September 26I took the shuttle bus to Milan Centro Train station in the middle of town. In spite of the rain there were a lot of people on the streets. Although I studied Italian and spent the weeks leading up to this trip, I found the phrase most often used was, "No parle Inglese" or sometimes a simple "Americano" would suffice when I couldn't think of the phrase. The first thing I did was find Il Bar for the my first Italian espresso. The place I found was a small shop, three tables, a cold drink machine, small case with selection of sweet pastries, packs of cigarettes lined the wall behind the counter. The place reminded me of an old timey soda shop or drug store from the movies, somewhere the lone wolf private detective brings the dame he ran into in the street.
The Korean women behind the bar spoke Italian,"Ciao" I answered in a whisper which was how I was speaking since I stepped off the plane. All those hours of practicing at home the how to order part of the lesson.
"Une Cafe"(breaking out the French for some reason)
"espresso"
"Yes, um si si"
an espresso.
"Gracias"( breaking out the restaurant Spanish)
Mind you, I know as much French and Spanish as I do Italian and yet I used them all interchangeably throughout the day. It was a humbling experience to be in a position of confusion of the inability to communicate save for the few basic words, let's just say that I mastered the smile and nod, as a communication devices go that one works for pretty much anything. "Ciao", "Grazie", "Si"
What I struck me was the simple design of the buildings, although some of the buildings had very large and thick wooden doors, they were for the most part plain. However, when I peaked behind one of the doors left ajar there was an expansive courtyard filled with flowers, in another door the ornate window sills laced with vines between iron bars.
The open air markets are really amazing! The vegetable stands in particular, the colors are impressive let alone the taste. I bought a peach, one peach. There is fresh food all around, fish, meat, vegetables, fruits. It's heaven, and to think this is available always. Even the big supermarkets have a very small freezer section because most Italians eat fresh.
Travel tip: the fruit guys don't really like when you just buy one of something.
I got turned around on my wild goose chase for an international sim card. I was told that this is a better way to handle the international calling situation without the huge rates and the international calling plan from AT&T. I went to the left and down the street that the money exchange directed me too but it wasn't there, I went two streets down to the Wind which was closed, then there was a store down in the metro, that was also closed.
With all this searching I got turned around and subsequently lost. I had to use my GPS on the to help me navigate. It took awhile to get back to the bus and I was pretty ready after being in the rain all day. Milan was undergoing a boom of urban growth with scaffolding and construction equipment peppering the landscape. Milan is the modern Italian city with hi rises and luxury hotels, one of the main financial centers of the country. A contrast to the other cities visited in the trip.
