The Termini Train Station today was filled with tourists and luggage. It is well organized when you think of the thousands of people who come through this station every day.
This is the Red Arrow train offering service from Napoli to Roma, Firenze, Bologna ending in Milano.
The gentlemen helping the helpless tourists with their luggage (usually North American families) are part of the pick pocket gangs of the Station, did you not notice that they speak a foreign language and they do not look Italian. Yes it is the old trick, prey on the unsuspecting tourist who does not realize that in Italy anyone working somewhere or in any capacity wears a uniform and has an ID badge, these guys are in street clothes, they do not work for Tren Italia. They are very brazen, after helping you badly with your luggage, they ask for payment all the while his colleague picks your pocket. Then they tell you be careful on the train there are many pick pockets. They are gone as quickly as they appear out of nowhere.
LOL!!!!!
Sure enough some people discovered minutes later that their wallet was gone. Coincidence, I don’t think so. To avoid such people, when you spot them, look them sharp in the eye, they will not bother you, they know you spotted them.
At the stop in Firenze, Santa Maria Nova Station, almost every one gets off. A great relief this means we can go and have lunch in the restaurant car, reservations required, in peace.
The menu today, it changes regularly is a first course of pasta then a second course of veal with herbs, dessert, fresh fruits (not canned) and pastries. Wine list available.
The food is usually good, it is an Italian train after all and the service is pleasant.
We arrive in Milan, Province of Lombardy at the border with Switzerland, a Northen City, the Central Station has been redone, built in 1932 during the Fascist Era, it says so on the wall, it is a mixture of Art Deco and Fascist motifs, all done to dwarf the traveller and impress. We are staying in the centre of Milan by the Scala Opera house and the Duomo. Today the centre is crawling with police, the Prime Minister of Italy Sylvio Berlusconi is entertaining his Russian friend V.Putin. The two are good friends and this in turn is good for Italy, trade wise.
Piazza della Scala with the statue to Leonardo da Vinci
Love Milan, the stores, the fashion, the restaurants, everything oozes elegance and style, do not look at the prices, just buy it. This is not Rome, where Rome has history and faded grandeur, Milan has money, banking, trade and style. Look at the bankers in their expensive suits, beautiful ties and highly polished shoes. Every store wants to offer something exclusive. Even in home décor, you can decorate your house to match a designer name. Style reflects who you are or who you want to be. Armani is opening an Hotel in Milan near the Duomo. I can just imagine the room rate.
We went to look for a summer hat for W. so we went to Borsalino, makers of the famous Panama hat. One would say the original, because Borsalino is a name by itself. Wear one and everyone will think you got style. For a simple straw hat, the price is steep. Many people come into the store to look and try on a hat, mostly men.
They are beautiful, classic in style, they are also on sale right now, mid-summer sales in Italy, next month the winter fashion comes out. You can purchase a Borsalino for as little as 174 Euros and spend as much as 350 Euros.
Wear one, it is like driving a Ferrari down the street, all heads will turn.
Borsalino in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II, Milan
Tonite we go to La Scala Milan, the venerable and renovated opera house, famous around the world. I was at La Scala 10 years ago to see a work by Francis Poulenc, Le Dialogue des Carmelites, a stunning work. Tonite we are seeing the Barber of Seville with Juan Diego Flores.
Which means that his fans will be there to give him rapturous applause, he is a great tenor and has a superb voice. At La Scala, men must wear a jacket to enter the theatre, it is required. It is very hot and humid today so I brought a linen suit and shirt.
We will have dinner afterwards, a late dinner around midnight.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II, Milan
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