"But I've been places!" - Day 1: Edinburgh To Milan
Journal EntryDay 1: Edinburgh To Milano
10.36 PM - "Hotel New York" - Milan
A red letter day! Kara's first ever flight and my first time abroad in almost 15 years! Kara was visibly bouncing with excitement as the bus approached the airport. Seeing the planes taking off and landing appeared to be too much for her.
Once we got to the concourse, I was hit in the face with the smell of perfume. I'm guessing that it's the smell of "international air travel." After today, neither Kara nor I smell like perfume! At security, Kara's excitement transformed into anxiety as she was faced with rules that were new and scary, but I guess that after a short while, she was fine. Her shipping job has prepared her for this kinda thing.
Once we were aboard, the excitement returned. I was happy just to watch Kara bounce in her chair. She got the window seat, so she had her face stuck to the glass, watching other planes take off. When it was our turn, it was great to see the grin on her face. I had forgotten how it feels to lift off like that. The flight wasn't too bad and we arrived about twenty minutes early. We went through passport control but to our disappointment, we didn't get our passports stamped. Kinda sad about that one. Kara exclaimed "But I've been places!" Still, we're here in Milan now.
So the bus from Malpensa to Milano was kinda depressing. It's very industrial and modern, with lots of factories. Not particularly pleasant. We found our hotel and it's not too bad. It sort of overlooks Centrale Stazione; where we'll be leaving for Modena tomorrow.
Milan itself is...not great, at least for us. We came to Italy for food, art, history and architecture (and Ferrari, some might say). Today's main "quest" was to feed Kara and Milan was extremely disappointing in that regard. I was reminded of the evening early in our relationship where we traveled over most of Edinburgh to feed Kara. Despite the setting, we didn't have a romantic a time as I hadn't eaten since breakfast and Kara had only eaten junk food. We were eventually saved by a young girl who showed Kara she could have...and I'm not joking here; roast beef and potatoes. This is an improvement on the plan that Kara had originally, which was Burger King fries. Milan is a mother-hubbard for coeliacs.
Personally, I had one goal food-wise in Milan: Panzerotti from "Luini's". I achieved that goal...twice! It's a bit like someone made a pizza croissant then fried it. Bellisimo!
While I'm sure Milan has some great art, (The Last Supper is in Milan) I don't think we're going to see it, sadly. I am a tad worried that we never will, as I have no great compulsion to return. As for "history and architecture", the Duomo in Milan is incredible. It is enormously impressive and beautiful. Sadly, it is under renovation in parts which leaves it with scaffolding all over it. To be honest, this pales in comparison to the huge banners for designer shops and perfumes. It's disappointing to see it on such a wonderful structure.
Another unfortunate aspect of Milan which we will undoubtedly encounter again on our trip; is the con-artists and shysters that prowl around the scenic parts, preying on unsuspecting tourists. The like to sell little bits of coloured string by forcing you to take one, then charging you for it. One of them equated me not wanting to take a bracelet to me "hating Africa". The other told me that Glasgow Celtic is his favourite team. I struggle to believe that.
We're back at the hotel now. Kara is trying to sleep so I guess I should too. It's off to see Il Duomo tomorrow, then perhaps a graveyard or a tomb? (Kara would be a curious, if somewhat squeemish Tomb Raider). After Milan, it's Modena as a little "pit-stop" before Maranello. (See what I did there?)
Signing off for day 1. Perhaps I will dream of Panzerotti!
So that was day 1. Looking back now after the trip, I am a tad disappointed that we had such a bad time in Milan. We only ended up visiting as our cheapest flight landed in Milan and we wanted to do something while we were there. I'm glad we went in the end, Il Duomo was beautiful as were some of the other sights that we glimpsed in Milan. We don't have many pictures from the first day, as we were supremely paranoid (and perhaps justifiably so) of someone snatching an iphone or camera from us. I know it makes us sound like typical sheltered tourists, but I want to stress that the worst and most aggressive con-artists we encountered in Italy were working in the square beside Il Duomo. One of them forced us to engage with him by placing a piece of coloured string on Kara's shoulder, meaning she could either shake it off onto the floor or use her hand to pick it up. Before we knew what was happening, the guy had clipped two onto her wrist and was essentially begging for money. These guys hang around in big groups and it was actually impossible to stand still for more than 30 seconds without being harassed by these "string salesmen" as we took to calling them. Combined with a lacklustre dinner and the feeling that eating in Italy might not be so easy, I wrote this journal piece quite downtrodden.
On the other hand, it was nice to reflect on Kara's first flying experience, as well as encountering someone with enough of a brass-neck to claim that Celtic is his favourite football team while he's standing in the middle of Milan (my limited football knowledge tells me that Milan has good football teams) and expect me to believe him. He was from Senegal, apparently. The other positive from day 1 was Panzerotti. Sweet baby Jebus, that is some good food. I did feel bad eating it, especially as Kara was very hungry and we were both in quite a bad mood by this point. When I found this location, I knew I was going to have to stop to have one. Panzerotti is like a miniature calzone, but the ones I had were made from a buttery dough, like a croissant or an Aberdonian "roll". The usual pizza toppings take up the inside, and they taste amazing. Kara must have hated watching me pull away big strings of mozzarella with every bite. I wolfed them down like a starving man.
Apologies that the first post is a bit of a downer, but I promise, things do get better!