Mila(no)

Even though I called to book tickets back in December, the best flight itinerary I could get for our trip for "only" 50,000 Continental miles per ticket was to fly into Milan, about two hours by train from Venice.

Not a bad thing, I thought.  I'd alway been curious about Milan, even though it gets a very bad rap from many guidebooks and most tourists who have been there.  (Except, of course, my friend Terry, who liked it well enough to get up at 4 am when we were in Switzerland to do a one-day round-trip on the train (four hours each way, I think) in order to hit the shops.  Four Prada boutiques, all within walking distance of each other, each with a different merchandise assortment.  Shopping heaven, according to Terry.)

I figured we'd stay over one night.  Clean up, see the Duomo, the Galleria, the Brera museum, stroll the shops on Via Montenapoleone, have a meal and visit the Last Supper.  Then off to Venice the next morning after a lovely breakfast in a painfully chic café.  Jan, my Milan guru, keyed me in to the need for advanced tickets to the Last Supper, which I got online in January, booking for late in the day, figuring that Annie would need a nap, then perk up as the afternoon wore on.

Having arranged the travel and purchased our Last Supper tickets, last step was finding a hotel.  

Plan A:  A modest little room for one night.  Holiday Inn Milano, I figured ... $175 a night, perhaps.  Ooops.  It turns out we've arriving during Salone, the annual furniture fair, and there's nothing to be had for under $400.   E-mailed our landlord Carlo to see if we could arrive a day early.  No, our apartment was taken.  But wait!  The little studio upstairs was available for that night.  Whew!

Plan B:  Contact a friend who I thought might have a hotel room in Milan for Salone.  We could at least shower and take a little nap in her room before venturing out for the afternoon, then get a late train to Venice.  No go there ... plans didn't mesh.  

Plan C was admittedly desperate.  Hope that Annie slept on the plane, take the train into Milan from the airport, check our luggage at the train station, wander around for a few hours, then take the train on to Venice.  Maybe even find a quiet corner of the train station where she could nap for an hour or so before venturing forth.  

Well, I had today with Jan, who gave me two thumbs down on Plan C.  Jan, who has been there a dozen times for work, swears that the only thing to do in Milano is to get right on the train to Venice.   So we'll go with Jan and save Da Vinci for another day.

Anyone want two tickets to see the Last Supper on Friday evening at 6:30 pm?