I made the long walk from my hotel to the central train station in Milan this morning. It's quite easy to follow the city map as the streets are well marked and I enjoy the challenge of finding shortcuts along the way. After some tea and a well deserved sandwich at the station I took the train to Lake Como - about a 45 minute ride. From there it was at most a 10-minute walk from the station to the edge of the lake and what a site it is. A huge lake with incredible homes along the edge and mountains in the near distance. I spent several hours following the walking path around the lake - stopping for a lunch of seafood pasta and another cup of tea...and a gelato as my treat afterwards. It was a warm day and much of the time I had no use for my fall jacket.
The air in Milan and Lake Como is sadly quite smoggy likely due to the presence of mountains that trap the human made toxic exhausts. I found myself often sneezing as I walk not being used to so much pollution in the air. The cars are indeed smaller here and many people ride scooters but I'm certain the mountains keep the smog present. The pollution though is not as bad as I have experienced in New Delhi or in Athens - the two worst air pollution places I have ever visited.
I caught the 6:00 pm train back to Milan just as the sun had set and then walked to my favorite mom and pop restaurant where I've been eating my evening meals - the pasta good and the prices relatively cheap.
In the morning I head to the airport where I meet Global Network board convener Dave Webb who will fly to Milan from the UK - then we are on the same plane to Sicily. We'll spend several days there being hosted by our new friend Vincenzo who came to our annual meeting in Kyoto late last summer and has arranged our speaking trip to Sicily.
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