Milan, Italy...Home to Risotto!

So it's onwards to Italy, how exciting!  I woke up fairly early to catch a train from Nice to Milan with one stopover in Ventimiglia, which is a super small town just on the border of Italy and France, but actually in Italy.  I had around a 45 minute layover so I grabbed a coffee and a sandwich to eat on the train.  The train was a total piece of junk and the ride took forever.  Our little cabin section had 6 seats in it and every one of them was full.  I had the pleasure of being stuck in between 2 old ladies.  Plus my suitcase was so huge and the only way to store it was in an over head compartment, which there was no way I could lift that sucker over my head.  So instead I just left it in the aisle propped up against the wall.  Well that was a huge cluster as people that were trying to wheel their own luggage down the aisle couldn't get through.  Luckily the guy that was seated in my cabin would help me move it each time someone needed to pass by.  Finally one of the ladies sitting next to me reached her stop and when she got up I put my suitcase in her seat and that was nice for the additional 2 hours we would be on the train.  In all I think it took around 4 1/2 hours to get to Milan from Nice.  It doesn't look that long on the map but it took quite awhile because the train was not highspeed and we stopped off at every little no name town in between the 2 cities.

Once I arrived in Milan, it was fairly easy to get to my hostel.  I had to take the subway for a couple of stops and then get on a tram for a couple of more stops.  Finally I got checked in, they showed me to my room and it was an all female with 4 sets of bunk beds. Thankfully I got a bottom bunk.  My roommates ended up being a bunch of very un-friendly girls.  There was one set of 3 girls that sounded either German or Dutch and then there was another set of 2 girls that didn't speak English either.  A couple of times they would say something in English to me but it was just to use the plug that was near my bed, so I know they knew English!  Oh well, ya win some you lose some.  Time to hit the pavement!  I wanted to check out the roof of the marvelous Duomo and it was soon closing.  It was about a 20 minute walk and I was able to get up before it closed.  Of course I took the lift and paid just a couple euro's more.  Here's a shot of the wonderful Duomo!  It was so huge and it just took over the piazza!

And here are a couple shots from the top/roof of the Duomo with awesome views of the city.  I'm glad I'm not afraid of heights cause I love to get views of the entire city!

And a view of the main Piazza from atop the Duomo

After I explored the top I decided go in but it wasn't as impressive as the outside, but there was some really pretty stain glass.

Next stop was to check out the famous designer shops in Milan, which is apparently the fashion capital of the World, which I thought was Paris, but I guess I was wrong.  I'm also not sure if I already put that last sentence in this post but I just had a shot of Italian espresso and I feel like I'm going a million miles a minute.  So I temped myself and walked down the fancy street, but first to get there I walked through this enclosed glass area where a man was playing piano and  you can see the 80 yr old Prada store.

Once I got done roaming the fancy shop street I stopped off at Sephora and got some eyeliner that I was in desperate need of. Then took it back to the hostel, rested for a bit then it was dinner time.  I asked the hostel where something good and close was and they pointed me in the direction of a good Italian place around the corner.  I ordered some pasta carbonara and got guilted into ordering a second plate but after they brought my pasta out and I saw the massive amount that was on my plate I called the waiter back over and told him to cancel the caprese salad I had also ordered!  Probably a red-neck thing for me to do but oh well!  I got to talking with a nice Italian couple sitting next to me and they were very nice and spoke great English.  They gave me the run down of Italy and told me to be careful once I got to Naples because there is still a ton of organized crime!  I talked with them for a good hour and ordered some lemon sorbet for dessert.  Went back to the hostel afterwards and passed out cause I'm cool like that.

Day 2 of Milan started with a nice shower and off to the museum where the Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper" painting is house.  I knew that in order to actually see the painting you needed a reservation, which apparently you need to get a couple months in advance. However I figured it wouldn't hurt to at least try and go over there to see if there were any cancellations.  Of course there weren't so I got a picture of the next best thing...the building it's housed in!  It was a bummer that I didn't get to see the painting but I'm using this as motivation to one day return to Italy to see it!

