The Swiss Adventure...: Milano

No trip would be complete without the adventure factor…or as I like to call it…the Amazing Race episode. Having concluded a fabulous trip (Christa…many thanks for the incredible recommendation) we boarded our Italian train (once again, it is fine to point out that the Italian trains, made by Fiat are not quite like the Swiss trains…remember, I too am Italian) and within about one hour the train stopped in Domodossolo, the conductor came on and said, “we will be delayed a few minutes.” A few minutes we thought... no problem. After about 20, no air and the fumes rising off of the people (including ourselves), a few minutes quickly felt more like an eternity. We quickly made the decision to exit the train, sit outside in the fresh air and wait until the next announcement. The next announcement arrived in German, and Italian, we quickly realized, despite the language barrier, that the train was broken (blew a transformer or something mechanical like that) and we were going to have to remove our belongings and wait for another train. So, the hour and a half passed (thank gosh for using the toilet before we detrained) and we were rescued by a completely full Swiss train. With luggage in tow, we jumped on, and stood until we arrived in the town of Thun, where we then boarded another train (yes, it too was full) and stood next to the WC (toilet) with an acclectic, free spirited young gal, and what seemed to be the entire Swiss army, who we might mention were enjoying a good spirit (or 10) while smoking again (after previously being reprimanded by the conductor) in a non-smoking train. All of this made for an incredible journey as we passed by the beauty of the Alps. Honestly, we didn’t mind, trains are amazingly brilliant places to meet wildly, cool people. Like the two chaps I stared at the entire time, listening to their stories of being in med school in Sweden, on holiday for a few months touring around most of Europe. Is this real? Ok, so we could go on about train people, but the real story is, we made it home, had a totally incredible time and look forward to another great five years.

Oh, I forgot to mention, on the way back from Como, before we got stuck on or off of the train, we stopped in Milan and did a whirlwind city tour.

So this is how it went…off the train…find your way around the huge train station…check your bag….jump on the subway (are we in NY?) get off and right in front of you stands the fourth largest cathedral in Europe. Pay 4 euros to tour the top…incredibly, amazing views, walk down, eat some good Italian pizza served up fresh from the Mob (no worries…I love the Mob…I had an Uncle named Vinnie…if you are upset over any of this, we can go the mattresses), run back to the Duomo, tour the inside, almost cry because it is so big and spectacular, wipe away the tears, run to the Sforza Castle (all hot and bothered because it is like 35+ Celsius), take about 50 pictures, run back to catch the subway, sprint over to the baggage check area to retrieve our bag, prayed that our luggage hadn’t miraculously disappeared like the lady in front of us, snag it with a cheerful “Grazie” and find our way to the train. Milan…nice city, amazing Duomo, fine castle and great pizza.