Itza nica slice

Following a few days in London and wedding number one up in Northamptonshire (congratulations Sarah & Chris), I was off to Milan for a brief visit to see Luca and Valentina. The flight took me past Geneva and the Alps, crossing Turin and descending into the heat of Milan. We headed from the airport to the small town of Vignate, where Luca and I enjoyed a meal of meat and seafood whilst several mosquitoes enjoyed a meal of Luca and I.

After a balmy night we headed up to Lake Garda and the town of Sirmione. Here the old town, complete with castle, narrow cobblestone streets and Roman ruins sat on a headland surrounded by the beautiful waters of the lake and surrounding mountains. Again, it was a pleasure to wander around and see the history and architecture which was typically Italian in parts. Brightly coloured buildings punctuated with shuttered windows and adorned with radiant plants and flowers mingled with pizzerias, coffee shops and gelaterias, all of which were sampled as a matter of course.

From the old town a road meandered past grand hotels to some Roman ruins, no doubt scene of much debauchery of some Emperor during his summer holidays. A bit like Falaraki these days probably. Being the height of summer and a Monday, the ruins were closed because someone obviously needed a day off. This was a shame but we took the opportunity to laze about beside the lake, from where some of the ruins, and the distant mountains were visible.

After much lazing around, a hot walk led back to the car and a drive back to Vignate where we ventured out for some dinner at a local pizzeria. I had a delicious Calzone which to my delight resembled a large Cornish pasty!!

Now this is the part of my blog where I usually show the token pictures of people to prove I have some friends! To spare you all though, and preserve the mystique of Luca Ferrari, I will avoid showing the one bad picture I have which includes Luca and instead just show you Valentina and her pizza, putting on a brave face despite the Mozzies and being under contract for some 2 months now! Seriously though, thanks for putting me up for a couple of days and enjoy Mexico…make sure you stop and take plenty of pictures Valentina!

The next morning I had to leave my hosts and venture out alone using public transport. Being the cosmopolitan world traveler than I am however I managed this OK, eventually reaching the heart of Milano – Duomo, with the ever astonishing Cathedral.

I stayed around this area, trawling the streets, having two or three coffees watching the world go by. Now, obviously Milan is known for fashion and I was clearly out of place in my daggy grey shorts, cheapo blue T shirt and white socks and trainers (I know, never a good look but I was short of clothes). I was still quite amazed sometimes though at just how good looking some of the people were! It was quite a pleasure sitting down drinking some good coffee and watching the world go by.

Strangely, maybe to counterbalance the attractiveness, there were a few sculptures and statues around of plump looking ladies, maybe as a reminder to those beautiful people shopping to avoid the McDonalds sitting out of place in the grand shopping arcade?!




I was killing time now until my flight was due to leave, so I wandered some more and sat down at one of the restaurants lining the streets for some lunch. As I hadn’t done pasta yet I decided it was time for a spot of spaghetti which was, frankly, disappointing but then I guess if you go eat in a touristy place…

And with that, it was into a cab for the ride to the airport and a flight back to London followed by a train through the sunny evening skies of Wiltshire and Somerset down to finally, at last, Plymouth Devon England. Home.