Next was a visit to the castle, because who doesn't like castles?!  And to top it off it as within close walking distance.  Inside the castle they had an Egyptian exhibit that interested me so I went and checked that out along with a few other paintings.

And now to the mummies!

The castle didn't take too long to go through and I got done right around lunch time.  Thankfully there was a little roach coach selling panini sandwiches right outside the castle so i sat down and had one of those which was pretty tasty and cheap which is always a plus.  Then it was time to go to the train station and go ahead and get my train reservation to Venice so I didn't have to worry about it the day of the train. The line wasn't too long and it cost me 10 Euro for the reservation to get to Venice on a high speed train which was going to be a nice change from the funky one I took from Nice to Milan. Once the train reservation was booked I'm pretty sure I went and walked around for a bit then decided to take a nap. I know I know, it doesn't sound like I had done that much to even be tired, but this is a vacation too so I'm allowed to nap! I woke up around "aperitivo" time which was about 7:00. Aperitivo is a great concept that I think the US should adopt! I had read about it in my Italy book but I wasn't quite sure what it was exactly. Either way I decided to head over to the Grande Navagali which I had heard would be lined with young folks having drinks as well as it was a fun place to hangout. I stopped by this one bar that looked pretty happening and and sat down on the outside terrace. One of the host told me that all drinks were 8 Euros regardless of what it was, but that I could eat all I wanted. It was then that I peered inside the bar and saw this massive buffet set up! I ordered a mojito then grabbed a plate to go check this sucker out. There were at the very least 15 different options of things to much on. Ranging from pesto ravioli, breads, multiple meats and cheeses, mixed salads, you name it and they had it! I went in for one small plate and would have liked to have gone back for more but I didn't want to fill up. Talking to the couple from the night before they had told me I needed to try the Risotto a la Milanese because Milan is where Risotto originated and the a la Milanese meant that it was prepared with saffron. I had already scoped out a decently priced restaurant featuring this item so I wanted to be sure there was room for the risotto. While I was sipping on my mojito I got to talking, once again, with a nice Italian couple. She had a son living in Florida working for Hilton hotels. She had been taking English lessons and she said I was the first one that she had gotten to practice with. She did pretty darn good, her English was definitely better than my Italian! She proceeded to give me her son's card and told me I should call him! She also wanted my e-mail and said we should hang out. I must have forgotten to tell her that I was leaving the next day for Venice and the chances of that happening were pretty slim, but oh well! I had them take a pic of me with my mojito though!

After the aperitivo and my mjoito were finished off I decided it was time to go ahead and head to dinner which was just on the other side of the Navagali.  I went ahead and had my Risotto Milanese but I wasn't that impressed.  It was good, but to be honest it wasn't as good as the lady that I stayed with before I got my apt. in Paris.  Lorie Dana cooked a delicious shrimp risotto that is hard to beat. 

The above pic is the Grand Navagali right at dusk.  Dinner came to a conclusion, I had a nice glass of red wine as well.  I then decided to walk down to the Duomo to get a shot of the cathedral at night because I always like to see things both during the day and at night.  Did that and then grabbed a magnet of course.  Afterwards I just headed back to my hostel to turn in for the evening.  It was then that 2 new girls checked in for the night...AND they were American, AND they were super friendly!  Alice and Jesse!  Both girls were in Milan just for 1 night.  They are taking culinary classes outside of Torino and decided to get away for the weekend.  They rented a car with 2 other guys they are studying with who are from Brazil.  They asked me what I was doing that night and I said I didn't have anything planned so they invited me out with them!  We had a great time!  The Brazilian guy's knew where the hot spots were and it was quite nice because it was pretty close to the hostel. 

Jesse is in the middle and she actually went to Baylor so she is a fan of the state of Texas, and Alice is from Georgia.  After we drank a few beers in the street and did some people watching, they wanted a change of scenery.  They wanted to go hit up a club and go dancing but I decided I should probably catch some zzz's before my early train the next day over to Venice.  They drove me back to the hostel so I didn't have to walk and I think they came in somewhere between 2 and 3am!  I'm so glad they ended up showing up and saving me from the other unfriendly girls I was rooming with!  Next stop...VENICE!