Summary
Arrived at our hotel just in time for check-in then walked the short distance to the Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II where we encountered very large crowds all trying for the perfect Instagram shot. Lovely pure blue sky and 75 degrees. Happy hour at our hotel. Walk to resto which is closed. Very good dinner of caprese salad and sea bass with fresh black truffle.
Details
We wake up, still on the plane. It seems to have taken no time at all, so apparently we did sleep some, albeit fitfully. Maybe five or six hours. During the overnight flight there was some rocking and rolling, as previewed.
In the morning there isn’t a rooster, but some forlorn infant is protesting loudly. Given for how long this goes on it would seem that the child is quite healthy which is good, I guess. I feel bad for the kid, parents, and close neighbors.
A fellow passenger apparently was vacationing in Austin and is bringing back an assortment of local headgear. A boxed Stetson cowboy hat and a Franklin’s Barbecue gimme cap. All the classics.
We’re told that it’ 3°C (38° F?) upon landing at Heathrow. Mostly sunny. In transit we go through security again. This time both previous infractions are non-issues, but now my therapeutic rubber bar (for tennis elbow) sets off an alarm. I lament to the Indian security guard about the indignities of getting old.
Which gate we’ll be flying out of won’t be known for a while. Off to the lounge. No end of choices for beer, wine, and hard liquor. It’s easy to say “no” at 9 am. There is a good, traditional British breaky (breakfast) which we ‘enjoy’ while we wait. And more coffee… Americano. ☕️
On the flight to Milan there’s lots of food, drink and “kit” available for purchase. Offerings are flagged where they’re vegan, vegetarian or gluten free. If you bring your own cup (on board!) you get 50p off your hot drink.
Per government regulations they fumigate the plane as soon as everyone is seated. They do make three passes, saying it’s not harmful, but we may hold our breath should we so desire. So thoughtful, those Brits.
We’re on an Airbus A319 which seems similar to a Boeing 737. Business class is created by permanently bolting an armrest/tray into the center seat. My seat pocket reveals three barf bags in addition to the in-flight catalog. I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come. Earlier, while watching YouTube videos about Milan, we learned that due to the city being just beyond the French and then Italian Alps, the approach is frequently punctuated by marked turbulence. Oh boy!
Our flight is something like 90 minutes and we get lunch. Mine is pasta with cheese, tomatoes/tomato sauce and basil – it’s quite tasty. Out the windows we see that we are indeed flying over the Alps. There’s still lots of snow. Further on we see lakes, which we later discover are Maggiore, Lugano and others.
Off the plane, on to buses, and into the building to immigration. The process is all very modern and automated. It’s impressive but doesn’t work for most people, including us. It can’t seem to read our fingerprints. We have to join a long line of others to all have it all redone, manually with a human.
Our luggage is ready for us when we’re done and the taxi ride to our hotel is uneventful. The city is green and sunny, but you can tell it’s an industrial city. I’m glad I’m not driving. There are multiple competing lanes going almost in slightly different directions with stop lights for these lanes but not those lanes. Very confusing. There are lots of one way streets.
We like our hotel. It’s close to the big cathedral (the Duomo) and the galleria, but is on a fairly quiet street. We get the details, including the free cookies, muffins and water, always available down here in the lobby. Our room is on the first floor (second as the American’s count) and we have a big balcony that’s a delight to hang out on.
We clean up a tad and head out. We walk the short distance to the galleria and cathedral. Both are impressive but everything is mobbed with tourists. And this is just April. Today is Easter Monday and it’s a holiday here, so maybe we’re seeing lots of locals out enjoying the sunshine and low 70s temperatures.
To battle the inevitable jet lag we just keep walking. The wide pedestrian streets are nice as you don’t have to fight with cars, but man there are a lot of humans wandering about. We walk all four arms of the galleria and find where people are lined up to spin on their heel on the “balls of the bull”. It’s an anatomically correct mosaic of a bull. We heard that people have been doing this “spin on your heel on the bull’s balls” for a long time (for good luck) and the spot is very worn down. The indignity.
We find a fountain spraying water on either side of a long, very tall, all glass corridor which turns out to be the entrance to the city’s Apple Store. Of course it is. Very tasteful and it attracts many tourists.
Back at the room we chill. At 6:30 the bar offers complementary prosecco and snacks as a welcome. After that we want to go find dinner. Our bodies aren’t adjusted to the local time, so we don’t want to stay up too late. Alas local custom is dinner at like 8 pm, so we’ll have to see what we can make happen. Perhaps it’ll be some touristy place that does pander to the early eating Americans.
We walk to one well reviewed place. There are quite a few people also out walking, going here and there on foot. That part of their lives, at least, is healthy. We go by a very tiny car. So cute. It’s a two seater, but only has one door, at the front of the vehicle.
Sadly the restaurant is closed. We remember that it’s Easter Monday, a holiday. We walk some more and find a likely looking place that is open.
At dinner we order sea bass covered in freshly shaved truffles. This is truffle country and perhaps truffle season. They forget the freshly shaved truffles until Karen reminds them. They bring out a big plate of black truffles and then shave so many on our fish that it’s almost hidden (wink). Its delicious! They bring this extra food and that extra aperitif or digestif. Very kind but hard on the weary body.
Our walk home is in the cool dark of the evening. We’re ready for bed. Tomorrow’s another day.
Photos
