Sept 5: Today we packed because we were leaving for Milan tonight on an overnight train. Gerd took us to the Wutha train station after he got off of work (so nice). The train ride was pretty good, but we got into Milan very early the next day.
Sept 6: Today we woke up in Milan around 7:30 am and got off the train. We then found our hotel, but this took us a little while. Of course we got off the bus a few stops too early, but no harm done, just a little more walking before we got to the hotel. We grabbed some cappuccino and croissants across the street at the bar. The owner of the bar was so very nice and was glad to hear that we were from the USA and California. Then we went on a walk and did a little shopping (a must in Milan) because Dylan was not due in untill the afternoon. He had to take about 5 flights to get from Santa Barbara to Milan. He bought his ticket with points late and had to take what was left. When Dylan arrived we took a walk to the Duomo (large church in the city center) and the Galleria. We had dinner at a little bar (good lasagna) just down the street from the church.
Sept 7: Formula One starts today in Monza! We caught a train in the morning to the racetrack. Monza is located just north of the city of Milan. Once we got to the track we found out we had to pick up our tickets at another location about 4 km away! After a little more walking, we picked up our three-day passes and entered the racetrack. The cars were so loud and fast! We walked around all day to see the many different twists and curves of the racetrack. We saw a few cars lose control and spin off the track a few times. We sat down in the main grand stands to watch many of the formula 1 cars come out of the pits then come hauling down the straightaway.
As we were leaving the track, Eric and Dylan went out on the old circular track to take some pictures (before they were kicked off by a couple of angry Italians). The curve of the track was so steep that you couldn’t walk to the top of it. Next we watched some of the Italian Army men take off and fly away in their helicopter. We took the train back to Central Station (we thought), but instead we ended up in another train station in Milan. A worker knocked on the door of the train to tell us that we were here and that we needed to get off:-) After 15 to 20 minutes we figured out where we were and took the subway back to our hotel.
Sept 8: Today we decided to go to Lake Como (located at the base of the Alps). As we were walking from the train station to the lake, we stopped into an art store. Eric and I found a cool painting of the Eiffel Tower, which we bought later on our way home. We reached the lake and took in the scenic views. We took the funicular (a trolley that goes up the mountain) to the top of one of the mountains. It was so scary because we were stuck in this thing going up about 2,000 feet! It stopped a few times and you could feel the cable stretch and give a little bit! Anyway, I was able to enjoy the views more at the top when we got off it. We walked through a wealthy neighborhood to a good viewpoint. We grabbed some lunch in the middle of the city after our trip down from the mountain. It was a great day, with great weather!
Sept 9: The Monza Formula 1 race is today, we asked the angry Italians from a couple of days ago that kicked us off the track when we should get there to get a good place to watch since we only had general admission tickets and they said around six in the morning…well that wasn’t going to be very likely. The race didn’t start until 1pm so we were not ready to get there 7 hours early and camp out in one spot all day. Instead we lucked out and the free train from Milan for the race dropped us off right by where we wanted to watch around 11 o’clock. The Italians were right and the place was pretty packed already. People were hanging from trees, had tents set up, and some even brought their own ladders. Dylan and I went on a mission to find something that we could stand on. We found a huge log, with one end still smoldering from being on fire the night before from some squatters. Together we picked it up and made a beeline for our spot, with the burning end leading the way we were able to easily part the crowd and set up our perfect location. The crowd was buzzing with energy and drunks for that matter, as Ferrari flags were flying proudly throughout the nearby stands. Unfortunately one of the Ferraris was quickly out of the race and the other didn’t challenge which quieted the crowd down for most of the race. Mercedes McClaren driver Fernando Alonso won the race. Dylan and I had a great time and Leslie survived another whole day of racing. After the race we joined the massive crowd at the train station and headed back to Milan and back to our hotel where we tried to waste as much time as possible before we had to catch our overnight train to Milan that night. Fortunately our hotel let us leave our bags there and take showers that night so we weren’t filthy for the train. We’re off to Bari!
Sept 10: Once again we woke up early on the train when we arrived in Bari. We grabbed some cappuccinos and croissants for breakfast (this was a common theme during our trip). We caught a taxi to our bed and breakfast about 2 km away. We had a really hard time, as well as our driver, finding this place! Finally the taxi driver called the hotel and then he took some unnamed road into a sports complex where our B&B was located. Whew… we thanked and tipped the taxi driver then went to check in. None of the people spoke English, but we gathered that we couldn’t check in till later. So we went back into the city to do some site seeing around old town.
We discovered that this city was a little rough after dark but safe enough during the day. Our book said not to walk through the tight streets of old town at night because you will come out with empty pockets! It was really cool in the old town because the streets were so narrow only disturbed by a scooter now and then. Looking down the alleyways we saw old ladies cleaning vegetables. We stopped into a little store, and the lady offered us samples of these bread rings (crackers). Eric and I bought some wine and bread rings to snack on (some plain and some with peppers). We had lunch and did some more shopping (Eric and Dylan found some t-shirts). Then we headed back to the hotel. Later in the evening we set out to find the nearest restaurant (our place was not in a touristy area) in the drizzle. We had to ask a few people but we finally found the restaurant. The food and service was great but it was a bit pricey since it was the only restaurant around!
Sept 11: We leave for Croatia later this evening on an overnight Ferry! I think we are all ready to get there, but first we had a whole day to spend in Bari. So we checked out as late a possible, and headed to the train station to store our bags for the day. We walked around for a while then stopped at a café for lunch. We had a great lunch and met an American man traveling to Greece named Jon. He was a businessman turned writer and was looking for a peaceful getaway in order to write undisturbed. He was having some problems with his new Mac and Eric was able to help a little. It was nice to talk to someone who spoke good English. After lunch we left to old town again to see the old castle remains. Once again we ran into Jon and spoke some more about our trip and his past professions. He was leaving earlier since the Ferry to Greece was about 16 hours while ours was only 9 hours.
Later this evening we grabbed our bags and some dinner at McDonalds (I think this was the first time we had fast food during our whole trip). Then we walked to the Ferry Dock (around old town… not through). We met two Australians who were traveling around the world. We picked up our tickets for the boat, but the Australians had some troubles getting their tickets and had to buy two more! Anyway we took a shuttle bus to our Ferry that dumped us off right in front of the boat with out directions. We all stood there for a minute and then Eric, Dylan and I just started walking onto the ramp where the cars were driving onto the boat. It was really funny, and seemed a bit dangerous with all the busses, trucks, cars and passengers. The boat looked safe and I think we were all a little relieved because we didn’t know what to expect!
We got our key to our room, because we had reserved a room with beds and a sink. Our room was down stairs below the cars. It was a bit creaky but not too bad. We left our bags in the room and went to the deck for a few drinks at the bar. We said goodbye to Bari as we set sail on our boat with drinks in our hand. It was late and rainy outside so we went down to our rooms and went to bed (with the help of some Dramamine and sleeping pills). We all woke up around 3 am, maybe because it was a little rough and the boat was a little loud? But we took some more Dramamine as a precaution and went back to bed till morning.
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