Travel Log – Italy 2014

Greetings, Family and Friends –

We write this whilst in the Alps – having just departed Milan for Bern, Switzerland. Milan isn’t what I’d call a “classic” Italian vacation city (i.e. Rome, Venice, Florence…) but has plenty to see, do and eat. It’s in northern Italy, you know and the Milanese would tell you that they’re more productive, profitable and law-abiding than are their southern compatriots.

Having booked our stay inclusive of the night prior to our early morning arrival, we not only ate our “included” breakfast but napped and showered as well! Freshly shorn, well-fed and clean, we set out for sightseeing despite feeling the effects having missed essentially a full night’s sleep. I guess we’ll never get the west -> east jetlag thing down.

On leaden legs, we of course went right to the Duomo and climbed 147 steep and muggy steps to the terrace then about 40 more to rooftop the for great views of the piazza below. Even Anne braved claustrophobia to summit the stairwell and take in the church from an entirely different perspective. After the Duomo and strolling the surrounding environs we stopped for a cocktail in the Galleria Emmanuelle and then headed up Milan’s east side (Lincoln Park-ish) to a comfortable and dee-lish dinner before heading back to the hotel. Anne and I crashed while Maddie and Hannah got in at least 90 minutes of Skype.

Day 2 began at the a Poldi Pizzoli mansion/museum, a walk through the FASHION district and Sforezesco Fortress. After a a couple of hours of walking the ramparts and related museums – and despite drinking three cafe Americanos to this point, Anne and Mads opted to return for rest in the room – so off they went while Hannah and I walked, talked and took in the sights – including touring the mansion of one of Milan’s former aristocrats…whom we’ll refer to as a Milan-aire (zing!!). We reconnected later with Anne and Mads who – amazingly enough – got themselves to the meeting spot at the Duomo. Dinner included great…make that, stellar service and this Brandt conclusion:

*** Waiters who SPEAK in Italian and LISTEN in English are our favorite

Day #3 started with an early wake-up so we could swig espressos and get to Milano Centrale station for our “side trip” to the Cinque Terre, five seaside villages on the Meditteranean connected by mountain trails. Like Venice, it’s really not possible to take enough photos of these picturesque villages. Also like Venice, it’s really not possible to move through these towns without dodging and weaving to avoid colliding with our gazillion fellow tourists. Seriously, I think we heard more English spoken here than in Highwood. (zing!!)

We took two different 2+ mile trails; the first between Corniglia and Vernazza then Vernazza to Monterosso. Beautiful villages with Mediterranean views, narrow/winding stone trails, Hannah’s mountain goat-like climbing ability, 1000 meters of elevation change, reprieve from the crowds, Maddie’s pseudo-griping, eight quivering quadriceps and great conversation made these walks so memorable and fun. We ate dinner in Monterosso and despite riding the train for three stops in the wrong direction we safely made it back to the hotel by midnight.

The morning of day #2, Hannah and I took a more technically challenging trail from our home base in Manarola to Riomaggiore. The 70-minute hike was essentially a 250 meter vertical ascent followed by a descent of the same grade. Funny thing, Anne and Maddie wanted to rest their mooing calves by taking the train. Mechanical issues delayed their arrival so that we beat them to Riomaggiore…but admittedly, Anne and Mads were quite a bit less schvitzed. We spent the day hopping between the towns, collecting souvenirs and enjoying a seaside lunch of anchovies, pasta and Branzino before boarding the late train back to Milan.

Arriving in Milan at 10pm was an experience in itself. The station seems to be the epicenter of Itlay’s immigrant ‘problem’ We would have loved shopping the North African’s fine selection of fake leather, purses, wallets and battery powered toys neatly organized on blankets but the stench of urine proved too much and we just returned to the hotel. Gross.

We covered about ten miles our last day in Milan. Starting at 9:30am with the “Last Supper” we wound our way through the city to: five of Milan’s significant churches, the ‘Bohemian Style’ galleries/shops along the Grand Canal (Naviglio Grande), the world-brand shopping mecca along the Via Torino before ending in the snooty neighborhood around the Brera Gallery. The girls sat in a cafe and people-watched while Anne and I viewed the Italian Master-works in the Brera. On the way to our dinner at the landmark Barreto in Hotel Baglioni we saw AUTHENTIC PAPARAZZI outside a Milan Men’s Fashion Week event. We even shared the dining room with “Petey”, a (supposedly) well-known model and were surprised to see him eat real food.

As is tradition, on our last night we took one last walk through the city ‘Centro’ before packing it in.

This trip is off to a great start – we’re having lots of fun.

We’ll check in again between Bern and Lyon.

Ciao!
Jeff, Anne, Madeline and Hannah

Jeffrey Brandt

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