The experiences
Back in Budapest I ate dinner with a Milanese man, Marco, who wasn't surprised I didn't like Milan. He said it depended where I stayed and who was with me, which is a pretty spot on way to look at travel. While I can't say I love Milan now, I do have a better appreciation for what it is. This time I stayed downtown in a hostel recommended by Canadian Courtney and I think they were more accommodating than any hotel I've stayed with, I never had to buy a meal if I didn't want. Everything deserves another chance and I had no choice since I really wanted to go to the EXPO.
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| Milan's famous duomo |
What on earth is the
Milan EXPO? Well remember the world's fair? The reason we have cool things like the Eiffel tower, the invention of the Ferris wheel, etc? It still exists just with the EXPO branding. Every five years countries are invited to participate, building a structure and exhibit or contributing to a cluster group (new this year). People come from all over to see the exhibits and mingle with the international community. (It was tough to tell where all the staff were from. The people at the US pavillion were definitely not american, but the people in Holland definitely were from Holland)
At the hostel I met a few lovely women in the dorm room and Leyla from New Zealand came with me to the evening opening of the Milan EXPO. Everyone warned it is better to go at night when it's less crowded and less expensive, but that it will take several nights to see everything. I heard the lines during the day were pretty long but at night they weren't bad at all. We walked right into a few different exhibits. The theme is "feeding the planet" so we of course were excited to eat, I was starving when we got there. The first thing we saw was Belgium. I loved Belgium so very much when I visited in
2008 that I was super excited to get a taste of it at the Milan EXPO. Frites with so many different sauces in udder-like bottles…we realized at the end of the night that's all we ate. Well, that and some chocolate from the Lindt exhibit/store. In the Italian chocolate exhibit/store I got this really nifty version of Nutella in a squeeze tube. This is a revolution for the traveler--so much easier to carry around and use. These people are genius.
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| Tube of Chocolate Hazelnut Cream--half used |
Anyway, we had a great time, but definitely suffered walkers fatigue. It's a BIG place. As for the US…well, we really stank; terribly disappointed by our country's effort to create an interesting display. While I know Leyla really liked our vertical farm the next day when she spent the full day there (or her facebook posts led me to believe so), but when we were there at night the US pavilion was stark and unimaginative, our food truck nation section was the least authentic experience ever. Holland on the other hand did food trucks with the correct kitsch and variety. Holland also served Coca-cola, the US served Pepsi. One of the US souvenirs was a Brooks Brothers pin. Seriously?
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| Tunnels are standard ways to get around since the towns are built into the rock and cliffs |
The next day I left very early in the morning to take a train into Marseilles (actually like 4 trains). I didn't know what to see there and that wasn't good because with the heat and that combined, I didn't do anything but grocery shop and a quick walk in the blocks surrounding the hostel. In just a 30 minute walk I already had a Frenchman following me for a block trying to get me to have coffee with him. He wasn't creepy or pushy, so it just made me laugh. Had I not had so much trouble understanding him I might have done it. Instead, I caught up on some YouTube and sleep and downloaded Windows 10. Marseilles definitely had a lot to offer, but I didn't see any of it, I didn't get great vibes from the city and it was so very big that I was immediately put off. A few days to myself were necessary anyway. Although it did have me worried since I was on my way to Spain which was not on my radar really either.
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| The giant coffee and croissant that got me through train two--did not know they made coffee this big in Italy |
Iceland was supposed to fit in my itinerary about now, but with the very expensive Eurail pass in hand, I wanted to make the most of it and I wasn't so good at letting people know what was on the itinerary so the guys from my Lancaster team weren't in the loop enough to do any booking so we could enjoy a raucous reunion. This will have to happen another time :). Instead, I journeyed from Marseilles to Barcelona. Of course I had to take the last train because even though I was booking two days out, they were all full. I have not mentioned this before, but every train I've been on since my mom started her visit here has been delayed (thanks for the jinx mom), usually to the point of missed connections. This night was no different. A French high speed train caught fire and slowed everything, except the connecting train into Barcelona. The train company hired a bus to take us the rest of the journey (after boarding two more trains). It took several hours more but we got there and my one night in Barcelona was unfortunately just a few hours of sleep and a shower before I could go out in the city and see the couple sights I knew I could get in before heading off to Madrid.
The lessons
- I need to spend more time doing nothing. This feels counter productive since my time here is waning but the closer I get to home, the more time I need to process things.
- You don't need to see everything. I was happy with the few hours walking around the EXPO. It's no fun to say you've seen EVERYTHING, leave some mystery in the world.
- I love returning to places I've been before. This trip was all about new places so I am constantly in a new environment with new people and streets and new everything. When I returned to Paris, Lake Como, and Milan, I had a good base knowledge of the places and a new chance to explore.
- Leyla laid out the transportation time warp I'd been observing for a while on my travels:
- It feels like it takes a very long time to get somewhere when walking but the return trip or the same trip a second time feels very quick.
- It feels like it is very quick to get somewhere using public transport but the returning trip feels like it takes a very long time.
Interesting
- According to Leyla, my snore when I'm sick sounds like gurgling. Good to know. BreatheRight strips and mouth guard now in use. Hopefully I stop producing so much mucus soon.
- I bought a mens grey American Eagle tshirt in the Cinque Terre for five bucks and I attempted to use my scissors to cut it up into something flattering for a female. I felt crafty, Shayna Hetzel style.
- Holland's exhibit called out that they do well because they work together to find solutions.
- Azerbaijan's exhibit was amazing. Beautiful, informative and lively.
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| Tree of Life show is fantastic |
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| Colombia is always a party |
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