Day 12

I'm probably getting all the numbering of days wrong...

After Bolzano, we were off to La Spezia and Cinque Terre! But first, we made a quick stopover in Milan. We caught the early train (7:35AM!!!) and arrived in Milano at 11am. We stayed there until 6PM which was enough time to see its main sights but no time for shopping! Oh well, we'd rather carry lighter packs at this point. Besides, we're grungy Canadians who wouldn't fit into those Italian clothes anyway, right??

Milan was pretty deserted as most of its people are on holidays. Nice to be in a major city that isn't reeking of BO though, hehe. Walking on the roof of the Duomo was the highlight. It is a massive structure (as are a lot of churches in Europe) but its ornateness sets it apart. The amount of detail is astounding, and it carries up all the way to its highest spire!

We then went over to the Teatro alla Scala, the famous opera house. That was for Mrs. Choit, our old music theory teacher!! Anyway, it was gorgeous. The vibrant reds against the gold decorations was really.. sumptuous. Now that is another place we would love to see an opera in.

Hmm running out of time.. So Milan left us with an overall good impression. Tour books got a us a little ramped up about pickpockets and petty criminals but with the city on vacation, it wasn't much of an issue. Or, maybe we just look real tough. :) After Milan, we took the train to La Spezia and arrived in the evening. Such cute cities can look so creepy at night-time.. Anyway, the shower wasn't draining properly in our hotel so when Monica was showering, she ended up flooding the floor of our room! Hmmmm... They gave us a new room but Miss Monica was very displeased about not being able to condition her hair. :)