Post Bath, Fresh and Curly!

8:15 am Back in France

In my yard. ...

St Roch, about a block away from my house. 

This is the view from way up where my dog sitter lives. When I shoot directly into the sun, I am getting an odd effect from the little camera. I kind of like it. This is the sea, in case you can't tell. 

Cookie , Mr. Mustache and The Ancient Mariner

One of the sisters had this cute little Westie by the name of Cookie ( this Sister, the blonde, did not speak English) Cookie and I became instant friends. 

Another dog came by, a black and white spaniel of some type. He had 2 white lines on either side of his snout. The woman stopped and they all started taking in Italian about the dogs...and in baby talk too. At this point, 1 young man ( with a fantastic head of black Italian hair)...and an older couple (that had to sit in the middle on either side) were stuck in this conversation all about dogs and taking a picture of the dog and that the spaniels name was Mr. Mustache. 

The older man, with his big beer gut wrapped in a grey sweater looked like he was in some kind of hell being stuck in the middle of this group of women dog lovers...the head of hair had head phones on and kept to his computer , but it must have been amusing. 

This went on for about 10 minutes. The dark haired sister from Rome would translate and I would add my cooing to the mix.

Also, on this ride, the dark haired sister quoted passages from  Coleridge to me;

The Rime of The Ancient Mariner

http://www.bartleby.com/101/549.html

a poem my Father would have known and loved. 

Catching The Train For Home

I showed up 3 hours early somehow. I was all stressed out about the trip and about getting the dogs. The dog sitter is a stickler and she drives me crazy insisting on precision. Perhaps it works on dogs, but it makes me annoyed. So I was stuck at Centrale for a few housr. I put my Wellies back on ( they wouldn't fit on my luggage). I looked like I was going out to muck a horse stall...but I didn't care.

I got on the train early and waited. You see the 3 seats on one side of my first class section...It was not very clean or luxurious...2 women sat down and we chatted away. They were Sisters...one from Roma, one from Milano, they were off to Ventimiglia for a week to just take in the sea air.

My Wellis make a statement!

First class!

Arrivederci Milano...I will see you another time.

Almost Forgot Lunch

I had lunch at a place called Mama Rosa's. It was very near the hotel. There were very few people in the restaurant as it was late, but I knew they served "non-stop". 

It was a very fancy white table cloth place. The waiters are all over you, hoping to serve your every whim. They gave me a glass of Prosecco to start and an small dish of Bruschetta from the Chef.

 Then they offered me cigarettes! I said "What? No!"...to which the waiter informed me that it was just a small sample pack of Marlboro Lights. I thought that was kind of strange.

I had Tuna, slightly grilled with a sesame seed coating, layered with balsamic infused red onions and a side of Spinach. I also had a glass of excellent Morellino di Scansano and aqua con gaz.

No dessert.

I read in a magazine that Italians think you are silly if you drink Cappucino after a meal...only on it's own in a cafe. 

Also, no Parmesan on any pasta with fish...no using the big spoon to twirl and when in France...do not put anything on the table like a plastic bag, or shopping bag, or anything big and messy, even your handbag.

The Violinist

This was the 2nd Violinist I saw in Milan. The other was on the train. Both were very good.

After the one on the train stopped playing, and asked for donations, he went and stood at the end of the car and played a song to himself in the reflection of  the window.

Vegetable Market

Beautiful Vegetables and Fish

Market Frenzy

short Italian women looking for deals

short Italian dog wanting out!

1 Euro

Babies in Plastic to protect from the rain. This must be a girl. What must it be like seeing the frenzy from that position and behind blurry plastic? I think about things like that. 

Prom dress for S? 

The back side

Street Fair...My camera had an odd response.

My camera went a little crazy when it saw how crowded this street fair was. I kind of like it's response. Part of the beauty of photography is the surprises that happen. 

Subway and Begging

I was annoyed at myself that I didn't know anything about Milan or it's layout. The next morning I was determined to figure out the Metro.

It is the same as Rome, pretty much.

You buy a ticket and put it into the machine to get in and to get out. One price for 90 minutes.

I bought 2 tickets and headed to a street fair that I read about.

Their Metro has a baggage escalator at the Centrale stop.

It was pretty easy to figure out. 

There are separator bars between the seats, the stations are not announced, everyone was wearing black.

I should also include that there is a lot of begging in Milan. I was there for not even a full day and 3x I had that experience where someone comes by and puts down a tiny piece of paper written on it. Then they come back through, pick up the paper and demand a coin. I don't know what the excuse this one advertised...but there is a lot of it being done.

Also, I was in a cafe in the train station, eating. A woman came up to me and started begging. I said no and shooed her away in my best NYC style. She persisted....I finally said, I don't speak Italian!!! She yelled, yes you do...I said, NO, I don't, she said yes you do,...and backed away giving me the evil eye. 

'

I also saw a man banging on the soda/candy machines trying to get coins to shake loose. He just kept banging away and no one tried to stop him.

In fact, before you are allowed to buy your train ticket from the machine, a screen comes up and advises you to look all around you and check your luggage for thieves. It pauses for a few seconds to reinforce the message.
Times are tough in Milan....most of these people looked like they were not Italians.

Brera District

After the museum I thought I would wander back to the hotel through the different neighborhoods. The first I came to was Brera. This is a really nice shopping street with great shops. It appears as though there are many little shopping areas like this in Milan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brera_(district_of_Milan)

Walking turned out to be too far. i really didn't know where I was as people , who I asked directions, looked at me like I was crazy to be walking. It was cold and far.

Check out the red and green restaurant..isn't it beautiful?
I have to add that I have a hard time pronouncing Brera. A cab driver laughed at me and tried to get me to pronounce it correctly. It requires a lot of gusto and push to say it right.