the museum.

On Sunday night we all went out to dinner again. We didn't drink as much this time because we were all so dehydrated from the day that we only wanted water! This place was a more typical Italian food place. The food here was truly outstanding. I think we enjoyed it more than the previous night. I think we all had some kind of pasta or speciality of the house. I will search for this place if I'm ever back in Milan.

One last picture.....Tracy in front of the Duomo. Ian actually took one of both of us, but it's too dark to see us! So, this one works perfectly instead.

On Monday, after sleeping late one more time, we did some last minute shopping and sight-seeing before getting into the car and driving back to Switzerland. Tracy and I both felt like we'd truly had a restful vacation. Sure we didn't get to see everything, but that just gives us a reason to go back!!