“The bird who dares to fall is the bird who learns to fly”

Paris is always a connection

Gratitude for opportunity

“The bird who dares to fall is the bird who learns to fly

Milano: the supreme, urban city where fashion and design encompass the locals and command the tourists.  The known prestige made me hesitant. Neither David or I are materialistic and often opt for simplicity, so the concern of being overwhelmed into a labyrinth of Mykonos all over again was understandable. I had even suggested to potentially stop at non tourist/local city instead, but ultimately we decided to book our flight and hostel stay in Milano as our final destination of the trip. 

Upon arrival, there was a calmer tone to the city compared to the other tourist areas of Italy that seemed much more structured and scheduled. In general, there seemed like there was an appreciation for waiting or intention for walking. As usual upon arrival, we meandered our way to the hostel admiring the quietness of the streets and poise of each building. The “Yellow Square Milan” offered a luxury hostel experience. The common space connected by restaurant, café, bar, workspace, and community with what looked like University students exchanging personalities. 

The hostel room wall displayed a large painting with a bird and quoted “The bird who dares to fall is the bird who learns to fly”. It was difficult to hide my tears at something that seemed simple, but felt personal. Just 2.5 weeks prior to this Europe trip, I experienced some difficult life changes that were still in process for me. The bird comforted me as such a wonderful reminder that the best opportunity was still coming, but I would have to endure some pain first. 

We headed out for some late afternoon/night exploring. I feel that every time we visit a large city, we underestimate distance. Simply walking a new city is, by far, one of my favorite things to do. I love to submerge into the architecture, daily pedestrians, and city scapes, but I feel notorious for incorrectly guessing how much walking to do. We probably spent a good 45 minutes trying to navigate to the Duomo while cross checking street signs to our phone map. There was not as much anticipation as concern when we passed numerous shops and restaurants that looked like they have not opened since pre-covid.  Part of me wondered if Milano hadn’t reflected back to tourism yet, until we arrived at Duomo di Milano (Milano Cathedral). The grand Cathedral stood grounded in pride within Duomo Square next to Vittorio Emanuele II. We joined other younger appearing University students and young locals for Aperol Spritzs at a little bar called ‘Motta’ located just next to the Cathedral. I would say we definitely got lucky because there was a line when we had first passed and lines at the various other drinking establishments surrounding the Duomo. Milan felt very young with so many people enjoying the company of others on a Sunday night whether what looked like romantic partners, friends, co workers. 

The travel exhaustion motivated us to find a Metro entrance to which now felt like a breeze compared to Paris. Milan seemed to have had more levels to the Metro though which did turn us around a couple times. Arriving back at the hostel, we enjoyed a couple more drinks in the downstairs club. We climbed down the steps of the hostel to hear Disney’s Mulan “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” in a different language sang by a group of young, elated travelers. Such an iconic song that seemed to harness the inner strength of many across the world. In the club, we met a few other travelers including many solo European travelers on University Spring Break. We finished our night to Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” and Queen’s “We Are the Champions” which feel very overplayed in America, but still are all time favorites among young Europeans. 

Paris is always a connection

The following morning, we had our final day ahead of us to explore Milan. We went down to the common space to enjoy breakfast. There was another younger gentleman that sat in the table next to us that seemed to be solo traveling. David commented asking about the Paris Disneyland bag at his feet considering David had been interested in visiting when we were in Paris. That kind man ended up being one of the most gentlest and beautiful humans we had met. We surprisingly spent the next few hours connecting with him about so many things including our experience growing up in America and his experience in Venezuela then moving to Croatia. We had shared and connected so much over love for others. For a morning we had contemplated just grabbing a croissant to go, but instead taking time to enjoy the time was rewarded with such a wonderful connection at breakfast. 

We knew we were fitting a lot into a little amount of time while in Europe, but we also knew this was our only opportunity for some time and we had to take it. We knew we would still be missing out on so much while taking in so much, but what we found in Milan was special. 

The afternoon we had separated from our new friend with plans to meet again in some hours for Gelato before his flight. We found ourselves on the search for water as always come to surprise that there was not as many waterways in Milano. We did find one water view called the Grand Canal in the Navigli District just a simple few Metro rides away in the Southern area of Milano. The canal was lined with street vendors and small little restaurants as much of Europe has perfected. We strolled along it slowing out pace in the sun to forget that it was much chillier than Malta especially in the shade. 

One thing that surprised me was a quick experience in a restaurant. We entered into the tented front to be told that we needed a reservation to a surprise. It was Monday midday and there were maybe 30%, if generous, of the tables filled. Ironically, I had just been admiring that with David that very little eateries had required reservations in much of Europe. It is one of my pet peeves from living in America and constantly having to have reservations making it impossible to visit. Personally, I see it as an inefficient and lack of purposeful concept. Not more than two doors down, we found another restaurant that ended up being so fitting for us. We had one of the most delightful lunches with wine bottles on the wall with little lights and plants. The most beautiful part was the large glass bottles on the counters around the open kitchen that illuminated with light. To my surprise this lunch felt paced; David and I recollected on our dreams of living Europe and changes I was personally going through. For an entire eleven day trip with four countries, it seemed that everyday we were taking every moment we could to immerse in the culture, but this day was one to allow every minute to pace with gratitude. 

We enjoyed a couple cappuccinos in the sun next to a canal which still has me conflicted. I had heard much of Italy does not consume cappuccinos in the afternoon, but there seemed like a large amount of coffee lovers that happily indulged. 

We slowly meandered back to Duomo to meet with our breakfast friend. He shared about his experience in the Cathedral as we set off on the exploration for “authentic” gelato. Doing research about Italy you hear about the food in tourist areas that isn’t authentic and, of course, Gelato must be in the cold tins in the counter rather than piled on top. I had hoped at some point someone would give us chainmail and half coconuts to click together as the sound of hooves on the cobblestone streets on the search for this Holy Grail of Gelato. Love a good Monty Python reflection. We easily looped the entire Duomo square peeking around every corner looking for Gelato stands, but failing to even locate even a “non-authentic” Gelato.  Luckily, we finally crawled at the door step of Venchi e Chocolate Gelato for a perfect dessert treat to share wit promise to reconnect when David and I return back to Europe in hope of potentially Croatia. 

Our final part of our Milan was a last minute booking at QC Termemilano in Porta Romana which was minutes from our hostel, Yellowsquare. It seemed very on theme for us considering the what seems like 22 honeymoons we already have been on, for us to go to a luxury spa/bathhouse. What a package to begin with wine and small plates of snacks before heading to the numerous hot tubs outside under the Milan night sky. The building consisted of numerous other saunas of different temperatures as well as a relaxation room. This room had multiple cushions on the floor and a small hut with red heat lamps with different rotations of nature sounds like storm and rainforest. There were couples entangled in each other feeling every second of their breath. Such a highly recommended romantic experience whether with yourself or with your partner or partners. 

Gratitude for opportunity

I could not be more thankful for David to advocate for the time in Milano as well as breakfast at the hostel and beginning conversations with other travelers. It is something he continues to teach me no matter the continent we are on. That every communication with strangers is the opportunity for valuable connection. Being a very independent person consistently questioning the intentions of others, I am so grateful to be reminded of the possibilities.

Milano offers gratitude for opportunity; Opportunity for closure, beginnings, connections, and appreciation.