The Navigli or Canals of Milan, Italy

This photo brings back some very fond memories from my short trip to Milan. I originally had not planned to go to Milan, but wanted to surprise my friend who lives there with a quick visit. Unfortunately he was not going to be in town the week end I was scheduled to get there. Needless to say, I was disappointed but it was too late to change plans, so I went to Milan and I’m so glad I did. I arrived at the airport early in Barcelona because I had questions about my ticket. There were just 2 other people in line as I got to the airline I was taking that day. I love not having to wait in those long line ups, so I was happy to see so few people there.

I usually am not the person to approach people who I do not know, but for some reason I started to talk to the woman just ahead of me in the short line. Lucky for me that I did! Rosalba turned out to be just the nicest person I could have hoped to have met. We immediately started talking in English and French, and when asked about preferred seats by  the ticket agent, she suggested that we sit together. We then went to grab a snack, and during that time and on the flight I felt like I was talking to an old friend. Rosalba was kind enough to give me some great information about Milan, and even helped me get to the train and metro that I needed to take to get to my hotel. During the train ride she contacted her husband Daniele to ask about something I wanted to know, and he turned out to be a wealth of information about Milan. They even offered to take a day to show me around the city, how cool is that?

The morning we met at the Piazza del Duomo, there was a huge gathering for the Alpini who are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. It was quite the spectacle and there was a huge crowd that had gathered to observe the ceremonies taking place. I found Rosalba and Daniele at the statue in the Piazza and we went on to visit the city. Daniele is a teacher and was able to tell me all about the places we visited, without him I would have missed out on a lot of great stories and information. I was even fortunate enough to be the recipient of more hospitality when I was invited over for lunch to their home. I got the chance to meet her parents, who were just adorable and their beautiful daughter Erika. I had the best meal on my trip and we polished off a couple of bottles of wine. I am so grateful for the warm welcome I was given by strangers, this is the best part of being on the road; chance meetings with kind locals who go out of their way to make you feel welcome when you’re so out of your element and far from home.

We finished the day near the Milan Navigli where I was able to capture this image. It’s one of those photos that has more meaning to me because of the memories that come flooding back, and the good feeling I get just from looking at it. Thanks Rosalba, Daniele and Erika for making Milan one of my favourite places. I hope our paths will cross again one day soon.

Road Trip Update

Just a quick pit stop in Virginia, before arriving in New York City tonight. Charleston was very much like Milan for me. In the way that I was received by strangers, who I now consider my friends. Thanks so much to Randall and Ida for making my Charleston experience so wonderful. I’ll have lots more to share in future blog posts about their kindness, and southern hospitality.

I was also fortunate to meet two other travellers & bloggers in Charlotte for lunch, as I headed north. It was a complete pleasure to share a good meal, and great conversation with Andi and Kirsten. Please check out their very cool blogs:

http://www.kirstenalana.com/

http://mybeautifuladventures.com/

Hope to see you both again on my next trip down south :)

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