Day 7 Milan & Verona
Oct. 10th, 2012 08:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tanithryudoThis morning we visited the Duormo (Dvormo?) in Milan. My mom had a scare where she got forced into a handshake with a street performer, who then expected her to pay for the photo that her companion took. I was keeping our money, so all she had was her camera. The performer wasn't very impressed by that. Another party was force given some corn to feed the pidgeons everywhere on the plaza. The men then wouldn't let them leave without paying. In the end, our tour guide paid for them and warned all of us to ignore all the hawkers and performers on the streets of Italy unless we are going to pay. It's a life lesson learned I guess.
Near the Duormo is Napoleon Street, where supposedly all the latest famous brands put out their newest stuff - the kind that show up on expos and shows and only make it over to the states in a few years time. Of course I'm the kind of person who don't wear anything leather and don't usually carry a purse either, famous brand or not. So that's kinda wasted on me. We did try some Italian ice cream and pizza, but I think the food at the plaza are mainly aimed for tourists (they were pretty cheap) and not the authentic type that people tend to rave about.
Then there was a two hour or so drive to Verona, the home of Romeo and Juliet, or, if we want to stick to real life, the home of Dante. The rest stop just before Verona, however, was a small Asian-run tourist trap. They were demoing some wines there, and to my surprise I've finally found one wine that doesn't make me want to spit and stick to water. A brand called Muscato, IIRC. Hopefully it's around in the US too.
Anyway, in Verona, we took some shots of the supposed place where Juliette's balcony was. Lots of couple-y people there. (Also made one candid camera shot of two guys who were dancing in the park nearby.) Took some shots of Dante's place - not all that impressive, really. Ate some bleh Itallian cuisine (too salty by half). And took some photos of the Arena there. I'm sure there's some grand history to that particular site, but there are zero pamphlets available in any language but Italian. Come to think of it, it's been like that through-out Italy. We don't even have a local tour guide. Are the Italians just that bad at the tourism business? Or just so super-confident that people will still come for the famous romantic hotspots that they can get away with not putting any effort into the tourism bits? Or do they just not care about the Roman Empire part of their history? I can't tell.
In other news, the toothache hasn't been acting up much at all today. Not sure if it's cuz of the warmer climes or if it's cuz I switched back to western pills instead of Chinese. Still, I've got a dentist appointment lined up for when I get back. I'm glad I'd scheduled my PTO for two extra days after the trip.
Near the Duormo is Napoleon Street, where supposedly all the latest famous brands put out their newest stuff - the kind that show up on expos and shows and only make it over to the states in a few years time. Of course I'm the kind of person who don't wear anything leather and don't usually carry a purse either, famous brand or not. So that's kinda wasted on me. We did try some Italian ice cream and pizza, but I think the food at the plaza are mainly aimed for tourists (they were pretty cheap) and not the authentic type that people tend to rave about.
Then there was a two hour or so drive to Verona, the home of Romeo and Juliet, or, if we want to stick to real life, the home of Dante. The rest stop just before Verona, however, was a small Asian-run tourist trap. They were demoing some wines there, and to my surprise I've finally found one wine that doesn't make me want to spit and stick to water. A brand called Muscato, IIRC. Hopefully it's around in the US too.
Anyway, in Verona, we took some shots of the supposed place where Juliette's balcony was. Lots of couple-y people there. (Also made one candid camera shot of two guys who were dancing in the park nearby.) Took some shots of Dante's place - not all that impressive, really. Ate some bleh Itallian cuisine (too salty by half). And took some photos of the Arena there. I'm sure there's some grand history to that particular site, but there are zero pamphlets available in any language but Italian. Come to think of it, it's been like that through-out Italy. We don't even have a local tour guide. Are the Italians just that bad at the tourism business? Or just so super-confident that people will still come for the famous romantic hotspots that they can get away with not putting any effort into the tourism bits? Or do they just not care about the Roman Empire part of their history? I can't tell.
In other news, the toothache hasn't been acting up much at all today. Not sure if it's cuz of the warmer climes or if it's cuz I switched back to western pills instead of Chinese. Still, I've got a dentist appointment lined up for when I get back. I'm glad I'd scheduled my PTO for two extra days after the trip.
