Remember that stupid visa check stamp? The guy at the Berlin airport had never heard of it and had to call his supervisor to figure out what to do who also didn't know what to do so they made up a stamp to give me using some other stamp and the guy's signature. Additionally when we left Milan, the guy at the counter didn't even look in my passport, he just stamped the boarding card and sent me on my way. Anyways, we made it to Milan without a hitch after an hour long bus ride from Bergamo airport to Centrale Station. According to the website, our hotel wasn't too far from a metro station so we decided that was the best way to get there. We were greeted by beggars in the subway and a girl who was trying to "help" us buy metro tickets and quickly realized that the Italians really don't speak English. After we got off the metro we noticed that literally everything was closed for Easter and that our hotel was nowhere near the touristy part of town but instead was just off one of the main roads which was home to "cheap" stores and restaurants (read: bad quality) and Libryans selling knock-off designers goods on the street. Overall we just weren't getting a good vibe from Milan. After searching hard for a restaurant that was actually open. The place we found was tackily decorated in velvet, leopard print, and chandeliers that looked like they were stolen from a brothel. We tried to order gnocchi but the guy misunderstood us and gave us linguine with mussels instead. After dinner we walked to a nearby public park because the weather was so nice and we had our first of many gelati/ice cream in Italy. Back at the hotel we realized that we had wi-fi and decided to book a hotel in Venice, our other Italy destination rather than only going for the day.
The next day we rode the bus (much less scary) to the Duomo and the rest of the toursity part of Milan. After going in the Duomo we ventured through the Galleria, a fancy open air shopping area, to the La Scala Opera House. Then we went down the street to the Quadilaterio D'Oro, the designer shopping district, for some window shopping. Finally we head to Castello Sforzesco, the castle in Milan. We walked through the castle and emerged in another, even bigger public park where the whole town was spending their Easter Monday vacation playing soccer, sun bathing, or just hanging out. We ran into a bunch of guys holding a drum circle so we stopped and listened for awhile before finding our own spot to take a nice nap. After waking up we went back into the castle to the art museum where they had free admittance for the holiday and a special exhibition of Michaelango's Peitá and Crucifixo statues. We decided to spend our anniversary having pizza al fresco with white wine and more gelato :)
In the morning we got up early to check out of the hotel and get on the train for our almost 3 hour ride to Venice. The scenery was beautiful as we whizzed across northern Italy with the Alps looming on the horizon. Venice was spectacular and the weather was gorgeous- sunny, breezy, and warm without being hot. Words cannot describe the beauty of a city built in the middle of the water. There are no cars, only boats and foot traffic. Some of the buildings date to the 900s but are still around even though the city occasionally floods to the point where everyone stays at home because the water is up to the front door. I loved wandering around the city, getting "lost" in the maze of little streets and bridges and canals. I want to go back because 24 hours wasn't enough time, especially since I spent half of it feeling like crap and unable to hold down food.
Luckily the first thing we did when we got there was go on a gondola ride through the city. It was so incredibly romantic and amazing and breath-taking :) :) :) Our nice gondolier even recommended to us a nice place off the beaten track for lunch. I tried to get a nice antipasto like Grandma makes but all I got was a cold cut platter. Stephan got a pizza with tunafish, one of his family's favorite toppings. The rest of the day was spent wandering the city, trying to take it all in. By the end of the night we had made it across town to the famous Rialto Bridge where we had another dinner under the stars, this time with real gnocchi, and got more gelato. The plan was to get up early the next day and go back to San Marco Bascillica to see the inside before our train back to Milan/the airport, but I woke up at 3 in the morning sick to my stomach so we spent the rest of our time in Venice in the hotel room/sitting at the train station trying to get me to feel better. Thankfully Stephan makes a wonderful nurse and was so patient and caring and understanding the whole time. I barely made it back to Sweden in one piece- 3 hours on the train to Milan, an hour on the bus to the airport, and then 2 hours on the plane to Sweden. Thankfully I could sleep most of this time and I felt much better once we landed at Skavsta. We were going to have to spend the night in the airport hotel because we got back after the last train to Uppsala, but Stephan negogiated with a cabbie to take us to Uppsala for the price it would have cost to go to Stockholm (Uppsala is 1 hour north of Stockholm) so we were able to sleep at home and start recovering from a long, amazing, but exhausting trip.
The next day we rode the bus (much less scary) to the Duomo and the rest of the toursity part of Milan. After going in the Duomo we ventured through the Galleria, a fancy open air shopping area, to the La Scala Opera House. Then we went down the street to the Quadilaterio D'Oro, the designer shopping district, for some window shopping. Finally we head to Castello Sforzesco, the castle in Milan. We walked through the castle and emerged in another, even bigger public park where the whole town was spending their Easter Monday vacation playing soccer, sun bathing, or just hanging out. We ran into a bunch of guys holding a drum circle so we stopped and listened for awhile before finding our own spot to take a nice nap. After waking up we went back into the castle to the art museum where they had free admittance for the holiday and a special exhibition of Michaelango's Peitá and Crucifixo statues. We decided to spend our anniversary having pizza al fresco with white wine and more gelato :)
In the morning we got up early to check out of the hotel and get on the train for our almost 3 hour ride to Venice. The scenery was beautiful as we whizzed across northern Italy with the Alps looming on the horizon. Venice was spectacular and the weather was gorgeous- sunny, breezy, and warm without being hot. Words cannot describe the beauty of a city built in the middle of the water. There are no cars, only boats and foot traffic. Some of the buildings date to the 900s but are still around even though the city occasionally floods to the point where everyone stays at home because the water is up to the front door. I loved wandering around the city, getting "lost" in the maze of little streets and bridges and canals. I want to go back because 24 hours wasn't enough time, especially since I spent half of it feeling like crap and unable to hold down food.
Luckily the first thing we did when we got there was go on a gondola ride through the city. It was so incredibly romantic and amazing and breath-taking :) :) :) Our nice gondolier even recommended to us a nice place off the beaten track for lunch. I tried to get a nice antipasto like Grandma makes but all I got was a cold cut platter. Stephan got a pizza with tunafish, one of his family's favorite toppings. The rest of the day was spent wandering the city, trying to take it all in. By the end of the night we had made it across town to the famous Rialto Bridge where we had another dinner under the stars, this time with real gnocchi, and got more gelato. The plan was to get up early the next day and go back to San Marco Bascillica to see the inside before our train back to Milan/the airport, but I woke up at 3 in the morning sick to my stomach so we spent the rest of our time in Venice in the hotel room/sitting at the train station trying to get me to feel better. Thankfully Stephan makes a wonderful nurse and was so patient and caring and understanding the whole time. I barely made it back to Sweden in one piece- 3 hours on the train to Milan, an hour on the bus to the airport, and then 2 hours on the plane to Sweden. Thankfully I could sleep most of this time and I felt much better once we landed at Skavsta. We were going to have to spend the night in the airport hotel because we got back after the last train to Uppsala, but Stephan negogiated with a cabbie to take us to Uppsala for the price it would have cost to go to Stockholm (Uppsala is 1 hour north of Stockholm) so we were able to sleep at home and start recovering from a long, amazing, but exhausting trip.
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