Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 19:17:07 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Buon Natale!
buona sera e buon natale,
"pollo" in italian is not pronounced the same way as "pollo" in spanish.
This is my 20th trip to Europe -- 19th sightseeing trip. I'm in Milan, although
the journey has included several other cities so far.... Hmmm, where to start..
Well, San Jose to San Francisco was by car. My aunt dropped me off at SFO.
San Francisco to Dallas airport's Terminal C was by a Boeing 757, instead of a
Boeing 767 as originally scheduled.
Terminal C to Terminal D in Dallas was on foot instead of the Skylink train.
Terminal D to London Gatwick airport was on a Boeing 767-300, without American
Airlines' "NEW" business class seats.
London Gatwick airport (north terminal) to Heathrow airport was by bus, instead
of the Gatwick Express/underground/Heathrow Express combination that I was
considering.
London Heathrow -- with all flights now operating normally -- to Milan Malpensa
was on a fully-packed Airbus A319.
Milan Malpensa airport to Stazione Centrale was by bus...
and finally, Stazione Centrale to my hotel in Milan was on foot.
All that took 31 hours 40 minutes, from December 23 to December 24...
I woke up yesterday (christmas day) and after a big buffet breakfast, made my
way back to the train station and took the first train I could find that caught
my eye -- the 9:10 AM to Genova.
Genova is the hometown of some famous dude from a few hundred years ago.. but I
didn't visit his house. When the train arrived in Genova, I noticed another one
departing to Roma, so I hopped on that one, thinking it would be scenic, right
along the ocean straight to the eternal city, then I can come back to Milano
from there....
Well, it certainly was scenic, although there are more tunnels than I care to
remember. I took a compartment all to myself (tip: close the curtains. Nobody
bothers you if you close the curtains and the compartment door).. Anyway, there
were some good pictures taken (from my new camera) of the small towns along the
ocean, a few churches here and there.... all very pretty...
The train pulled into Pisa at 1pm.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....
hmmm..................
Ok, so I decided to get off at Pisa instead of going all the way to Roma...
I knew this town. I didn't need to look at the map that they've posted outside
the station. I remembered that bridge... that white church... all those
colorful buildings on both sides of the river.... the tiny streets... and I
remembered Pisa's star attraction!
Thats right -- the GELATO!
oh.. no, just kidding. But I'll get to that later.
It's normally about a 15-20 minute walk from the train station to the
Duomo/Leaning Tower, but I took the long way, strolling through some tiny
streets that reminded me of Venice actually -- kinda funny!
After finally reaching the Duomo Group, I took a walk around the cathedral,
smiling at some of the people trying to either stop the leaning tower from
falling or pushing it back into place so it stands upright -- I couldn't
exactly make out which pose they were in for the pictures.
I went to the ticket office -- another unplanned "thing" -- and bought the
ticket to the tower. I hadn't gone up to the top on my last visit. There are
just under 300 steps to the top. I think I counted 296 but I forget the exact
number now -- 296 steps in a long, winding spiral staircase made of slippery
worn-out stone! I only stopped to catch my breath once during that climb, and
I'm a little proud of that! I remember the climb up to the top of the Duomo in
Firenze -- I must have stopped 3-4 times on that one and its about the same
height.
It is a tough climb though -- not just the going up part, but you really have
to watch your step! The steps are very worn out, and that makes them very
slippery. And then you have to look out for people coming down at the same
time..
Well, the view from the top is certainly worth the risks to get up there! The
entire city is visible, as are the mountain peaks in the far east.
The bad part is that they dont let you stay up there very long -- I was barely
there for 10 minutes when they started shoving everyone back down the steps
again -- well, not literally, but they may as well have! If the climb up was
bad, going back down was worse! I had a few close calls but never slipped
anywhere, although after I came back down there was one person being treated
for a sprained ankle..
I needed something to cool off after that, so I had "something" to cool me off.
After lunch, it was back to the train station to catch the 5:30pm train to
Milano..........
Wrong.
When I got there, the 4:06 to Firenze was just about to depart from platform
#1.. I ran the last 15-20 feet to catch that one.
Aaaaaah Florence! Wonderful Florence... I was only there for a couple of hours,
but it looks fantastic this time of the year! The Ponte Vechio had all the
christmas lights on with the words "Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo" being
projected onto the eastern side. Christmas lights all throughout the city
streets also. In Pisa I only found one gelateria open for business on christmas
day; in Firenze there were several! ;)
After dinner, I made my way back to Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station
-- for the 8:15 train to back to Milano. This time, there would be no
spur-of-the-moment trips anywhere else... I had to get back to the hotel room
in Milano!
Not so sure what I want to do today.................... I guess I'll find out
after I wake up. Until then, buon natale e felice anno nuovo,
-me.
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| Contents | December 26 |