Shakerata

For two days I had been wandering around the city of Milan without a map.  I now had one, and my first order of the day yesterday was to find the Australian Embassy so that I could cast my vote in the Election.  When ex PM Julia Gillard had called the election, I had worked out that I wouldn't be able to vote given my travel dates.  Now that the election has been brought forward, and I am fortuitous enough to be in a city that hosts an Embassy when voting is open, I'll darn well try my hardest to have my say. 

From what I could tell, the Embassy was fairly close, so I made my way towards via Borgogna.  On the way I stopped and had a coffee and cornetto of course, it was delicious of course!  Finding the street proved a bit difficult, but I got there eventually.  I was a bit disappointed, I was expecting a grand building, but the Embassy is just hosted on a few floors in a stock standard building.  Security was tight, people were only allowed in one at a time, going through a scanner, bags checked etc.

The process itself was a bit slow, and whilst I was in the voting room I overheard a young girl tell a story of how, upon her arrival in Milan, on a bus, she had her passport and other things stolen.  When I walked out I spoke to her to check she was ok, she was crying, but there was nothing I could do for her.  She was in the right spot.

I then wandered around the area looking for the Milan Google offices as I was set to meet Nadia there for lunch.  In my roamings I wandered down via Montenapoleone, the fashion street of Milan.  You name the name, their store is there.  It is mind boggling how much money must be spent on this street alone.  I didn't even bother going into the stores, only to be disappointed about not being able to have a Prada bag...

This street is not Montenapoleone...

However, if you're going to be rich, and look like this, I'd rather be poor:

I did some shopping for the kids back home, then at 1.00 I made my way to Google.  I had lunch on Google, then Nadia showed me around.  She then took me for coffee to the top floor of the Renascente building.  (Not unlike our DJs back home.)  I didn't feel like a hot drink, but I did feel like coffee so Nadia recommended I have a Caffe Shakerata.  Which was a cold coffee, shaken like a cocktail, but I think it had a flavouring or a liquor in it.  It was simply delicious.  I might go back there again today!  We lost track of time so then Nadia had to rush back to work.  I stuck around and browsed through the store.

Inside this truck is a phone.  It's a phone booth!

I went back to the apartment and called my cousin Daniele again.  He lives just outside Milan in a small town of Lido, so he instructed me what train I needed and what stop I needed to get off at and we arranged a meeting time of 6.30.  I ended up getting there early, but I had mis-understood him.  He had told me to wait in the station, but I had exited as I thought that's what he had told me.  By 7.00 I was in a bit of a panic, and at 7.10 I went down to the station again to find a phone to call him again.  And that's when I saw him!

He took me back to his place which was 17ks from the station.  Then we went out for pizza with his family.  It is strange hearing a 7 year old talking better Italian than you!  Whilst we were having dinner, once again a storm rolled in, but this time it started to piss down.  I had just, literally, 3 hours earlier taken my umbrella out of my bag, as well as my 'emergency' raincoat.  Just when I needed them the most!

Daniele and Anna were contemplating driving me all the way into Milan, but I wouldn't let them, and then they wanted that I at least take their umbrella.  But given they would never see it again, I wouldn't allow that either.  So they drove me back to the train station and I made my way back to the city.  By the time I got out at the Duomo it was about 11.30, and it was raining (but at least not pissing down in a torrential downpour).  I contemplated grabbing a taxi back to the apartment and even started to walk towards them, and then thought that was stupid and walked back to the apartment.  I was looking like a drowned rat by the time I got in.  But at least I was home safely.  The whole situation had actually been quite harrowing!