I left Green Bay Tuesday, January 28, and flew to Milan with layovers in Detroit (yuck, I should have picked Minneapolis) and Amsterdam. I got in Wednesday afternoon.

Both of us found our way to the Milan Metro (Metro = underground subway/train system - very efficient once you figure them out) and from there to our first hotel. We stayed at a very nice old hotel in the heart of old Milan, just a short block from the Piazza del Duomo (the main square by the cathedral).

The next day - Thursday - we took the train to Firenze. (The train system and metro systems are fantastic. I wish we had them here.) Again, we stayed at a very nice old hotel in the heart of old Firenze - within walking distance of everything we wanted to see. The museums and art galleries were everywhere, not at all crowded, and fantastic. All the art from the old masters that I’d always seen pictures of I could now see in person. Really, there is no comparison.

Between all the museums we toured, Kristin and I saw probably a thousand paintings and sculptures. Interestingly enough when we compared favorites later we both agreed on our three favorites. We picked Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” as our favorite painting. It is stunning. So much so that before we left (it was at the Galleria degli Uffizi) we went back and just sat and admired. Our favorite sculpture is Michelangelo’s David. This was at the Galleria Dell ‘Accademia and, yup, we came back to this several times before we left. There was another sculpture of David, a bronze by Donatello, that we also picked as a favorite but it really didn’t seem to fit any specific category. We call it either the “smirky little smart-ass” or the “cocky little shit” David. It’s difficult to describe but the look on his face is amazing: he looks like a little kid who just realized he did something really, really cool and he’s quite pleased with himself. It’s much more involved than that, of course, but further descriptions will have to wait until we get together and have several wines. Oh, the “cocky little shit David” is at the Museo del Bargello.

Sunday, we took the train (“trenitalia,” I love that word) to Padova. Padova is a nice little university town, about Madison’s size. We stayed at a newer hotel, not quite in the heart of town, but very nice. The most impressive site in Padova is La Cappella degli Scrovegni (the Scrovegni Chapel). It usually is difficult to get into and requires reservations but Kristin and I had the place almost to ourselves Monday morning. Very impressive.

• Some places were closed for the season, usually for renovation.
• Some of the best sites were seen just walking around. We did a lot of that.
• Most museums do not allow cameras. On the plus side, that means we didn't have to put up with continuous flashes from others.
• The duomos (large cathedrals) were awesome. On this trip we toured two of the four largest cathedrals in the world.
• The people in Italy are very much like Americans (da, who woulda figured, eh?).
• Italians walk a lot but otherwise do very little exercise. They appear to be quite fit and are rarely overweight.
• The food is just amazing, although the hours took some adjustment. Restaurants don’t open for dinner until 7:30.
• The Italian idea of seafood is usually clams, mussels, and other shellfish from the Mediterranean Sea, and is always fresh. Even on linguini, it’s always served in the shell. It is excellent.
• The wine is excellent and cheap. Wine is less expensive than Coke and more available.
• Dinner for the two of us was 174,264 lire one evening. Probably why the Italians wanted to go with the Euro so desperately.
• The language problem really wasn’t a problem at all when talking with Italians. Many know some English, we knew a little Italian, and they are experts at pantomime.
• Taxi drivers aren’t as bad as we make them out to be. They’re worse.
• Public transportation - the train system and metros - are efficient, fast and comfortable once you figure them out.
• Italians are very much into fashion. Looking at some of the shoes those poor women wear made my feet hurt. Fashion (leather on the outside, not much on the inside) and jewelry (gold and diamonds, mostly) stores were everywhere.
• Italians smoke a lot, seemingly continually.
• The police are everywhere and always travel in groups. Even if they’re in one of those tiny cars there’ll be three of four of them.
• It’s a helluva lot easier to get into Europe than back into the US.
• The only television in Italy that’s in English is MTV and parts of CNN-Europe.
• Watch out for dog shit on the sidewalks.

If you want more you’ll have to feed me linguini and red wine. Then I’ll tell you all you want. - andy