June 12
Today Annie, Hudson and I get up and out early to check one last time on the elusive macrame artist and to revisit a couple of places including our most favorite restaurant one last time. I have decided to purchase a pair of wooden cobbler shoe forms from one of the vendors in the Monastiraki area since they do not make shoes any longer in the USA and I would have no hope of getting them there. We are successful on one front and purchase a pair of wooden shoe forms before meeting up with Paulie and Sam to have lunch at our new favorite luncheon place. We return to the Hotel Delta to collect our stuff and headed off toward the metro to the airport. Underway we meet a really nice man who is originally from Iran, but is now a British citizen living in Brighton. He is on a sage searching for his two nephews who have disappeared (ie. run away) and are traveling illegally without passports. We has been searching for them for around three months and is currently on his way to Istanbul where he has a tip they may have stowed away on a boat. Upon our arrival at the airport, we are now under the gun to get to our terminal and onto our flight to Milan, where we will spend one night. We arrive at the departure gate without incident and amazingly we are allowed on the plane with more than one carry-on per person....normally, EasyJet is very strict but this time we were able to sneak on with our numerous bags. The flight is uneventful and we arrive in Milan and are amazed that we do not have to clear any customs at the airport. We board a bus to the main train station. Once we get off, we are under the impression that our hotel is very close by, but according to the taxi driver it is not close at all. In another effort to save money, we decide to walk and intermmitantly ask for directions. At one point, we meet a really nice Indian man who says he is going that direction and we can follow him....so off we go. After we have been walking for about 3 miles (it seems) and lugging all of our stuff along with us, we arrive at a huge intersection where the Indian man says he thinks it is off to the right!! Great! We ask several other people and get differing directions until we decide to rely on an elderly but very sophisticated woman who knows exactly where it is. Sure enough, another mile and we are there. Once we arrive, we get checked in and rest up for a little while before setting off to see the Duomo. We walk, on our very tender feet, to the Metro and find that it is practically deserted. After the sticker shock of the cost of each metro ticket, we proceed to the main piazza and are rewarded with a fantastic evening in which to see the amazingly beautiful church. We grab sandwiches and eat them in a picnic at the base of the church. The piazza is alive with activity - kids doing stunts on bicycles, musicians playing great music and lively cafes and bars with people spilling out onto the huge square. After we have a tour of the outside of the Duomo, we return home to rest our weary bodies. Buona notte!!
Today Annie, Hudson and I get up and out early to check one last time on the elusive macrame artist and to revisit a couple of places including our most favorite restaurant one last time. I have decided to purchase a pair of wooden cobbler shoe forms from one of the vendors in the Monastiraki area since they do not make shoes any longer in the USA and I would have no hope of getting them there. We are successful on one front and purchase a pair of wooden shoe forms before meeting up with Paulie and Sam to have lunch at our new favorite luncheon place. We return to the Hotel Delta to collect our stuff and headed off toward the metro to the airport. Underway we meet a really nice man who is originally from Iran, but is now a British citizen living in Brighton. He is on a sage searching for his two nephews who have disappeared (ie. run away) and are traveling illegally without passports. We has been searching for them for around three months and is currently on his way to Istanbul where he has a tip they may have stowed away on a boat. Upon our arrival at the airport, we are now under the gun to get to our terminal and onto our flight to Milan, where we will spend one night. We arrive at the departure gate without incident and amazingly we are allowed on the plane with more than one carry-on per person....normally, EasyJet is very strict but this time we were able to sneak on with our numerous bags. The flight is uneventful and we arrive in Milan and are amazed that we do not have to clear any customs at the airport. We board a bus to the main train station. Once we get off, we are under the impression that our hotel is very close by, but according to the taxi driver it is not close at all. In another effort to save money, we decide to walk and intermmitantly ask for directions. At one point, we meet a really nice Indian man who says he is going that direction and we can follow him....so off we go. After we have been walking for about 3 miles (it seems) and lugging all of our stuff along with us, we arrive at a huge intersection where the Indian man says he thinks it is off to the right!! Great! We ask several other people and get differing directions until we decide to rely on an elderly but very sophisticated woman who knows exactly where it is. Sure enough, another mile and we are there. Once we arrive, we get checked in and rest up for a little while before setting off to see the Duomo. We walk, on our very tender feet, to the Metro and find that it is practically deserted. After the sticker shock of the cost of each metro ticket, we proceed to the main piazza and are rewarded with a fantastic evening in which to see the amazingly beautiful church. We grab sandwiches and eat them in a picnic at the base of the church. The piazza is alive with activity - kids doing stunts on bicycles, musicians playing great music and lively cafes and bars with people spilling out onto the huge square. After we have a tour of the outside of the Duomo, we return home to rest our weary bodies. Buona notte!!
No comments:
Post a Comment