The Duomo
Milan is the place in Italy, that I find myself most. It’s not becasue I choose to, but because this is where my husband often travels for business. Whenever I can, I happily pack my LV’s and head to Milan. I usually meet him there, stay for a few days and we head off to some other place; where ever that might be.
The first time I went to Milan, about 8 years ago, I hated it. Before I go on, I should tell you that the very first place I traveled in Italy, was the Amalfi Coast. With this in mind, you’ll know why my initial reaction to Milan was negative! Driving through the city, I thought to myself, “You’ve got to be kidding me. This can’t be Italy. This city is ugly!” In my mind, I believed every inch of Italy looked like the Amalfi. Needless to say, I was disappointed. I couldn’t see why my husband loved it so much.
8 years later, I too have learned to love Milan. I love the food, the energy of the city and mostly, I love the people I’ve met. People that John has introduced me to, who we have had great experiences with. Some who have even became good friends. I’ve accumulated so many great memories over the years, I now look forward to going.
A few weeks ago, my husband had to go to London, Milan and Paris on business. Our son and I went along for the ride. While John worked, we did all the touristy stuff; going to the sites and taking loads of photos. After our few days in London, it was time to go to Milan. I was excited to go, as was our son. The last time he was there, he was much younger and like me, didn’t care for it very much. He was now excited to see the city through more mature eyes.
When we left London, it was cool and gray, so we were happy that Milan was warm and bright. We peeled off our jackets, put on our sunglasses and headed to our hotel. The cab ride to the hotel was an unexpected one. It was full of laughter and song, literally. Our driver was a warm, happy guy, who told us that he once was an opera singer. After a little coaxing, he sang for us. He was amazing! I couldn’t have thought of a more perfect way to start our stay in Milan.
Ironically enough, our last night in Milan started out the same way it began; in laughter and song. That night, 5 of us were in a cab going back to our hotel, after dinner. While in the cab, our driver obviously knew we were Americans. With the tiny bit of English he knew and the little bit of Italian we knew, we began to communicate. He told us he loved western movies, as he put it; “bang, bang, cowboys, shoot’em up.” Of course we began to laugh. He also, told us that he loved listening to Frank Sinatra. He put on the music and we all began to sing.
It could have been the excessive amounts of wine we drank or maybe it was just singing in that cab, but we didn’t want the night to end. When we finally arrived at the hotel, we hopped out of the cab, still singing. The driver hopped out with us and began dancing with me. So, here we were, an Italian cab driver and an American tourist from New Jersey, dancing in the middle of Via Manzoni. I couldn’t have thought of a more perfect way to end our stay in Milan.
It’s experiences like this, that changed my mind about the city. I came to realize, that places are like people. It’s nice to see beautiful things, you can admire their beauty. But, the essence or real beauty lies deeper into the soul. In the end this is what really matters. This is what makes you want to be with a person, or in this case a place, over and over again. I now, look forward to packing my LV’s and heading back to beautiful Milan.
D I V A
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this photo does not belong to me
