An improving view of Milan

Hello again! So lets get you caught up on the latest adventures. After hiking 3 of the 4 trails in the Cinque Terre, and sweating bullets on the last one, we were very open to the idea of finding a place in Vernazza to stay for the night, instead of finishing the 4th one and heading back to Milan. We came off the mountain, and decided to ask at each of the houses on our way into town that had "Rooms for Rent" signs on them. In the last three towns we had seen many signs like these, so we were hopefull that Vernazza would have a healthy supply as well.

At the first one that Tim saw, we rang the bell as indicated on the sign, but there was no one there. MIchelle had seen a sign a little earlier, so we turned around and went back the way we came a few steps. We were discussing how to contact the person on the sign when a man yelled hello from his balcony. We inquired about the room, and he said he was full. Feeling like this was going to be Milan, round two, just with more sweat and exhaustion than the first time, we turned to leave. He called us back and said his friend (the one owning the first sign that we tried to contact) might have a room. He made a few calls, while we waited what seemed like an eternaty. A man came walking down from the hill, and out balcony friend began chatting with him in rapid Italian. It turns out he did have a room available, and would we like to see it. Remembering Milan, we said a firm Yes.

The room was actually an appartment, complete with kitchen and living room/dining room. It had still not been cleaned from the last guests yet, but we were assured that the mans mother would come within the next 30 minutes to clean it. We were grateful, and headed out to explore the city.

We found the little cove of the town and watched as people were swimming in the ocean and laying out on the beach. Tim, who needs to put at least a toe in every body of water we see, wished we could swim in it later in the day. Michelle, who just wanted to sleep, was less than enthused. :)

We ate a slice of pesto pizza and an orange fanta and then headed back for some much needed showers. Refreshed, we found a place to eat, based on one of the recommendations from Rick Steves, and had an enjoyable evening listening to the surf on the ocean. There was a younger couple there who had just gotten engaged, so it was fun overhearing part of the conversation about how surprised she was, and watching her admire her new ring. Michelle, ever the sucker for romatic moments, bought and sent a rose over to their table as a congratulations. It reminded us of when we got engaged, with the ring tucked inside a dozen red roses.

Back at the room we creashed for some much needed sleep.

The next day we were up and about early, trying to hit the last trail before it got too hot. We were packed up and out the door by 8;15. We stopped off at a local bread store and bought a large pesto bruchetta and a few apples, and headed up the trail. No matter how early you get started though, you are going to get hot. This last trail was the hardest, 2 km with the highest elevation climb. And boy was it a climb. Just imagine going up as many stairs as you think you can possibly climb, then turning the corner and having another set of stairs. And every time you stop to rest, you see 2-3 mosquitos hovering about. It was not a pleasant beginning. But the pain was all in the first 30 minutes of the climb. From then on it was much more managable. We were glad to be going the direction on the trail that we were, as at the end there was an even larger set of stairs going down. If we had started the entire hike from this last city, we are not sure if we would have made it.

The last town was named Montorossa al Mare, and once we got there we headed towards the train station. There was one pulling into the station as we arrived, and we asked other travelers if it went to Milan. They said yes, but since we were not sure if we needed reservations, we asked one of the train employees who was hopping on the train. He said it was going to Milan, and ushered us on the train. Once on, with the train moving, h told us that we needed to pay 18 euros for the reservation fee. So, it ended up that this was not the train we wanted. For the regional trains, which also go to Milan, our eurorail pass allows us to ride for free. Woops. Lesson learned, never jump on a train without asking all the questions first.

The train ride was smooth, getting us back to Milan in 3 hours. Once we arrived we found an internet cafe and reserved two nights in another hotel in Milan. This time, we made sure to do it through a site we have used for a while, and one where we could read comments left by other people. We checked into the hotel and were pleased to see that it was clean, comfortable and had no remnants of other past guests. It looks like a business hotel, which is great for us.

We spent the rest of the day exploring Milan. We walked to the Galleria and the Duomo, which also took us by the Scala theater that we mentioned in our last post. Looking at all of the men and women dressed up was fun, they were all so elegant and the fashion really is interesting to watch. We could not pull it off, but they manage to!

We had dinner in the Galleria, Tim had Osobuco with saffron risoto and Michelle had a pesto gnochi. Tims meal was excellent, Michelles was good. It was then back to the hotel for a night of good sleep.

We are about to catch a train to Lake Maggiore today. The hotel should have internet, so we can catch you up on our day trip to Lake Como that we did yesterday. Ciao for now!