Milan, Italy October 4 – October 9, 2026

Milan, Italy October 4 – October 9, 2026

Sunday: This vacation I was invited to join Matt for a pharma conference he was attending. It’s been a while since he has attended and me having interest in going is actually making it easier for him to get back out there, so he says. Rather than making it easy and both flying together we had to complicate matters. Matt went to Annapolis on Friday to watch Noelle play two soccer games. Rather than having him fly back home and fly out together, he flew out from DC and I flew out from O’Hare. Our plan was to meet in Rome and then fly to Milan. I took the Van Galder Bus from Madison to O’Hare. I got there in plenty of time, three hours early. Matt informed me he was likely gonna be late and I’d get to Rome before him. He thought he was gonna not make his connecting flight. He sent me a video YouTube clip of the last of the Mohicans, “I will find you”. It was pretty slick of him. I told him my cell phone battery might be dead so he should look for me sleeping on a bench near the baggage claim in Milan.

Monday: Fortune was on our side. Matt sprinted through the Rome airport and made it on our connecting flight within 10 seconds of the gate closing. I was super excited to see him! Our flights over went over 10 hours in duration. I only managed to sleep maybe 10 minutes. The sunrise I saw right before we landed in Rome was beautiful. I had a window seat. Once to Milan, we were pretty hungry so we found a outdoor café overlooking the Milan Cathedral. We both ordered Coke zeros with our meal as we were so thirsty. The size of the glass they were in was larger than my head! We then toured the city highlights via foot. We saw the Milan cathedral, La Terrazze, Piazza de Duomo, Sforza Castle, and the Parco Sempione (park). We both were getting pretty tired so we found a piece of grass to lie on and listened to the music that was playing in the park. There were some locals who were taking photos of a squirrel. I thought that’s hilarious because squirrels are so popular in our neck of the woods yet here you rarely see one. Many of the people in Milan dress to the nines, they look so fashionable. I really stick out in my Brooks tennis shoes and door County Century bike ride T-shirt with REI hiking pants. At least I’m comfortable! We ended up taking a city bus to our Vrbo. We were ready for showers and teeth brushing. We are on the fourth floor of a complex where the elevator is under maintenance. We certainly will be getting our steps in this week! Just getting into our place was quite challenging with the amount of instruction and keys. We had four different doors we had to unlock to get in. At least we’ll be safe! I had a little bit of anxiety about being locked in or locked out so I had to test all the doors while Matt was here just to be safe. Unfortunately, since we aren’t at a hotel, we only have the one set of four keys, not two. Our fourth floor place has skylight windows and pigeons singing above us. It’s quite comical. We have a bidet in our bathroom. I haven’t seen one of those in a while. The world map that is in our bedroom has tacts on it to place where you’re from. We were the first person from the United States on this map. Most were from Australia, Asia, Europe, and South America. I’ve discovered a few downsides to our rental. There’s no microwave and the stove top requires ChatGPT to figure out how it works. The coffee maker is only conducive to Nestlé pods, which we don’t have available at our local lindi or Penny grocery stores. Other than that, it’s very cute. It even has a record player in it. We decided to walk to Lindi to buy our weeks worth of groceries. It was a very unorganized store a lot like our local Aldi. Unfortunately we weren’t able to find our Greek yogurt, cold brew coffee, or eggs. The eggs here are on the shelf and not refrigerated. Once back to our unit, we made dinner in. Matt had sushi and I did a salad with salmon. We then watch Fox News as it was the only thing in English. We both attempted watching a movie but every trailer we watch we both would doze off. We’re trying to stay up a little bit later since we knew Greta might be calling later. I don’t think she was aware that there’s a time change of seven hours. We are later than Stoughton, Wisconsin. We eventually went to bed about 9:30. Greta called us at 12:15 AM. She went running with Sophia after school. She dropped Sophia off after the first 2 miles and ran more. During that time she called dad. I could hear her talking while lying in bed even though Matt went in the other room to chat. I tried to fall asleep after that but didn’t fall asleep until maybe 4 AM. I slept a good three more hours. Matt shared with me this evening, when he couldn’t sleep, that he’s not sure if this pathway is the right one for him, whether to go back to his previous line of work or not, whether to travel or not. It’s a big decision for him, but I support him and love him whichever way he goes!

