Bonjourno!
Sorry for the delay - it has been an intense couple of days.I should mention that im typing this thing on an Italian keyboard, so please forgive any errors/lack of punctuation/etc. (There is literally no apostrophe on this keyboard).
Culture shock is a very real thing. Youd expect with all of our exposure to other places that it would at least take the edge off, but that doesnt seem to be the case - at least for me. Its strange, even NYC felt like an entirely different country. Our layover there warranted a trip to manhattan, and a grueling one and a half hour bus ride through New York traffic put us at Port Authority. Times Square was entirely overwhelming, with what looked like thousands of tourists from just about everywhere snapping photos with their selfie sticks or posing with the fifteen dudes dressed as 5 foot 1 Iron Man. Between the photos,our lunch, and a $10 beer, we didnt have much time to do anything else but take the bus back to JFK. We did happen to see a group of four teenagers rob a sleeping homeless guy outside Port Authority (not a fun thing to watch).
The 8 hour flight to Milan had us seated in the very back row of the plane (we got about half on inch of recline), but the food was surprisingly good and the addition of free red wine led to a decent amount of sleep for the both of us. We landed at about 10:30AM, Milan time. Im pretty sure I can speak for both Steve and myself when I say the whole day had a sort of surreal feel to it. We took an hour long bus ride into the city, passing giant flatland fields as well as what looked like manufacturing plants. The bus dropped us off at Centrale F.s., a giant central station of sorts. The directions to the Hostel had us ten shades of confused (that ones for you Jon), but we ultimately found the metro line and ended up in the northern part of the city. The Hostel, called Music B&B, was surprisingly nice. We had a private room with two beds, a balcony, and a shared bathroom (very clean). We were itching to do something italian-y, so we went out and tried to order two panini from the corner shop. Being on the other side of the language barrier? Not fun. We ultimately had to point at things we wanted and flailed our arms around until we got what we wanted. Best panini of my life, hands down (Prosciutto, fresh tomatos, italian focaccia, and cheese. Yum).
After a quick power nap we went down to Navigli - a canal district in the southern part of the city. Picture the most Italian city-scene you can imagine coming to life. Small bridges over a canal that cut straight through the city. Restaraunts with umbrellas, chairs, couches, wine glasses at the ready. Gelato shops on every corner. The place was unreal (Ive got plenty of pictures, but the computer wont let me upload them for some reason. Ill find one soon, not to worry). We topped off the night with two massive pizzas and some italian beer. I honestly dont have words to describe how perfect that damn pizza was. If our first day in Italy is any indication of what this trip is going to be like, Im not sure ill ever want to leave. Next stop - Firenze (Florence).
More to follow. Love you all.
P.S. Im writing these after the fact, so if the dates seem off, its because im transferring them from one medium to another.
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