Milan: The City of Silence

The train ride today was really nice. I really didn't want to get off. We had to wake up at 6:30, which was a bummer, and catch a cab from the hotel to the train station. There we waited for an hour until our train was ready so we could lug our heavy suitcases across the entire span of the terminal to get to our seats. My seat was facing the back of the room so it was quite odd looking at the scenery going the other way. The country side was beautiful. We passed through the mountains, which I think were the very end of the Alps. The towns were so pretty, at one point I saw a castle on the side of the mountain. It was amazing! Then there was this lake of water that was clear aquamarine - no joke. I have never seen water that color before in the natural environment, not even when we went to Austrailia. We stopped at a couple little towns on our journey and also had a stop in Torino, but they really weren't long, just as if they were another metro stop. I slept/read/looked out the window for the most part of the trip and was not looking forward to walking around another city. At this point in the trip I've gone into lazy mode. And I have to do it again tomorrow!! We got into Milan around 4. I hadn't eaten anything AT ALL the entire day and mom gave me a 20 to go get something to eat. But when I get up to the front the rude lady at the cash starts yelling at me in Italian because she can't break my 20! God, someone must have a dismal existence. It made me quite angry. I was really hungry. Needless to say, I didn't get my chocolate bar. Our hotel is about 5 minutes from the station and is completely stunning. Our rooms make me feel like I am in a small version of Versailles. They have small chandeiliers and flat screen tvs! I wanted to stay in the hotel the entire night, but knew we should probably go out. But to what?

The entire city is dead.

The entire city is dead. No joke. The Italians have gone on holiday.

No joke.

The Italians have gone on holiday.

All the shops and restaraunts are closed and there is no one in the street. It was so strange. But we were able to find a buffet where you only had to pay 6 euro for all the pasta etc. that you could want. So with that and an ice cream sandwich I was perfect. So since the entire city is filled with this strange not-back-till-september vibe, we ended our 'stay' in Milan and headed back to the hotel. To leave for Florence tomorrow at 10. I only hope this city is not deserted as well. Alas, there are no pictures for Milan either. As they say to us here, gratzi ciao!