Arriving in Italy

We flew from Paris to Italy, arriving in Milan.  This was quite a shock to the system because Milan is very crowded and oriented toward tourists.  When we got off of the plane, we headed toward the central downtown station which is near a large mall, a galleria.  This was by far the most stressful part of the trip so far, mainly because we were trying to figure out transportation without knowing the language and people were very unfriendly.

The way to the train station was very crowded, filled with street performers, beggars, and scammers.  All of this confusion took place in the shadow of a magnificent ancient church, the Milan Cathedral.  This church is one of the three biggest churches in the world, designed to hold the entire population of Milan at the time, 40,000.  It's really spectacular!

After wandering around confused for a bit, we finally were able to get enough directions to find the train station and board.  I studied Italian for about six months before this trip, but it takes a while for your ear to get tuned in to the words.  We asked someone how to purchase tickets and understood that we could get them on the train on the way to Como.  When the conductor approached us on the train and asked for tickets, we explained that we needed to purchase them, we were told by a worker at the train station.  He said that was fine, but he'd have to charge us about ten Euros ($12) a head penalty.  Lesson learned.

Lake Como is a beautiful little spot that is a getaway for those who live in Milan.  George Clooney also has a place here, but he wasn't taking my calls.  It rained the day we were here, so we weren't able to get out much.  We took this opportunity to rest, play cards, and wander down to the lake to eat, grab a gelato and pizzas.

Getting around using public transportation on the lake means taking ferries.  They stop in almost every little town.  The view from the lake is very beautiful and the homes dotting the shoreline are exactly what you'd think of in the Tuscan style.

 This was a recommended spot for us and was a good break to begin our time in Italy.