The Surreal Life
This weekend, we took a train over the Italian boarder to Milan. It was a breathtaking 3 1/2 hour ride through the Alps that are dotted with small villages, castles, and lakes. The city of Milan was covered in snow and very, very cold. But that did not stop us from enjoying this wonderful, vibrant and very stylish city.
The reason we chose to go to Milan was because we were told it's a big shopping destination for the Genovese (since clothes & shoes are SO expensive here in Geneva). Most people actually go for the day to take advantage of the cheap shopping, but we stayed over night so we could get a little sight seeing in too. Both Gary and I are in desperate need for warmer coats and boots, so we figured Milan was the place for us!
We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and we were off to shop (even Gary was excited)! After several hours of tromping around in the snow (my feet got wet!) and dodging into one store after another, we found a great place that had wonderful, cheap coats! Gary and I each bought one and we were thrilled. It was already dark, so we started our way back to the nearest Metro station, which was about a 1/2 hour walk in the cold, snow and ice.
Finally, back at the Metro station, I took a closer look at my coat and much to my horror, I realized the collar and sleeves were lined with REAL FUR!!! The coat was only 60 euros, so I never imagined that you could get real fur so cheap! I insisted that we go back to return it, since I wasn't sure if the store was open on Sundays. Poor Gary had to walk with me for an hour (round trip) in the slush and cold so I, the animal activist, could stand by morals and return it. I was bummed because, besides the fur, I really loved that coat! Lesson learned: Always check the faux fur in Italy!
The next day was all about seeing the sights. We went to the historic, Piazza del Duomo, where the gothic Duomo Cathedral sits on one end of the square (it's the third largest church in Europe). We explored the church and climbed to the top, where you can walk out onto its roof and see all across the city. Then we wandered around to see more historic buildings and grab a bite to eat.
The square (piazza) itself was a hub of activity! The 2005 Milano City Marathon was taking place and the finish line was adjacent to the cathedral. There was techno music and a VERY excited announcer (all in Italian, of course) that was screaming about this or that for at least two hours! We were cheering from the sidelines when the front runners entered the piazza and crossed the finish line, the crowd roared with excitement!
The excitement at the piazza was not only about the race, but unbenonced to us, Ryan Lee was also there, making an appearance from a balcony high above! Who is Ryan Lee you ask?!? We had no idea, but there were about 300 screaming teenage girls who did! They were holding banners that professed their love for him, begging him to stay in Italy, to choose them as a girlfriend! It was all quite amusing. (After consulting Yahoo, it seems that Ryan Lee is a singer of some sort.)
All I really wanted to see was Bridgette Nielsen & Flava Flav! Does anyone know if they are still together? I'm not up on my Surreal Life gossip, but I figured, in Milan they were the most likely celebrities we would see.
Oh and here is something I didn't realize... you have to make a reservation a month in advance to see The Last Supper (which is in Milan). So, next time we'll plan a little better so we can see it. Well, that's about it from Italy! We are back home and I'm off to French class. Ciao Baby!
The reason we chose to go to Milan was because we were told it's a big shopping destination for the Genovese (since clothes & shoes are SO expensive here in Geneva). Most people actually go for the day to take advantage of the cheap shopping, but we stayed over night so we could get a little sight seeing in too. Both Gary and I are in desperate need for warmer coats and boots, so we figured Milan was the place for us!
We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and we were off to shop (even Gary was excited)! After several hours of tromping around in the snow (my feet got wet!) and dodging into one store after another, we found a great place that had wonderful, cheap coats! Gary and I each bought one and we were thrilled. It was already dark, so we started our way back to the nearest Metro station, which was about a 1/2 hour walk in the cold, snow and ice.
Finally, back at the Metro station, I took a closer look at my coat and much to my horror, I realized the collar and sleeves were lined with REAL FUR!!! The coat was only 60 euros, so I never imagined that you could get real fur so cheap! I insisted that we go back to return it, since I wasn't sure if the store was open on Sundays. Poor Gary had to walk with me for an hour (round trip) in the slush and cold so I, the animal activist, could stand by morals and return it. I was bummed because, besides the fur, I really loved that coat! Lesson learned: Always check the faux fur in Italy!
The next day was all about seeing the sights. We went to the historic, Piazza del Duomo, where the gothic Duomo Cathedral sits on one end of the square (it's the third largest church in Europe). We explored the church and climbed to the top, where you can walk out onto its roof and see all across the city. Then we wandered around to see more historic buildings and grab a bite to eat.
The square (piazza) itself was a hub of activity! The 2005 Milano City Marathon was taking place and the finish line was adjacent to the cathedral. There was techno music and a VERY excited announcer (all in Italian, of course) that was screaming about this or that for at least two hours! We were cheering from the sidelines when the front runners entered the piazza and crossed the finish line, the crowd roared with excitement!
The excitement at the piazza was not only about the race, but unbenonced to us, Ryan Lee was also there, making an appearance from a balcony high above! Who is Ryan Lee you ask?!? We had no idea, but there were about 300 screaming teenage girls who did! They were holding banners that professed their love for him, begging him to stay in Italy, to choose them as a girlfriend! It was all quite amusing. (After consulting Yahoo, it seems that Ryan Lee is a singer of some sort.)
All I really wanted to see was Bridgette Nielsen & Flava Flav! Does anyone know if they are still together? I'm not up on my Surreal Life gossip, but I figured, in Milan they were the most likely celebrities we would see.
Oh and here is something I didn't realize... you have to make a reservation a month in advance to see The Last Supper (which is in Milan). So, next time we'll plan a little better so we can see it. Well, that's about it from Italy! We are back home and I'm off to French class. Ciao Baby!
posted by Swiss Miss | 07:27
2 Comments:
ooooh...you'll have to bring your davinci code so you can look for all the clues :)
way to hold your ground on the animal rights, Deb. It reminds me of your heroic efforts to save doggies running in the streets and such. Scout would be proud.
Aloha, thanks for the support! My lifetime of animal saving continues on! :)
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