Milano!!

Sitting here on a crappy computer. Our first impression of Milan was not too hot. We flew in from Amsterdam on our Easy Jet flight, and the plane was wierd b.c you pick your own seats and you have to pay for the food on the flight. But we didnàt buy any. BTW the keyboards are really different here so excuse me if I mess up. OK I guess you can pick your seats on Southwest Matt corrected me. Anyway we flew in To Milano and we immediately got onto a bus that reeked of awful BO and it was terible. The bus ride lasted about an hour to get us from Malpensa Airport to Milan, and it took us to the train station which is really ghetto. Then we got on the tram (after getting lost again, thatàs what we do here) and came to the area where Nee Ne and Pa Pa had their hotel. We didnàt want to stray too far even though in hindsight we should have. The area we are staying at is not cute. There is graffiti everywehre and trash and bars on the windows and shops and everything closes really early. We got into Milan about 1.30 and we waited and waited AND WAITED for the gparents who didnàt get here until after 8!! We got something to eat and wandered aroudn and found that the langauge barrier in this part of town is particularily strong. No one understood us and luckily Matt knows some spanish becasue otherwise itàs too hard to know what each otehr are sayign. I wonàt bore you all with the waiting part but know that it hapenend for abo0ut 5 hours. Then when they finally got here all hell broke lose becasue, well, matt and i are unprepaired. We initally werenàt going to even stop here but since the gparents are we decided to, and so we didnàt have a hostel or hotel for the night and were just plannong on sneaking into their room and crashingo n the floor. Well they were too smart and figured out we were staying here and we ended up getting a cot and paying a little extra for the room but I paid for their dinner so hopefulyl that helps out somewhat. Anyway then we got some pizza. I tell you the food here has been simply amazing. We have had paninis, the bread is so fresh and crunchy, then there is speck which is like a salty dried ham, and just lots of cheese and ham and wine and pizza and pasta and wine and ravioli and wine. We most of the time can read the menu but sometimes just wing it. Iàm really surprised how many people donàt speak English. But thatàs ok. So we had pizza that night, it had that awesome speck on it and brie cheese and we had wine with that as well. Then we came home and crashed. I will get pics up someday, but the bathroom is funny becasue it has smoethign that you wash your butt with after you poop. Anyway we were just glad to sleep somewhere that didntà smell like pot. This morning we woke up and screwed ourselves becasue we were supposed to be on the 930 tour of the Duomo and the last supper but we missed it. Today the trams and trains are all on strike, so we had to take a taxi or walk, although they started again this afternoon. We went downtown and figured out we missed it, and spent the day wandering Milan, getting lost, which is just what we do. We went to some really cool and creepy churches, they are 1000s of years old and they even have people buried in the walls. We also went to the Duomo. OMG it was huge and amazing and looks like those crystal castle things you can buildi donàt know if you know what i am talking about but itàs awesome. It is the third largest church in the world and it was build by some guy (we foret who) who built it for the virgin mary in the hopes she would grant this guy that built it a male heir. You get harrassed more in Milano more than in the otehr places we have been, this man from Senegal gave us "free" bracelets, actually he tied them to our wrists, literally accosted us, made us give him donations, then these stupid idiots thought we would like to have piegeons all over us and so tehy put these seeds, no they SHOVE the seeds in your hand and the piegeons flock to you and i was like screaming and "Gross gross i hate them!" we ahve funny pictures OK ABOUT THE PICTURES EVERY COMPUTER HERE IS STONE AGE AND DOESNTà HAVE A PLACE FOR ME TO PUT IN MY MEMORY STICK SO I AHVE TO GO BUY A USB CORD IàM SORRY HOPEFULLY I WILL HAVE THEM BY MONDAY OR TUESDAY IN DUBROVNIK FINGERS CROSSED. That is also prob the next time we will blog. Anyway I hated Milan at fist bc of the ghetto graffitti and it was ugly where we are staying but when you go downtownit is quite beautiful. The thing is, they donàt really take care of the buildings as they should, like restoring them or putting up flowers, so it just looks bad, but downtown looks nice although there are still over 1.5 million people herer wichi is still too many. The Italians seem friendlier (with the exception of the hotel staff) and that is nice, they are also louder and I think they woudl rather shop than eat...all very skinny. I like haering them talk much better than the Dutch. Also weird things are the bathrooms. You have to hold down the handle for the water to go down and one time I had to pee in a hole I just had to squat. And I coudnàt figure out the sink, becasue you turn it on by using your foot on a pedal. Also the lights in ITaly are weird, they are on the outside of the door and they are like these square buttons. Oh yes we called our Croatain friends at an internet point and they are expecting us on Saturday, it was really funny talking to them, the language barrier here amuses me more than frusterates me. Anyway the crappy thing is that even though PAPA tried to negotiate with the tour people they didnàt care and we didnàt get to see the last supper. But we did also see some nice parks and the place where they play soccer in Milan. And everyone but me bought some Euro glasses. You should see Nee Nee and Pa Pa itàs really funny Pops looks metro sexual. haha. We also had some gelato yesterday and some today that was like iced cappachion and it was sooooo good. And also I should mention that I bought a pair of Italian boots for £19 which is about $24 and they are cute! And Kelsey will think I am an idiot but in AMsterdam I bought some skinny jeans! And a soft sweater. Iàve been depriving myself of crap in the USA so I could buy more crap here and make nee nee and pa pa take it back. They have really outdone themselves taking care of us, and itàs so much fun traveling with them. So everyone clap twice for Nee Nee and Pa Pa. Do it now. Oh and Matt got something for Collin and in Amsterdam I got something for my mom but we are gonig to ahve to smuggle it back and no itàs not pot and Matt wants to say he bought some socks in A'Town. Tomorrow, Friday, we got to Lake Como all day, and a little town in Switzerland I forget itàs name. Itàs only an hour from here. Saturday Matt and I split off from the grandparetns once again and make our way to Rijeka. It will take most of the day. We will then head down to the bottom of the coast, starting in Dubrovnik, to make our way up the coast, and hopefulyl along the way Iàll come across a cord to get the pics up! Sorry! Ciao from Italia for now, itàs 830 here and weàre goign to bed!! WORST THING ABOUT MILANO: Too many people, graffiti everywhere, trash and crap of big city life BEST THING ABOUT THE MILANO: Best weather EVER, the food and the shopping, the buildings. WE LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL!! M & E