Volare!

Disclaimer:  I am no longer in Milan, but I wrote the posts day by day when I was there.  Feel free to comment and ask questions just as if I were still in Italy.
Buon giorno!
When I emerged from the metro nothing prepared me for the splendor of the Duomo gleaming in the fading light of day.  I'd seen pictures of Milan Cathedral and frankly turned my nose up at them.  Spiky.  I said.  Gunky.  But in person . . . Magnificent!
When I announced my destination to my friends nearly everyone looked puzzled and said, Milan? What's there--I mean besides food, Pil?  Because Florence and Rome are the big tourist draws in Italy and for good reason.  Many Italians themselves sneer or shrug at Milan and the Lombardians.  Not really Italian, they sniff.  Germanic.  Well, yeah.  The Lombards were Germans, and Milan still has a hard nosed business image.  But art and history abound--not to mention the food.  I know because of the extensive research I did, reading guide books while sipping Campari and soda.
I flew through London, and on the approach to Heathrow catching a glimpse of the London Eye I wished with a pang that I was stopping there because it is familiar.  After the layover we had a short hop across Europe including a brilliant flight over the Alps with glittering snow on the mountain tops  and glimpses of the deep valleys where rivers ran through small villages.  Although my trip went very smoothly the problem with travel is that after a long (nearly twenty hours from door to door), disorienting, and exhausting trip one must cope with a strange city that uses another language.
My first Italian lesson came at the Milan Malpensa Airport. The helpful local drifting up to the ticket machine to help is looking for money. I got in line at the ticket office instead.
The ride into Milan from the airport is not scenic, but I can tell you that Lombardy is not entirely recovered from winter. Some trees show leaves and blossoms, but most are bare. The sun was going down and it turned chilly. I was able to figure out the ticket machines at the metro office myself. Somehow it becomes easier when one of the language options is English.
A couple of days before I left I received an email from the manager of the apartments that they were switching me to another building and giving me an upgrade. Please be advised that my living arrangement is no where near that of the typical budget-minded traveler. The place was easy to find being right on Piazza del Duomo. The manager came to meet me and show me around the place.  I am in a suite really made for four people.  The furniture is red velvet and gilt.  There's a high def flat screen TV with dvd.  The bathroom is the size of my bedroom at home.  It has french doors and is done up in peachy pink marble with blue-gray veins.  It contains not just two sinks, but a big tub--the kind with claw feet, a shower, and a bidet.  Bidets--I do understand that's not what they are really for--are great for soaking aching feet after slogging around a city.  The outstanding feature of the room, however, is a view of the cathedral and the plaza which alone is worth a hundred euros a night.  It's the best in the city.  Yes.  That photo of the Duomo was taken from my window!
Then I was excited to be here, and went out although it was getting dark to get a panini for dinner. Lots of people were around, and I felt quite safe.
Ciao