Entry 2 of my "catching up" series was an exciting one for me.  I have been many places in Europe, but never have had the chance to visit any part of Italy.  So, when I was finding my cheap flights to Greece for New Years, I worked diligently to have my layovers both ways be in Italy.  My choices were very narrow for airports that supported both the airlines I was flying with, so I finally went with Milan.  With my itinerary, I had 8 hours of exploring on the way over to be followed by 10 hours on my return trip.

Tuesday, December 30th, I set my feet on Italian streets around 10 AM.  Now Milan is not one of those "movie setting" type of cities.  It is mostly known for its dealings in the fashion industry, so my main goals were to have a pizza, a coffee and snap a few "touristy" shots...then I'd know better for my return trip where to spend more time.

I found my way fairly easily from an airport shuttle bus to the Metro.  Using my trusty Lonely Planet Guide book, I sought out a couple of the stops they suggested.  First on the list was FOOD, so I went in search of the Photographers Cafe.  I walked and I walked and I walked...never did find that cafe :)  Faulty map.

So I went to stop number 2!  This stop proved to be a bit more impressive.  I came out of the underground metro and was met with a HUGE Gothic style church called the Duomo made completely out of marble.  It was beautiful and unlike any I have ever seen! 

After snapping a few shots I headed off to get some pizza and coffee.  Neither of these were even slightly disappointing!  The pizza was simple yet amazing...they don't pile on the toppings...but the sauce was delicious.  The coffee was smooth and strong :)

Well, it was getting late, so I headed to the other airport (across town from the one I flew into) to wait for my flight to Athens.  This turned out to be quite the experience as there was NO ENGLISH to be found.  I like to think that I can find my way around pretty well, but with no English anywhere and seemingly no one willing to speak to me in English (or even Greek) this turned out to be quite an undertaking.  I finally found my gate and sat down to read for the hour I had before my flight was scheduled to begin boarding.  After about 45 minutes, I began to worry because no plane or airline personnel had show up at the gate, though passengers were piling up. 

About 15 minutes before my flight was to depart, still nothing!  Then I heard the only Greek family sitting at my gate get up and starting talking about the flight boarding already (luckily I know a bit of Greek).  So I jumped up too and followed them around the corner to see that MY FLIGHT was on "Last Call" boarding status.  I rushed to the gate handed my ticket and passport to the attendant, and asked her why we hadn't been told about the gate change.  My answer, we announced it once but only in Italian :)  Lesson learned!

On my return to Milan...there were 8 inches of snow covering EVERYTHING... so I had to just proceed to the other airport with no exploring.  I wasn't equipped for tromping around in the snow! 

Click the Photo tab to see a glimpse of Milan...