Milano: Not a drop of wine

The portion of my trip with my brother came to an abrupt end, and I was suddenly on my own. As I sat at the train station waiting for my train to arrive I wondered excessively why I ever thought I'd be able to travel by myself. I just wanted to be home. And for the first time ever Tirana felt like home.

But I got on my train and successfully found my seat, next to a little girl that constantly asked her mother for money to purchase things from the trolley. It made me remember my little cute students, and I actually missed them. Luckily a few things happened on the train that made me very happy I was travelling on to Milan. The first was that it was the most gorgeous mountain view ever. The snow capped alps were insanely gorgeous and I recommend that you put a train trip through the Alps on your bucket list.  I was so tired and all I wanted to do was sleep, but I just couldn't allow myself to close my eyes with that gorgeous view in front of me. I also got to see the most beautiful sunset I have seen in my entire life. It looked as though the sky was on fire with shades of lavender intertwined within the flames. I tried to get a picture, but the train was moving too fast and so I will take it as a sign that I was meant to share that moment with my music only. I will never forget it for as long as I live.

I arrived in Milan and took out my directions to my host's house. Thankfully, he had given me some very detailed directions using the metro station. I was still completely lost. I took 2 semesters of Italian in college and so I expected to be able to adjust fairly easily, but it was harder than French. The thing about travelling is that there are always super nice people willing to help you. And so a very nice American woman who was living in Milan helped me purchase my metro ticket. As it turns out I wasn't as stupid as I originally looked. The machine I was trying to purchase my ticket from was actually broken. I transfered from the green line to the red line easily enough, but upon emerging from the underground system I was lost. There was construction everywhere and I think the language barrier set in in my paragraph of directions. "Go over the oil" actually could translate to "Go past the Petrol/Gas station." Usually I'm good with directions, but Europe has messed me up, so I was smart enough to just show someone the address and they pointed me in the right direction. After this I made it with little trouble.

My host was a very nice older man, who had 217 references. He happens to be a lawyer and his girlfriend was visiting him from Poland. He was kind enough to immediately ask me about my flight the next morning, to show me where the bus to the airport picked up (5 mins from his house) and to tell me what time I needed to leave. Then he showed me a map of Milan and pointed out a few key things to see, taking into account my interest, and keeping me far away from the fashion district. We planned a short, quick morning trip to the city and he said I could leave my pack behind because he would be there the following day to let me in, as he was planning on sleeping until the time I left (11am.) Once his girlfriend arrived home we all 3 went to dinner at a nice seafood restaurant where I indulged in some shrimp pasta dish, and the best tiramisu I have ever had. I spent the majority of dinner trying to keep up with the conversation. After only getting about 3 hours of sleep the previous night I was one very exhausted girl. When I tried to pay my portion of the bill he wouldn't allow me to and said he always treated his guest to dinner. No wonder he had 217 references!

Hello random castle

After arriving home I was required by his girlfriend to sip on some Polish vodka while we had a chat about something I don't recall because my exhaustion had set in. After one drink she tried to pour another, but I refused reminding her I had a flight at 1:30 and I needed to go see the city in the morning. I passed out quite quickly, but managed to wake up before my 6:30 alarm. I packed all of my things and headed to the city, which was easy to get to now that I understood the metro system. I had some fun wandering around, and attempting to read the map before I finally got where I wanted to get. Truth be told I didn't know it was where I wanted to be, but I knew the park looked nice in comparison to all the buildings. It led me to a castle, the "Arc of Peace" and then to more buildings, including the famous Duomo Cathedral, which was quite breathtaking. After seeing all the sights (in 2 hours mind you) I headed back to the area of his apartment. I really couldn't risk being late to the airport. I grabbed a croissant and coffee and headed out. Funny....I had not a drop of wine while in Italy.

Up and in the city early enough for the sunrise

I had surprisingly no issue getting on the bus, to the airport, or through the check in. I was a bit nervous about this after my experience in Albania, but I had zero issues. Then I indulged myself in a hot fudge sundae from McDonalds, and missed all my ice cream dates with Candice, Becky, and most of all my niece. It was so delicious. I went and sat at my gate for about 45 minutes reading some Ismail Kadare and trying to prepare myself for real life. As soon as they started boarding I knew I was at the right gate. I walked briskly to what I assumed would be a que. Unfortunately what I found was not a nice line, but I giant blob of people pushing and shoving to get to the front. My mind started chaotically wondering what would happen if I didn't make it on the plane and for a bit I was pushing. Then I realized this was a crazy thought. We were all going to get on the plane just fine. Getting on the plane was even worse. They boarded from front and back, but no one had the logical sense to check where their seats were, they all just went to the shortest line. So while I was in row 27 (near the back) the man in front of me was in row 3. What a smartie. He honestly thought it would be faster to go to the back boarding area and work his way to the front? For real?

Duomo Cathedral

I spent the whole time on the plane listening to music, because I needed it. When we landed I again got nervous about getting in line, getting through customs, and retrieving my baggage. Again, no difficulties whatsoever. I handed the driver of the Rinas Express my bag and was quite confused when he asked me a question in Albanian (I have lost everything I learned.) Luckily a very nice guy translated for me and we had a nice conversation about Albania. As it turned out he was working in the Peace Corp and knew one of the teachers at my school. He told me I was welcomed to visit him in the city he lived in anytime I needed to get out of Tirana. How nice of him :)

I found a piece of Albania in the center of Milan, and it made me want to come back. 

Overall I'd say I was a bit relieved to be back in Tirana. It felt incredible to walk down streets and know where I was going. Well, at least for the time being....