I recently took a trip to Milan, which was actually my first trip to Italy! Since it is not the typical tourist season right now, airfare was relatively inexpensive. My husband was already there for a work trip so I flew a few days later to meet him there. I had never flown overseas alone before, but luckily got the row to myself going both ways. Despite the extra space, I was not able to fall asleep so I need to figure out some good strategies for doing that the next time around (the jet lag was killer the first day I was there.) Here's a little recap of my trip:
Day 1 - Like I said: killer jet lag. I took a bubble bath in the amazing tub at our hotel, napped, and then went downstairs in the hotel lounge/bar area for dinner and a drink.
Day 2 - I grabbed a cappuccino and breakfast at a cafe down the street (I did my best to speak only Italian and enjoyed my meal up at the bar like the locals do!). Then I bought a bus pass and toured the city for a few hours while my husband was in meetings. For less than $30, I could hop on and off at any stop and there were multiple routes so I could see all the main sites! I ended up hopping off at the Duomo to scope out the area and grab lunch at Luini before jumping back on a different bus route. I typically try to avoid super "touristy" things like this when I travel and prefer to explore the city like a local. But I was pleasantly surprised at how fun the bus tour was and the fact that I got to see so much more of the city than I would have just walking around on my own. I enjoyed listening to the audio explanations of each sight as we went along to get some background and history about the city. I joined my husband and his coworkers for dinner and dancing that evening--it was a late night but so much fun! I had some wonderful risotto and tiramisu... I'm still dreaming about it!
Day 3 - I slept in a bit and worked out in the hotel gym. Once my husband finished up the last of his meetings, we napped and relaxed before heading to dinner at an amazing pizza place called Camilo Benso. Superb! We walked off our meal and headed to the Duomo to see it lit up at night.
Day 4 - Hubs and I explored the Brera district for breakfast. It rained pretty much all day, but we made the most of it. We walked all around the city, grabbing cappuccinos and pastries along the way. Hey, while in
The next day we flew back to the U.S. It was a whirlwind trip but I think we made the most of it! I was so glad I spent a few weeks leading up to it listening to my Coffee Break Italian podcast episodes--it really helped! I used my new language skills quite a bit while ordering coffee and food as well as just generally understanding the Italian culture.
Overall, my trip was a blast and I cannot wait to return to Italy.
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