Le cimici dei letti sono terribili cuddlers.

Antico Forno <--eat here

Florian Cafe <--don't eat here

The past 3 days have probably been the least eventful since the start of my trip (the highlight being showing one of my pale cheeks to unsuspecting victims), but a much needed break. I'll try to make it sound more exciting than it was. Sadly, I couldn’t make it to the islands on Thursday in Venice due to $$$...Venice is a bit pricy whether it’s eating, shopping, or exploring. But! I highly recommend Antico Forno, a small hole in the wall pizzeria that is cheap, delicious, & big enough to fit 6 people. Worth it. I stopped by Caffe Florian, the oldest coffee house in continuous operation, for a nice cup o’ espresso, but once they brought the menu, I snuck back out. $9 lattes + $6 live music fee are way out of my budget. At least I can say I’ve been there! Venice Fish Hostel is one of the best hostels I’ve stayed in, with a great, eclectic group of people chatting & having fun late into the night (& thankfully, no bedbugs). We had another beautiful thunderstorm that night tempting me to enjoy the rain for a bit. Oh lovely Venice.

Yesterday, I got up bright & early to catch the 3 hour train to Milan. Lesson #8: do NOT book the cheapest hostel available. I haven’t been cheap when booking my hostels because personally I think they can make or break your visit. The hostel life is great because of all the people you meet that are backpacking or vacationing. It's also your home for the entirety of the trip. I base my hostels on price, then ratings, & lastly what the hostel has to offer. Normally, 25 euros a night is what I'll spend on a decent place. Milan wasn’t on my excited-to-see city list, so I figured I would go with the cheapest hostel there is to offer: 9.80 euros per night. Cant' beat that...but you get what you pay for. Yes, there are bedbugs here as well…blast. My legs are polka dotted pink. When I was reading the reviews, one guy wrote he was too tall for the shower & had to wash himself on his knees. This made me chuckle & appreciate my short height of 5’3”…until I had to take a shower on my knees too. It’s easier than you might think, just gross. When I was gathering my clothes together, I realized I have a nice 1x2” hole in the back of my shorts, smack dab in the middle of one butt cheek. Some poor people got a nice view of my pale bum all day. Sorry guys…it was my favorite cheek at least.

Cutting up veggies into animals & flowers

Duomo of Milan

I woke up this morning to enjoy a nice 4 mile walk to a place in South Milan to buy a friend’s present. I got there about 12:27 pm, but they closed for lunch from 12:30-2 pm, so I’m going to enjoy that walk again tomorrow morning. I walked another 10 miles around the city, glancing through the Viale Papiniano Market, joining a free 3 hour tour, & hanging out at the Piazza del Duomo (where Howard Schultz had his revelation about espresso bars...thus creating Starbucks as we know it today). Espresso bars line the streets serving beverages in for here mugs only as people sip their espressos quickly before continuing on with their day. The baristas are dressed in black & white with black bow ties, just as Mr. Schultz described. Because it’s been 9 days, 9 hours, & 3 minutes (roughly) since my last Starbucks, I enjoyed a nice iced regular slim chai at Arnold Coffee in front of the Duomo Cathedral. This time tomorrow I will be in the beautiful Swiss Alps sipping on hot chocolate & enjoying a spectacular view courtesy of Interlaken. I’ve been waiting a long time for this.

Cooking tip: Burnt scrambled eggs & spaghetti are not meant to be eaten together.