Math in Milan

Jeremy and I had the pleasure of a quick trip to Milan from Friday to Saturday. It may have been short, but it was certainly event-filled, particularly the trip home!

Jeremy running in dining car
to avoid (photo) capture

On the way, we had Sandro take us to Perugia to pick up the train there because the connection with the Todi line wasn't great. From there, we went to Florence to pick up the high-speed FrecciaRossa ("Red Arrow"). Since we arrived at 3:30, and were starving, my judgment was not at its highest point. And a hamburger actually sounded really good. So I slunk into the McDonalds. I can tell you that it was every bit as dire as I remember their offerings, and we ended up throwing out half of that for which we had paid extravagant amounts. Bleah.

This is the hotel. Note the upper door?

Oh, well. The good news is that the FrecciaRossa has a dining car where we could get a cappuccino in which to drown our sorrows!

We stopped at the cathedral on the way to our hotel, and decided it was worth coming back the following morning when it was reopened for tourists. By the time we were actually at the hotel, we had time to put our bags down, relax for a few minutes, and then wander off for a slightly early dinner (7:30).

Jeremy and I were mystified by this door.

And we found sushi! Hurray! Jeremy's favorite. We had a delightful meal, ordered piece by piece (California rolls were also on the menu, by the way), and everything was really tasty. On the way back, we saw it: an international grocery ... kiosk. I'm hesitant to call it a store. We wriggled through, and found a few items that we can't get here in Todi and would like to have. One of these, I'm thrilled with: cilantro paste! Cilantro is absolutely nowhere to be found locally, so a paste is an ideal solution. I couldn't resist getting a can of Jamaican ginger beer, either. And passion fruit concentrate! Oh, yes, we're in for a treat over the next few days.

Fortunately, there was a gelateria in the 100 meters between the shop and the hotel. We sampled it.

Jeremy on top of Milan Cathedral

Next morning, it was time to visit the cathedral. Really lovely! Interesting idea: the church sells wristbands which give permission to take photos. The revenues are used for continual restoration. The floor was lovely, and the columns magnificent. And, of course, we had to go on the roof. It was really a fantastic trip, and well worth the cost and time investment. Such gorgeous gothic decorations!

The level of detail is amazing, particularly
considering this is 250 steps above the ground!

Who can resist a gargoyle?

After this, we wanted to find Bocconi University to make sure we didn't get lost or have any other kind of problem getting to the finals! We did figure it out when we were in the right location:

Bocconi was very welcoming!

Jeremy feeling embarrassed

Would you believe it? There was a Mexican restaurant right across the street! Sounded good to us. We had to laugh at many of the menu items, though ... and take a picture to share with everyone!

This was our Mexican restaurant

Jeremy liked the light fixtures

On the menu: Italian Margarita. Hm.

Check out the offerings! Gnocchi, risotto, and tagliatelle...
Mexican? Well, maybe not...

We both liked the restroom sink

They wanted to clarify who went where

I love beautiful stucco

After lunch it was time to drop Jeremy off, and to hang out for an hour or two. It was mayhem. Children and parents milling around. A mother and child were walking up the stairs to the hall, followed by...the father, with a video camera, filming every step of the way. Wow. Looking forward to seeing THAT film later. Remind me to make the popcorn.

That job accomplished, it was time for me to entertain myself, and we all know the obvious solution: the local merceria (yarn shop that usually has a wide variety of other items). I found a few things to take home with me as souvenirs...

Jeremy's pickup experience was even worse. The crowds were denser because everyone was there at the same time. Having fought our way out (the courtyards were teeming), we took a tram to the station. Unbelievably, the high-speed train was all sold out. Drat it! But I found an alternative, we went to the platform, and settled ourselves into our compartment. No problem.

Called Leo, and...disaster. Not really. But I had to prepare you for great logistical trauma. Leo had been planning to go to Narni with his American friend Roberta to enjoy a specific event (in other words, rescheduling wasn't an option). He told me he'd find someone and would call me back. In the meantime, I talked to Roberta, and found out that Leo was having absolute kittens because none of his usual backups was available.

Time to call Leo back. I told him not to sweat...we could easily wait in Perugia, we could go further, we could...dunno. Figure something out. He brightened up considerably at the thought of our meeting him in Terni. That would be around midnight instead of 11, and that would give him more time out. Sure, whatever! We'd normally be up at that time in any case.

Well.

It's a small world. Later on, we had a fellow in our compartment with whom I struck up a conversation. After a few minutes of chitchat, in which he told me that he taught piano in Milan periodically and lived in Deruta, he said, "But I know you! I taught your daughter in choir several years ago. Hook, right?" Um, yes. Wow.

Happy ending? He offered us a ride to Deruta, and I was able to cadge a ride from Deruta to Todi from a friend. So we ended up at home about an hour and a half earlier than we would have otherwise. And Leo didn't actually end up having kittens after all.

An additional coincidence? Turns out his wife is Jeremy's orchestra teacher.

Love,

Alexandra