At Last, we have arrived.

Zia Pinuccia prepares our first meal in Italia.
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DAY 1: ARRIVAL

After some delay at London Heathrow, we finally arrived at Malpensa airport.  We were so anxious to see our zia (aunt) that it seemed to take forever for the luggage to come down.

We hadn't seen my husband's zia for 6 years, and we were all so overwhelmed when we saw each other.  We were all in tears.  After much hugging and greeting in the airport, Johnny's cousin's wife, Grazia loaded us in the car and shuttled us home to zia's apartment.  It was not a moment to soon either, as one of the worst rainstorms that I have ever seen let loose as soon as we were in the car.

Myself, zia, and Johnny outside Santa Maria delle Grazie after we saw The Last Supper painting.
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Although it was about 9pm when we were finally in the apartment with all of our stuff, zia Pinuccia insisted on preparing a huge meal.  This was something that we would slowly get used to in the days to come.  We had veal cutlets Milanese (breaded), vegetables, salad, and then cake that she had baked.  Two hours later, gift and picture exchange done, and our mummies notifies of our safe arrival, it was time for bed.  Stuffed, happy and exhausted, we went to sleep in a foreign country which somehow felt like home to us.

Johnny's first official coffee in Italia.
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DAY 2: LAST SUPPER & EXPLORING MILANO

After a quick but delicious breakfast of cake from the night before smothered in jam and cappucini, we were off.  We had  a reservation to see the last supper painting at Santa Maria delle Grazie church.

For those of you who have not had the opportunity to see it, I will attempt to describe the experience.  Once your group has assembled, you begin your slow passage through a series of door.  These can give you the distinct impression that you are in an episode of Star Trek.  The final door exhales and opens into a dark chapel.  Once you eyes adjust, you realize just what you are looking at.  The painting was amazing, and much larger than I had realized.  I was in such awe that I scarcely heard a word that the tour leader said.  It was the fastest 15 minutes of my entire life.

The Galleria in Milano
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By this time it was time for a second cappucino, our first "official" one of the trip.  What an experience, the cafes are so beautiful in Italia, and we would experience many.  In fact my husband would make a habit of photographing the ones that we enjoyed most.

As the clouds burned off, we soon realized that we were not prepared for the humidity, and were over dressed.  Oh well, mental note time.

Next, a walk over to the Castello de Sforza.  It was built in the 1300's for the duke and his family.  Leonardo da Vinci even stayed here for a time.  It was quite a palace, complete with 'horse stairs'.  These were so that the nobles could ride their horses upstairs, rather than go to all of the effort of walking.

The grand Duomo
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Time for some shoe shopping in the fashion capital of the world.  There are bargains to be had in this city as well as designer everything.  We walked all over the city center in search of the perfect pair(s).  I finally found my prized purchase of golden yellow, leather, low, square-heeled mules at a store selling off summer stock. I got them and a pair of cute shoes for my mum for 75 Euro.

Although I didn't purchase anything at the Galleria, I made sure to have a photo of this beautiful high fashion shopping center.  Dressed as I was, as a tourist to be spotted a mile away, I didn't dare enter even one store.

Fun at Lago Maggiore
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It was time to meet my husband's cousin Stefano, his wife Grazia, and their son Andrea at a 7th floor restaurant in a nearby department store.  This restaurant overlooked the beautiful Duomo.  We had a lovely lunch, our first meal out in a restaurant.  This allowed us to familiarize ourselves with the different courses, and the order in which they were eaten.

We said goodbye for now, and were off to see the interior of that Duomo.  It didn't disappoint us one bit.  The gorgeous stained glass, and the organ were stunning.  It's just too bad that we didn't have time to climb to the rooftop of the Duomo.  Oh well that is the first of many reasons to come back to Italy.  The exterior is beautiful, but the interior is a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of the outdoors.

A beautiful fish lunch
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Back out into the city for a bit more shopping, this time for wine for dinner.  Zia, Johnny and I were off over to Stefano's & Grazia's for dinner. We hopped 2 buses and the tram to get there.  We had a great time sharing a meal with our family in the heart of the city.

DAY 3: A DAY TRIP TO LAGO MAGGIORE

Sunday morning Stefano and Grazia picked us up at zia Pinuccia's.  We drove the 45 mins or so to Stresa, a town on the shores of the lake.  As the men went to park the car, the skies opened again, and the thunderstorm that ensued caused power outage in the town.  Fortunatly the power came on shortly, and we were able to go shopping for sweaters, or a tee-shirt in my case.  We were under-dressed for the weather.

A view of Palazzo Borromeo from the next island.
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We met up with Grazia's brother and his girlfriend for a mid-morning drink at a local bar (cafe).  After a quick visit with them, we caught a small ferry over to Isola Bella.  Here we visited the Baroque palace and formal gardens of the Borromeo family.  Napoleon's bedroom from his 1797 visit is on display, here.  The entire palace and gardens are completly over-the-top, extravagant.

By this time it had finally stopped raining, and it was time for lunch.  We found a restaurant, and had a great lunch of fish caught fresh from the lake.  We also indulged in a lovely concoction of hazelnut gelato layered with espresso, called an affugatto (spelling?).

We hopped another ferry for the next island over, called Isola Pescatori (fish).  This is mainly a residential island.  Here, as the name suggests, mostly fishermen and their families live.

Back to Milano and zia and Andrea.  Zia Pinuccia had prepared a huge Sunday dinner for all of us.  We had antipasti, salad, and veal.  In addition, she had purchased yummy pastries for dessert.

Stuffed, yet again, we said our final goodbyes to Stefano, Grazia, and Andrea.  For zia, Johnny and I were off to see the Veneto and the rest of Johnny's family the next day.