Land of Pizza

It's been waaaayyy too long since I've posted anything, partly because I keep getting sent to the same places (London and Jeddah, I'm talking about you) and partly because I finally got to go home for the first time since October and had no time to be writing bloggy stuff. But before all of that excitement, I had to survive London again, Paris, Milan, and New York City.



Once again, I was lucky with my roster and scored one of the best multi-sector trips. Dubai to Milan for TWO days, then off to NYC for only 24 hours which isn't nearly enough, back to Milan for another day, and back to Dubai.

I hadn't been back to Italy since I lived in Rome four-ish years ago, and I hadn't been back to the States since I left to Dubai four-ish months ago. You could say I was a little excited.

Milan

The first day in Milan, I just walked around and soaked up the Italian-ness that I had missed so much. I had a huge pizza all to myself and even found peanut butter gelato. I was in heaven. In Piazza del Duomo, I was attacked by pigeons when a guy who sells bird popcorn to tourists forced me to take a handful while he put a pile of it on my head. He grabbed my camera and started a photoshoot, then wanted me to pay him for the pigeon attack. I didn't pay him, but he did get some fun pictures of the whole thing.



I was surprised by how much of my Italian speaking skills came back to me and how much I could understand. I had no problem ordering food, asking for directions, and having little conversations in Italian. Time to start studying Italian again :)

The second day, I decided to take a train to Lake Como and Bellagio. The train took an hour to get to Lake Como, then I had to take a bus to get to Bellagio an hour away from there. It was one of the most beautiful drives I've ever been on! Bellagio was a little dead since freezing weather in February doesn't make a good tourist season, but it was a great little place to walk around. Obviously, I had another whole pizza to myself. And more gelato, and possibly a bottle of wine. Calories don't count when you're in Italy.

The third day in Milan, after leaving New York, I slept for SIXTEEN hours straight! I think this is my personal record. Obviously, I ordered a pizza and didn't leave the hotel room until we left for the airport the next day. I couldn't wait to get back because I was leaving Dubai the next day to finally go home!



New York deserves its own post, coming very soon! :)