Tuesday:

This morning I got up right as Matt was about to leave for his conference. I decided to run to a nearby park and run loops there rather than run the city streets. I encountered a group of 80 year old men walking, groups of coed middle schoolers doing what looked like a scavenger hunt, and many other locals walking their dogs. The gold retrievers here look just like those back home!! At the top of the park I could see the Milan skyscrapers and a turquoise track right at the base of the park. Groups of runners were doing their workouts. Once back to my VRBO I had breakfast and then went to Penny grocery store to buy eggs, coffee pods (that didn’t end up working), chicken lunch meat, Coke Zero, almonds, hazelnuts, and honey. I got back to my VRBO and packed up for my day’s adventures. I walked to the metro and made my way to the one of Milan’s city parks that was quite unique. It had playgrounds shaded beneath willow trees with a circular layout, areas to relax in reclined seats, tall apartment complexes covered in trees (to make up for this city poor air quality). I sat and watched everyone walk by me dressed to the nines in either navy blue suits, Prada or Gucci attire. I sat there sipping my Coke Zero looking like a real ourist wearing my door country century bike ride t-shirt, REI hiking pants, and brooks running shoes. I then went though a neighborhood that had a outdoor market going on. There were many vendors selling discounted clothing and jewelry and others with fresh produce. I next walked to the Milan cathedral to chill in the plaza and have my lunch. I people watched and felt so relaxed. My cell phone battery was close to running out so I made my way back to the metro station and got back to my VRBO just before the battery was toast. My legs were so exhausted this day. I couldn’t wait to chill, journal, and text Greta some photos of our adventures. She is staying with Sophia this week and enjoying the homecoming spirit dress up they are doing each day. She is only a couple days away from her homecoming dance. We will be home from Italy 24 hrs prior. Once Matt returned from his conference we made our way to dinner. We sat next to a chemist who was also attending Matt’s conference. We started our evening with Matt and him chatting pharma lingo I couldn’t understand. He was from the UK and sitting alone. He seemed a little creepy to me. When he shook my hand he held on for 30 seconds. Also, when saying goodbye he had a big long drawn out departure trying to build suspense with long pauses and stares. I kinda wanted to respond, “see ya”. But I didn’t . Maybe it has to do with his culture?? Once back to our VRBO we watched two episodes of “House” and caught up with Greta. She was tagging along with Sophia who was driving home from school! We also received a text from James. He is 1000 miles from the coast on his way to Honolulu. He sent us the most beautiful night sky with the brightest moon and stars I have ever seen. I can only imagine how amazing it would look in real time! He is now deploying to the Middle East with hopes to be home in time for Noelle’s graduation next May. We hit the sack soon thereafter.

Wednesday:

I woke up this morning and decided I needed to do the adventure to Lake Como. When will I ever get the chance to do it again? Matt will be with me in spirit. I skipped the morning run to keep all extra energy for this day. Just as I was about to walk out the door I hear raindrops on our skylights. Oh crap, I didn’t bring a raincoat or umbrella. Fortunately I found an umbrella in a dresser drawer of this rental unit. Off I went. I went to the metro station at Certosa. I boarded the C6 to Garibaldi. I then transferred to s11 to como Giovanni. I ended up having to pay a fine because I had not purchased a train ticket. Whoops!

