Choo Choo! All aboard to Milan.

I’m almost to the end of my trip with a stop in Milan before I return to Rome for New Years Eve and finally Athens for my return to Doha. I always find it interesting how people will sit in your seat and insist that they prefer your seat over the one they purchased. So here we go….

Me: Sir… That’s my seat right there..

Him: I like this seat.

Me: I like the seat I paid for.

Him: Something along the lines of please sit in my seat.

Me: No thanks, I like the window. That’s why I purchased it.

Him: Moves to correct seat.

The remainder of the train ride was uneventful. Except for when his daughter peed her pants and my Clorox wipes and baby came in handy.

Ranata +2, Stranger on the train-2.

So I made it to Milano Centrale and in my mind I wanted to take public transportation to the nearest stop to the hotel. It was cold as hell exiting the station so I scraped that plan. I also was not immediately excited about what I saw. I’m not sure why other than it didn’t look like the pictures. I also failed to download the taxi app (itTaxi)and get money out of the ATM. I went back to terminal, no ATM in sight, but I downloaded app and added credit card. I had to walk a block to get the app to work. Somehow I finally got a ride to the hotel.

I arrived to the hotel with ease. The outside reminded of the brownstones in New York. Hotel San Francisco seems to be situated in a residential neighborhood. The receptionist provided me with all relevant information to check in. I went to my room which was quaint, but I had a street view. I did like the shower. Since I was cashless, I set out on the hunt for an ATM. Never in my life have I been to a city where an ATM was difficult to locate. I literally went every direction from my hotel until I found one in a plaza.

Finally with money I caught an Uber to Viveca Pizza and More. Somehow I failed to eat today, but I’m sure a missing meal here and there doesn’t hurt me. When I arrived there were four guest seated. I was a little nervous. Maybe the ratings were wrong on TheFork. However, at 7:30 this place became vibrant with music blasting and all the tables full. And people kept coming and going. I enjoyed my meal and the service was exceptional compared to some of my experiences in Rome. I had a great dinner and was full on wine as well. I headed back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation before my busy day.