Travel Day!

Finally time to jet off to Italy for a whirlwind tour centered around what is sure to be a wonderful wedding in Tuscany.

This one snuck up on us. With busy schedules across work, community and socializing, we found ourselves at the airport almost by surprise Saturday morning. A quick jaunt had us at JFK where we waited for 5 hours before our 8 hour trip across the Atlantic. Fortunately we know how to pass the time.

Our red eye to Malpensa was relatively uneventful. Less sleep than we would have liked, but a great steward kept us plied with wine and then coffee to ease the cycle. We arrived at 7:15 in the morning local time, more than a bit bleary eyed, and somewhat shocked and unprepared to be in a new country.

We grabbed our baggage and hopped the train into the city proper. Unable to get into our apartment until later that day, we planned on leaving luggage at the station and seeing the city. A bit unprepared linguistically, and out of practice (ha!) with the train station routine, we struggled a bit before getting out into the city.

We went on a quick sightseeing tour, stopping at the famous Duomo briefly before grabbing a small pizza each to help reset our clocks and hopefully stay awake through the day. At this point we realized there was a strange wiener dog parade going on, heading straight to the park we wanted to check out. I guess we became honorary members.

We checked out the Castello Sforzesco (medieval castle) and surrounded Paek before wandering around towards church where the last supper is. Unfortunately tours were booked out several months, so we enjoyed the architecture and moved along. It was time to meet up with Lisa and check into our Airbnb.

Once we had our bags dropped, showers taken, and some brief naps, we were human again. We went for a lovely walk down Corso Garibaldi before circling back to a local cafe recommended to us by our host. A simple and delicious meal, accompanied by a great house wine, had us well prepared for a solid nights rest. A glass of rose on the terrace sealed the deal.