Day 0 & 1

I started to Milan when my roommate Greg drove me in. I took a "glamour shot" while in Nashville International.

Can I survive this plane trip?

Unfortunately, I didn't get my soy latte in the shot. My dad was in the hospital but he didn't want me to miss the trip. I talked to him as I was called for the flight to Newark.

It was snowy in New Jersey as I arrived at Newark. 

Snowy New Jersey

I boarded the international flight a few hours after we landed. I actually liked United Airlines; the service wasn't bad and we had individual televisions on the back of the seat in front of us. I was able to choose a movie to watch, and I chose a big, dumb action movie, White House Down.

Ever heard of research?

I really don't recommend this movie. At all. Especially if you are a conservative. I was laughing so hard at it. REAALLY bad, unresearched (they referred to the plane carrying the Vice-President as Air Force One, sheesh) it was just designed as a vehicle for Tatum Channing and Jamie Foxx. I watched Iron Man, and it was much, much better.

All the while, I was so friggin' thristy. Those plane are dry! I'm going to purchase a few liters after I get past the security checkpoints in the airport so that I can avoid the dry sinuses and throat, since the attendants weren't giving out enough water. I didn't sleep much, either.

When I got to Milan, I practiced my resting bitch face and got a bottle of water right off the bat. Marapensa has a lot of shady people, so I kept my hand on my purse at all times. When I left the baggage claim, I saw my sister waiting for me! Yay! Molly and I had a ham and cheese croissant on the panini press and cappuccinos. We had the standing up at the bar, we didn't sit down at the table, because they'd have charged us extra. Marapensa is about 45 minutes away from the main section of Milan, so I got to see the suburbs, which reminded me of the family housing in the Communist Soviet Union. It was kind of scary-looking, but then we got into the city, and it was actually really pretty. Once-in-a-while, you'll see ugly post-war buildings built right beside a beautiful classical building. Like this:

Moscova Street

Italians also love plants, so they basically have a small garden on their balconies, it's really cool-looking. I also saw some gypsy trailer settlements, that looked like garbage. On the way home, I saw at least ten bus stops with this ad on it (no joke):

Because, like, Milan is the perfume and fashion capitol of like, Europe! OMG!

The apartment Molly and Alvaro have is in the Brera neighborhood, and it's apparently a really posh neighborhood. It's also super-cute! The US and the German Consulate offices are really close by, too. No, I will not give you the address.

We had lunch at Molly and Alvaro's favorite "hang out," Ted One. It's like McLaren's on How I Met Your Mother, just Italian. 

The lunch I had was mashed potatoes, pork, and raviolis, quite good! I couldn't quite finish it! 

Me with a glass of wine. See the bags under my eyes?

 I swear I'm not pissed off.

Pascale and me

We went to the market that was a few trailers set up on a street & bought from different vendors Best clementine and walnut EVER. Plus, we saw a full octopus on ice and live eels!

When I woke up, Molls made some strong coffee for me. Our plan of action was to go to recharge the phone minutes on the phone Molly was loaning me and to get some groceries. We walked through Brera at night, and I thought, "I could live here." I was so cute, so cosmopolitan... Until the guy at the TIM store, where we could refill the phone's minutes, acted like a douche. Oh well. We got an umbrella from an illegal in the metro. They line up items (like purses, etc.) on white sheets and will barter for the items. When they see the poliza, they grab the edges of the sheet and make a quick sack and run. Italy is surrounded on 2/3 of the border by water, so immigrants find their way in in droves, but can't always do legal work, so they have to sell. I did get to see one of the seven gates of Milan:

We passed by a nice shoe store, and I was able to look in the window. All the shoes were over $250. Carrie Bradshaw, I am not!
We walked up to the Duomo Plaza in the fog. It's what makes Milan considered the "New York" of Italy, but to be honest, there's not a lot of sky scrapers. It was so foggy, I couldn't see the green lit tower.  Downstairs in the Duomo Plaza, the grocery store Esselunga was waiting. It's a humongous grocery store, for Italian measures. It's bigger than an Aldi's, but smaller than a Kroger's, if that makes sense. I found out really quickly that I wasn't supposed to touch the raw produce with bare hands! People will get really angry with you about that. You have to bag your own groceries in your own grocery sacks. Molls and I got a little overzealous, because we had to carry all the food we bought home, and it was heavy! We stopped off at an "Irish" Football Pub, but it was more international. Italians will serve you beer and snacks automatically go with it, even if you didn't order snacks. After a drink and snacks with Alvaro, we trekked home.
We were still going strong, so we made a salad, and then sat down to watch TV. That's when I started getting tired. I went to bed, but I woke up in the night and stayed awake for several hours due to jet lag. I know I nodded off a time or two, but I swear, I felt one of my cats hop into the bed and start walking around. Creepy, I know!
More will come on Day 2 as of tomorrow! Good night!