It was a trip which was meant to have taken place in Feb 2006, and now I am all ready to board the SQ plane which will take us direct to Milan. So... Italy here I come.. 10 months later, but this time, the ode "better late than never" holds even truer.What could anyone ask for after going through all those tough months battling oneself with a deadly disease and all the sufferings one had endured during those seemingly never-ending treatments.... Yes, I am now glad to wake up every morning being able to see sunshine and even more glad that I finally made it for this trip. Nothing was in my mind other than enjoying every moment I have in Italy and Austria, and making sure that I treasure every moment and every hour while I am there.
A recap of our trip which started off like this........we arrived Milan in the early morning of 1st Dec, sky still dark. With our backpacks we walked straight to the train station (hubby says to travel light so I had to ration my colorful sets of outfits), hoping to catch the train to take us to our hotel. But after checking around we were told to hop onto an airport bus, cheaper and faster. So we got ourselves onto the bus and within 50 minutes we were there! Breathing the cold air was just fantastic and refreshing! I had to pinch myself to make sure all was real..Milan at last!
Found our hotel which was located about 100m away from the central train station... Hubby did a good job in sourcing this particular hotel as it saved us lots of time and money shuttling to/from the train stations during out stay in Milan.
Our Italy Itinerary
1st Dec - Arrived in the morning and spent the afternoon shopping! What is Milan without shopping? Took a stroll to the center of Milan and arrived at the magnificent Duomo Cathedral.. it has to be one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world. Right beside it was Milan's hottest shopping strip. Got my prada & gucci bags as planned... :-)
2nd Dec - Decided to spend a full day in Venice..an easy 2 hrs train ride from Milan (trains there are so clean and comfortable). Our day in Venice was great, but my camera went kaput! Bought one to replace it and we just let the new camera capture everything this city had to offer. Venice has to be the most romantic city in the world, and the St Marks Square has no equal, especially from up the Tower. I can't imagine this city disappearing under the rising sea level..I told myself I must come back again, one day.
3rd Dec - Spent 8 hours on the train to Salzburg - long train ride. It was becoming a little restless for both of us after a while, but the views in northern Italy, Germany and then the Austrian countrysides made it worth it. Arrived in Salzburg and it was already getting dark... hubby went to look around for hotel to stay for the night. As you can tell, we wanted to make our trip free and easy, which added to the overall adventure of our trip here.
4th Dec - Spend a day in Salzburg - Joined a day tour - The Original Sound of Music Tour.. all the songs from the movie came rushing back. It's a great way to see the city and the surrounding areas up close. I even had a photo taken with a lovely nun from the Nonberg Abbey..nice.
5th Dec - Spend another 8 hours on the train back to Milan - another long ride back to Milan. If the train timings had been better, this was where we were supposed to head to Croatia, but sigh.. another time, I guess.
6th Dec - Milan - More shopping for me.... can never get enough of shopping here!
7th Dec - Turin became our last city on our trip agenda. One hour train ride from Milan... we almost ended up in Porta Susa which was the wrong station... thanks to the train door which failed to open! Our day in Turin was gloomy but that does not deter us from another round of shopping..the street malls there were beautifully decked out for Xmas!
8th Dec - Time to pack our backpacks and make our way to the airport :-(
9th Dec - Arrived Singapore, feeling rested and happy with all my great buys!
Looking back, I had enjoyed every moment in Italy.. a trip which I would regard as our very own "Amazing Race : Italy+Austria". The weather, the shoppings.. we've never eaten so much pizzas and pastas in our lives! I would certainly love to go back there again. I was also pleasantly surprised by how well I could handle the long flights, the many train rides and all the walking in Italy and Austria. In order to fulfil my new mission of going back to Italy and Europe, I have to stay healthy and happy. With a strong, positive mind, I just know that I will be there again... It really was a much-needed holiday for the body, mind and soul.
>> gleefully ntangle
