Quick Milan Post

I need to get some paid writing done, but I wanted to write a little more about Milan. I am going to cheat and give you the bullet-pointed version. The more detailed posts will come later.

Things I like about Milan

• Big, old buildings - even though most of the city was flattened in WWII many of the buildings were rebuilt in an authentic style.
• High-density housing - everyone lives in apartments and the buildings are eclectic and a little stereotypical Italian (laundry hanging out on a line outside the window.)
• Narrow, cobblestone streets
• Scooters, bikes, motorcycles and micro-cars - what a great way to get around
• Attractive women on scooters wearing stilettos.
• Attractive women on bikes wearing stilettos.
• COFFEE! Any variety. It is the absolute best.
• Lots of design.
• Cool, attractive scooter helmets.
• Coke and/or Coke Light - the are in these great .33 l cans. Tall, skinny, sexy and both varieties taste WAAAY better than in the US.
• Really good food - if you are lucky.
• The Metro - not the cleanest, but really easy to get around (even though we did get lost once.)
• Mass at the Duomo. I lucked into this one, but there is something about being a Catholic boy (even an admittedly bad one) and going to church at the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. It was impressive all the way around.
• The Ferrari store - who doesn't like Ferraris?
• The street sweepers. After the most trash ridden street party night after night, the streets are cleaned by about 8 AM.
• Anti-government rally at Palazzo del Duomo. The large square in front of the Duomo was crowded with an anti-government rally. It was pretty entertaining - they were selling t-shirts, refreshments, had DJ's and video screens. Italians are crazy.

Things I Don't Like About Milan

• Solid metal security gates. Every night the shop keepers pull down these solid metal security gates and it makes the streets feel a little like a war zone.
• Graffiti - it is everywhere. And it's not the kind of cool stuff that takes some time and talent. It's just endless tagging on any vertical surface. 
• My language barrier - I need to learn some Italian before I go back.
• Lack of Internet. At least in the apartments we were in.
• Anxiety about my phone bill. Data transmission is super expensive. I can only imagine what my bill is going to be.
• Staying out way later than I am used to. I will definitely try to get to bed earlier next time. Those late nights just destroy me for the next day.
• Eating too little and too far between. I need to eat more regular meals - it made for really long days.
• Not drinking enough water. Goes hand in hand with the eating issue - good thing I don't drink or I would have been in a world of hurt.
• Bad food - much easier to find than you would imagine. And not just because it's not "American Italian" it would be considered bad food here, too.
• Difficulty finding cabs - it was really hit and miss.
• The Italian propensity to litter. The streets were a mess with beer bottles and crap during the crazy street parties. It was kind of disgusting.

There is the down and dirty list of what I liked and what I didn't in Milan.