Milano - Business Trip

On Wednesday and Thursday I got to adventure to Milan to do some training for our Italian team!  I was first of all super excited to get back to Italy and secondly excited to go on my first Euro business trip.  I left on Wednesday around noon.  I flew with Luftansa, nice(r) airline then what I'm used too.  Upon getting settled in the air, they come around with drinks and LUNCH!  I was so impressed first of all because you don't get this in the states unless you're flying business or you're going a long distance.  Then I notice wine on the cart and I ask how much a glass of wine is and the gay stewardess said to me ''We aren't in America'' and he frowns with a shitty smirk on his face!  HOW RUDE.  But it was kind of funny.  So I splurged for the wine with my lunch and got a coca cola light!  It's still called Diet Coke in UK, however I think everywhere else in EU it's called Coke Light.

I finally got to the airport and after a 1 hour taxi cab (90 Euros) to my hotel, I was already tired!  Not tired enough to figure out where the city was and get to the city centre to see the duomo!  My hotel was situated pretty far outside of the city, but luckily there was this major fair that was going on and they had directions in the hotel for how to get there.  I grabbed one of these sheets for directions and I was on my way!  The city took about an hour to get too, had to take the bus and then about 20 metro stops away!  I did make it though and decided to get off the metro at the stop called ''Duomo''.  Figured this would be a good area to stop.  Once going up the stairs outside the Metro I see the famous cathedral!  It was really pretty and also very nice to see against the clear blue skies.  I was a little annoyed as I am with a lot of nice buildings in Europe as it was under construction -- OF COURSE.  I settled for a nice dinner in the city center and decided to head back before dark.

I took the metro all the way to the last stop and then got out and ready for the bus.  I noted on the bus stop sign that the last bus left around 8:20!  WHAT.  So early.  So here I am stranded and not sure where to go.  I knew that I wasn't too far away from my hotel as riding the metro was my biggest part of the journey.  I notice that others are also realizing that the bus has stopped running and they don't know what to do.  I stumbed across this nice couple from Columbia and discovered they were in the same hotel as me.  Luckily I had my cell phone handy because after waiting for 15-20 minutes no taxis even drove by!  Quite a bummer really.  I found a number to call and they didn't speak English, however my Columbian friend could speak a little Italian because he was fluent in Spanish.  He spoke to the taxi company and one arrived about 30 minutes later.  What an adventure.  I never get stranded like that when I travel.  At least I did it while I was on business!

The next day in the office was quite nice.  Somone from the office picked me up and it was nice to finally meet someone that you work with quite frequently.  Always nice to associate a name with a face.  The team was very excited to meet me and hear about my story with the company.  It was quite a good experience for me to teach a team that didn't speak English very well and a lot of what I said had to be translated to others on the team.  I really enjoyed this and the cultural experience!  This is why I'm over here!  Then I said goodbye with a kiss on each cheek.  I love Italy!  Taxi cab back to airport and back to Heathrow!  Successful Italian Trip