Day 15: Milan

We caught an 8am train for the 3 hour ride to Milan's city center train station, with the plan to store our bags for a few hours, sightsee, then take another train to the airport (45 minutes away), where we have a hotel room for the night. At this point we are both lugging two bags plus a backpack, and things are getting heavy. (My second back is cloth and was originally in my carry on bag for the trip over.) We get to Milan, find the baggage storage shop and find a line at least 30 minutes long for people waiting to check baggage. What looked like a school group was immediately ahead of us, and the group just kept growing and growing as people cut the line. I am SO SICK of people cutting the line here…at the Vatican, at the grocery, etc. I threw out the option of changing our plans and just heading straight to the airport and hotel, and find something to do in that area. Our plans for Milan was the main church and a shopping mall….things I could skip, especially since there are over 100 shops in the Milan airport. Susan went along with the idea, so we blew of Milan. By the time we get to the hotel, it is 1:30 and they let us get into our room early. Unfortunately, we can't access the shopping until we are official through ticketing/security, and we seem to be in the middle of nowhere, so today is turning out to be a bit of a bust. However, I'm fine with it, and Susan, who has been fighting a bug for over a week and has now lost her voice, says she is, too. As I type this, we are hanging out in our room, watching HGTV's Property Brothers….in Italian.

If you are curious, here is the budget I set for this trip:

Transportation (flights, trains, subway): $1,500

Housing (per person): $1,000

Daily (groceries, meals out, museum entrances, etc: $1,500 (I always budget $100/day for this category).

Gifts (including for me!) : $500

Total: $4,500

I need to crunch all the numbers, but I think I'll end up closer to $4,000. I think that is pretty good for a 16 day trip abroad. For those looking for a budget way to travel, you could cut way back on housing by using hostels or even smaller AirBNB places. Seeing as how we are both used to having our own homes, Susan and I were adamant that we wanted apartments with two actual bedrooms (not one bedroom and one sleeping on the living room sofa) so we each had our own space separate from shared living space. This was a very wise decision and worth the extra cost. One could also save a lot on the daily expenses by eating street food, cooking meals in, etc. I spent way more money on meals out than I spent on previous trips, but I don't regret it because it was some of the best meals I've ever had. As I believe I previously noted, I packed a breakfast and lunch almost every day, and just went out for dinner. What I didn't do this time was one big event….like a broadway show in London or an opera in Paris, but I did do a couple expensive tours…the truffle tour and the Vatican tour were each about $100. Totally worth it, but different than my usual expenses.

I tell you about the budget for those who have never been to Europe and are curious as to how it can be done. I know people who travel more cheaply than I do, and I know people who spend a whole lot more than I do. What I spent is pretty consistent with my solo trips…with those I typically have to spend a little more on housing, but I spend less on food. And traveling quasi-off season helps with expenses, especially with flights. For a myriad of reasons, you couldn't pay me to go to Rome in the summertime.

To summarize the trip: I really liked Italy, but not as much as I love France. I'm not sure how I would rated the three cities (Venice, Florence, Rome) we visited, but I think Venice may have been my favorite and Rome was definitely my least favorite (but I still liked it!) However, part of that could be because I left Venice (and Florence) with things I still wanted to do. Rome was just way too crowded (the week of Christmas is considered peak season) and the people walk s-o s-l-o-w. Our interactions with Italians were mixed, especially when it came to men. A few times we felt we were taken advantage of my male service employees (or at least they attempted to do so). At the train station in Florence we were trying to find a bus stop, and a taxi driver standing outside the information counter offered to help us. What he really wanted was to convince us that we should take his taxi. When we refused and said we just need directions to the bus stop, he sent us on (what we later figured out) was a wild goose chase.) Little things like that got old. Others, like the truffle hunters and other tour guides, were absolutely wonderful. If/when I return to Italy, I think I'd like to spend more time in the Tuscan countryside, especially during growing season. However, as opposed to France, where I'm always looking for an excuse to return, I think I'm good checking Italy off the list and looking at other countries for future trips.

Happy new year and thanks for reading! Ciao!