Milan

I spent a few days in Milan and, for the first time, I lodged at a hotel near the main railroad station to facilitate my daily movements out of town.

I've rediscovered this city a bit since I haven't been in it for a long time. The station is forever busy and quite chaotic. A new practical addition is a huge supermarket inside the station, which is quite convenient because it's open about 15 hrs a day. The many ticket windows, however, are all shut in the evening and one has to use automatic machines, which are not very "user friendly" since their programs are not very intuitive.

The huge arcades for which this station is known protect all sorts of beings: from humans to.... loads of pidgeons that are very assertive in search of food. Some of them fly low over people's heads (there is really no space on platforms and floors due to the huge crowds), and it's interesting to see how they perch themselves over the food counters to watch for crumbs and wasted food.

Some of the new long distance trains have a slick, modern look, but, once on board what has not changed is the stuffy air that permeates every car, although most of them are no longer permitting smoking. Italians are usually afraid of drafts and rarely want to open windows whether on cars, train or buses. Once off the trains the smokers lite their cigarette and the air in the entire station (which is huge) is unbreathable!

The local regional trains and the ones that travel northward in Europe are usually on time, while the ones that comes from Sicily or the southern tip of Italy are always late, sometimes by 2 hours!

On the side of this station, which is a mastodontic building, several blocks long, there is also the airlines bus terminal, where many coaches (belonging to competing companies) provide good and cheap service to the airports.

The 3-star hotel I stayed in was very confortable and included a buffet breakfast for all sorts of taste. The rest of my days very quite busy since I planned both activities and leisure time before I left home. I was a guest for lunch and/or dinner, practically every day either at a local restaurant or at friends' homes, and, in Italy, the food is always good no matter where.