At least the first couple of days were stress free. This web site shows the Duomo way better than our photos. Where they have cleaned the stone is so bright and colourful. We even climbed the 251 steps up to the roof for a view of the city. From there we spotted a roof-top cafe that we headed to afterwards. The sun was shining, the food was delicious and the company delightful. What a lovely day.
Breakfast at the hotel was fantastic again, but by this time Dale was glued to the phone and the computer trying to sort things out. We did manage a quick visit to Castello Sforzesco later in the afternoon, then met up with Rod and Julie at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II for pizza (of course), and to celebrate Julie's Birthday.
Saturday had me on the train out to the airport, only to receive a text from Dale saying that it was closed. Since I was almost there, I went to the counter and sorted out my ticket for the next available flight. I was dismayed to find out that I now couldn't get out until Wednesday. Not only that, Greece was planning on a Civil Servant's strike. This is about when the trip lost it's charm. At least I was very lucky to have a hotel to return to. So many people were already just sitting there with resigned looks on their faces. What a nuisance. So back I went to the hotel and Julie and I headed out on the tram and subway to find an 'outlet' that was advertised. What a disappointment. It wasn't even a very big room let along a mall as we were expecting. Oh well, we saved a fortune, but I wouldn't have minded just skipping the whole day.
Sunday was a very slow day. The weather wasn't great and being slightly out of town, it was too much of a bother to do the trip. I managed to escape for a while to the very little gym while Dale was stuck on the phone and the computer again, then caught up on some reading (which is always a treat). Dinner at the hotel was lovely - Sea Bass and spinach - yum.
Monday had us changing hotels to the Marriott in town. I helped Julie at the grocery store with her list for the airplane then we all piled into a cab for the big move. The Teatro alla Scala was on my list of things to see, so once we were settled in we headed out for a walk. We couldn't get inside, but we were informed that there was a Symphony that evening if we wanted to come back. But of course! However, they failed to mention that the concert was sold out. Fortunately there were scalpers! Unfortunately I wasn't willing to pay 85 euros each for a ticket. After a few more offers of hugely inflated prices we decided to give up. On our way out a lovely older gentleman was selling his tickets for the same price he paid. With a bit of sign language and gesticulations we did figure out that they were in the nose-bleed section, but hey, what do you want for 5 euros each. At least we were getting inside - and that is exactly what we got. The first two rows in front of us could see the orchestra, but we were one row too far back. When the concert started though we followed the crowd and stood up in the aisle in front of us so we could watch. Most unusual, but again - what do you expect for 5 euros! Anyway, the music wasn't my taste, but the sound and the theatre were well worth it. However, after the intermission things took a turn for the worse. The conductor was apparently famous and obviously well liked since it was sold out, but the words - discordant cacophony came to mind. I mentioned to Dale that I had certainly got my money's worth and since no one there would ever see us again, could we sneak out? I felt like a little kid tiptoeing from the gallery and down all those stairs, especially when we stopped for gelatos on our way. It wasn't long after that the rest of the patrons (all with our programs in hand) stopped in as well - probably wondering how we managed to beat the rush! It was well worth the giggle.
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=&q=teatro+alla+scala&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=7KDSS-i0M46angPQ6dXADw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CCoQsAQwBA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Scala
Tuesday was again a morning on the phone and computer, so we got another late start on sightseeing. Just as the subway was arriving Dale got THE call. We immediately turned around and headed back to the hotel so he and the crew could pack up and leave. And then there was me. All I could hope for was that my flight would still leave the next day. Things did look promising though and Dale was optimistic, so I crossed my fingers and packed up.
As it turned out, Wednesday was the first day most airlines were operating, so I ended up being very lucky. So here I am, back in Cyprus and so thrilled to be here. The sun is shining, it is a glorious +25C and the birds are singing their hearts out. My laundry is hanging out to dry and now I can start to plan for our trip to Comox in May. Dale is in Nice at the moment, but I turned down his invitation to join him (go figure). Enough of airports and airplanes for a bit - May is coming soon enough.
Hopefully this finds you all well and happy and we are looking forward to catching up with everyone in a couple of weeks.
Take care.
Love,
Laurel
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