Milar in Milan (Sunday)

I wake up lying sideways in a king-sized bed. There is a buzz at the door and it's my complimentary morning coffee. I'm either dreaming or I'm waking up from my "Faster Free Night" at the Park Hyatt Milano. It's american coffee in a silver carafe with skim milk. Here in Italy I love me some espresso, but this is a heavenly alternative.

I spend the morning documenting my stay in photos.




Checkout time was noon, I think I checked out around 12:30. "We hope you enjoyed your stay Mrs. Sotoodeh." Heh. My only charge was internet access. I stayed away from the minibar as pineapple juice would have been 8 euro. And continental breakfast would have been 30 euro.

For lunch Kayvan recommended La Bruschetta. A quaint trattoria in a small piazza behind the duomo. Per said recommendation I ordered pizza bianca con rucola (white pizza with arugula). Favoloso! I sat near an Italian couple who was touring and they asked our waiter if he was Toscano (Tuscan), he replied "No, Sardo. (Sardinian)." I found this little mistake amusing coming from Italians. It's the kind of question I would want to ask myself, but I'd be afraid to be wrong!

It was a beautiful blue sky day. There was a Kandinsky exhibit that I wanted to see at Palazzo Reale, but I decided instead to enjoy the weather. First was a visit to the duomo, where I lit a candle for my grandmother, viewed the stunning stained glass windows, and descended some stairs to visit a dead saint's body encased in glass. Then I went up to the roof terraces to take in some sun and visit gargoyle-y things and many, many spires.



I went for a walk in the park and visited the aquario (aquarium). They have a bright blue lobster (very odd) and the most colorful tropical fish from the Red Sea.



I walked back through a carnival in the park with a parade of people dressed in soldier uniforms and carrying flags and old guns. Still unsure what it was about, but i learned it's much easier to cross the streets in Milan while you're walking alongside a parade.

So I returned to Firenze, energized by the discovery of a new city and the zen spa aspects of the Park Hyatt Milano.

One amusing note upon my return. I was on a train that continued on to Roma, and as I was exiting my traincar I noticed a group of carabinieri (military police) surrounding none other than... the Roma calcio team. They were boarding my train, and specifically my traincar. I wanted to get back on, but my ticket was only valid through Firenze, darnit!