Ah, the magic of plane travel! You leave Chicago, with all its familiar sights, smells and sounds, and 7 1/2 hours later, you land in a totally different place--a high temperature forecasted in the 90s, an unfamiliar language, and lots of new things to see and hear. We landed in Madrid around 7:30 am, went through customs and another round of security (note to travelers--the liquid rule applies even when you are transferring between flights in Europe), and by 9:30, we were on board another flight on Iberia, this time to Milan. Before we left Madrid, we all spent a few minutes admiring the striking architecture of the airport.
Landing in Milan at 11:15 am, we all breathed a sigh of relief. No customs, no problems with baggage--we were out of the arrival area and with our host by noon. As we left the airport, we briefly saw the Torgersons and the folks joining us on the companion tour. We have three wonderful guides--Stacy, who works with Gateway, our tour company, will be with us for the duration of the trip; for the Italy, Monaco and French portions, Flavio and Laura will be our local guides. We began with a one hour bus ride into Milan, which deposited us on the piazza in front of the Duomo, one of the largest cathedrals in the world. After a short break for lunch, we were led on a wonderful walking tour of the Duomo, La Scala (famous opera house) and the Castello Sforzesco. One of the highlights of the Duomo was a statue of St. Bartholomew, depicted as a skeleton holding his own skin. At La Scala, many of us watched part of a rehearsal for a new production of Benjamin Britten's "Midsummer Night's Dream" and viewed some costumes from famous productions. The castle is a medieval building with huge courtyards and tours. At 5:00, with most of us ready to roll into bed, we boarded the bus again for the journey to our hotel for the next two nights, which is in the lovely town of Salice Terme. We had a wonderful meal at the hotel, where we were all surprised to discover that the unlimited pasta offered to us at the start of the meal was just the first course--chicken wrapped with pancetta and spinach was next, followed by huge pieces of chocolate cake. Needless to say, this was the perfect end to a great first day in Europe. Many of us took a moment to stroll around town before heading to bed, soaking up the perfect Italian evening.
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