Once to como I walked down through the cute Italian alleyways to the boat pier. A former naval officer saw my Naval academy sweatshirt and approached me asking who went? Both his son and daughter went to the academy and now are a navy doctor and a navy pilot. His name was John Kennedy from Indianapolis. His other child is in pharmaceutical drug development and has been to the Milan pharma conference on many occasions. His wife, 6 years younger, and himself enjoy their travels, each 2 weeks in duration. He shared his entire itinerary with me. Once he found out I was an orthopedic PA he told me all about his knee arthritis and how someday he will need a knee replacement. He was very talkative. Maybe I just know how to listen. Once his ferry arrived our paths diverted. I walked the cobblestones streets around Lake Como. Once to a park on the water I sat down and had my lunch. It was still sprinkling some. I then walked through the alleyways of downtown past high end shops and restaurants. I was too nervous to take time to shop, a little afraid about getting a train back to Milan, even though they depart every 1/2 hour. Once to the train station I bought my ticket and headed to my train. Once to my seat I then realized I had misplaced my credit card! I looked on chat GPT where I found out we could easily lock my card online. I texted Matt and he did it quickly before starting his next meeting. We will just have to be creative the remainder of the trip. Without any money to get back to my place, I departed the train station downtown Milan and started my 4 mile hike home. Oh boy was I beat once I got home. Matt arrived shortly thereafter and we showered up to go to dinner. We went to “Sync” a listening bar and bistro that overlooked the Milan Cathedral. Matt introduced me to all of his former coworkers over the years. I heard all their stories. Between the five of them they certainly went through a lot of alcohol! I did have myself a red wine. They served hors d’oeuvres as well. The vegetable sandwich was pretty good. One of Matt’s coworkers looks just like Rodney Dangerfield. I met Kyle‘s wife, Bonnie. Kyle is the buddy of his that replaced him at his previous job. His wife Bonnie used to be a marathon runner and now loves to walk her two golden retrievers. After lots of mingling with plenty of laughs, we decided to head back on the train. Boy was that a difficult task! Neither one of us had enough energy to focus on where to go. We eventually found it and took the 11:01 PM train back to Certosa. We talked on speakerphone to Fuzzy for a bit. She ended up calling dad again around two in the morning when it was a little more convenient for her to talk. Walking back to our place from the train station Matt started his exhaustion sighs. I usually hear them after he returns from a business trip but now he is doing it before his trip’s even over!

Thursday:

I was pretty excited this morning to get up and run. I didn’t run yesterday and today I needed it. I was extra fueled for it because I woke up in the middle of the night to have bread & butter with honey on it. I certainly can tell I’ve been putting in many steps. I ran to the same park and ran loops. Once back to my place I was exhausted. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do today so I simply just lied down for a while and that is when it dawned on me. It would be really nice to get a massage. I found a 2:30 appointment about 2 miles away. I didn’t want to sit in the apartment any longer so after packing up my lunch and snacks I headed towards the salon. I figured I’d see if they had any earlier slots when I got there. I couldn’t believe what I saw. They had two golden retrievers roaming the property. It certainly was heaven for me! They were white goldens. One was a bit older. They didn’t have an earlier massage appointment so I toured the area. There was a Catholic university that had a cute courtyard, perfect spot for lunch. I also toured their bookstore and gift shop. I found Italian wheat spaghetti to buy for souvenirs as well as chocolate. Next I went strolled the neighborhood and found a latte. It wasn’t my favorite. I needed to flush it down so I found a an Italian grocery store much like Whole Foods, however better. I found hazelnuts, blueberries, organic kombucha, and walnut breadsticks made with Italian wheat. It was time to head back to my salon. I FaceTimed Fuzzy while petting the white golden retrievers in their courtyard. My massage was amazing! Europeans don’t mind a bare body! She simply pulled my towel down and wala, I was bare chested! There was a plastic bag on the massage table when I first entered. I thought it was a shower cap. Nope! It had a disposable thong in it. My massage was amazing, nonetheless. I then walked 2 miles back and met Matt back at our property at 4:30. We showered up and rested. We the found a cute restaurant with live music and very entertaining waiters. Our waiter cut up our fish right in front of us! He even danced while doing it! We each ordered fresh sea bass with a tomato Kalamata olive sauce and a butter green salad on the side. We had an appetizer of crisp bread topped with guac and shrimp. Our meal started with fresh bread of course dipped in Italian olive oil. Matt had a white wine and our dessert consisted of a chocolate crossontini. We were entertained by the dancing and Italian man singing while playing American and Italian songs. It was a great final meal for our trip. I don’t think either of us put on a pound since we easily walked 30,000 steps a day. Once back to our VRBO we packed up heard from James. He is now in Honolulu. The first stop of his deployment to the Middle East. My final shop I hit this trip was Eatly in the Milan Airport. This store has wonderful memories for me. It was the final store Carol went to in Chicago on our final trip there together. Well, Matt and I certainly enjoyed our trip. There are two things we are missing back home….Greta and Wilson. We can’t wait to see them. Until next time…

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