Our final day in Italy. I felt a little emotional about that. Becca was upset on Sunday about me being away and I had really wanted to talk with her Monday but the kids were in the spa at Grammy's house when we called. They didn't come out just for a phone call from Mom. I was starting to feel like maybe it was time to go home. But at the same time, this has been a wonderful experience. Each concert was better than the last. We got to make new friends and increased our friendship with some old ones. I was emotional. And I was getting sick. On Monday in Venice/Burano, I kept feeling like the world was moving. Whenever we sat still, I felt like I was still on the water, the ground rocking gently beneath me. By the end of Monday evening I had a migraine. My medicine helped and I felt much better Tuesday morning, but as we made our 4-hour bus ride to Milan, I started to sneeze and realized my throat was hurting. I hoped it was just allergies.
We had a very short walking tour of Milan focusing on the Duomo...
and La Scala.
I was worn out. I didn't get much out of the tour.
We had time to relax at the hotel that afternoon and Kip wanted to get travel snacks and more chocolate (of course!). I thought it would be nice to see a little more of the area, the less-touristy part, so we went off. We just kind of walked around after finding that the shop his map program had taken us to was not what we needed. And suddenly I saw a Carrefour, just like on my mission. If I hadn't lived in France I would never have recognized it. The windows are striped and mostly blocked so you can't see inside, but I knew the logo and name and knew it meant groceries. We got our chocolate and snacks at non-tourist prices. Although, regular Milan prices probably aren't something to brag about.
We had our farewell dinner at a restaurant that took quite a while to get to. Apparently traffic in Milan is not a pleasant thing. The staff made sure we knew that most of the menu was already gluten free and that there were just a few things they had done for the three of us with that particular sensitivity. We had milanese risotto, which tastes a lot like mac n cheese but with large rice pieces instead of noodles. The main course was pork on polenta with mushrooms and potatoes. For dessert, most of the group had apple cake (complete with a sparkler-style candle and happy birthday chorus for Emily). The GFers had flan. I was starting to feel pretty crummy, so I didn't eat all that much. I think I have a cold.
The dinner ended with a speech by Cindy and applause for all the people who put so much effort into this trip. It was a good tour. We got a few last pictures and headed for the hotel. After some final packing and a failed attempt to Skype the kids (poor wifi strength and kids in spa) we went to bed a little early.
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