45 minutes standing-room only, Como to Milan. Not the ‘Eat Pray Love’ commuter experience to Switzerland days ago. Weekend train to the Region’s big City. Steady, reliable & clean – just less Euro-glamour ‘packed in’ standing with your luggage. Ticket on the Express train.
Como San Giovanni ➩ Seregno ➩ Monza ➩ Milano Centrale
Arrived Track 2. Station abuzz, reminiscent of New York’s Grand Central. Old electric lines & diesel still in the States, but day’s trek super déjà vu of my 9 year-work commute, New Haven to NYC.
Pulse, pulse, pulse. Shop sounds, travelers racing, speaker-barked announcements. So much ENERGY. Transportation hub of Northern Italy’s Lombardy region. Metro transfer/travel ‘round Milan or other dream train connections: Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples. Buzz, buzz, buzz.
Taxi’d to my hotel digs, beautiful Italian-owned building steps from Sunday’s Marathon Start. Bag drop, mental regroup. Milan Day. Just a few gotta/haftas on the list but ALL happening today.
Teatro alla Scala. da Vinci. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Milano’s il Duomo.
Mini-break before attempting [marathon] bib pick-up. Nutella crepe & an outdoor cappuccino (new day, new city, same Italian diet). Metro ticket in-hand. No stopping. Go, go, go!
Absolutely anything is possible…with Nutella ❤️
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- Como to Milan
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- Stazione Centrale
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- Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples
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- the great Leonardo
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- Opera House (1778)
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- Duomo di Milano
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- fifth largest Christian church (in the world) & the most statues
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- 6 million visitors per year
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- Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
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- Prada, Versace, Vuitton
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- Viva Italia 🇮🇹
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- crepe & cappuccino
Stazione Centrale & Milan’s il Duomo
chocolate & cappuccino 🇨🇭
Second day of Spring showers. Bring it on!
Passport in hand (just in case), absolutely no idea what the day holds. It’s unexpected/unplanned/spur-of-the-moment Swiss Day! 🇨🇭
Already captured the indoor sights of Como, spending today’s tourism dollars on a train ride north. Mile stroll to Como’s main station, 9€ (Euro) ticket to SWITZERLAND.
Flag change, currency switch (Swiss francs), same Italiano lingua. Tri-tongue country, Switzerland. German & Italian used in Lugano, country’s southernmost region.
Notta Swiss Miss yodel village. Money town. World fine-brands all represented, its fine cars as well. Mirror-image visual of my Como digs. Lake Lugano fenced by mountains. Cobblestone streets, hill top cathedrals. Billboards, Swiss watch-dominated.
Como v Lugano. Less pasta, less Italian villas – more croissant, more puff pastry. Day’s taste buds saturated on chocolate ganache & cappuccino (trip’s best). Swiss Day 🙂
Appreciate the ease of travel in Europe.
Short 40 minute return to Como. Late dinner, lake cruise in the morning.
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- 9€ travel
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- Swiss Day 🇨🇭
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- Welcome to Lugano
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- cobblestone laden
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- Lake Lugano
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- brands represented
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- German EASTER 🐰
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- hill top cathedrals
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- Cattedrale di San Lorenzo
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- fine cars & cappuccino
He’s baaaack. Back where it all started, BIG WILD beautiful ALASKA! 5 years ago, my run journey began in Anchorage. Marathon Numero Uno. Saturday in Juneau, targeting #124. Whatta life adventure – 50 States, 4 Canadian provinces, 5 continents.
Predawn flight outta Denver, 2-hour connection in Seattle, Juneau arrival just after noon. Lyft ride downtown (no rental car this trek), hotel check-in, bag drop-off (backpack/extra run shoes/travelled lite) – much too early to settle in, plenty of daylight hours to explore. Summer sunset in the Great White North not ‘til 10pm, up again before 4am. Nothing free airline eye-shades couldn’t fix 😊
Juneau, Alaska’s official state capital but as residents will tell ya, everything happens in Anchorage. More than 40% of the state’s sparse population reside in Alaska’s largest city. Juneau’s a former GOLD rush town. Large Inuit population, the Tlingit, still call the peninsula home. Lotta Russian influence too, Alaska’s caretakers ‘til 1867 ☭ 🇷🇺
Another unique trait? No roadtrippin’ here. By air or by sea ONLY.
BIG, WILD, primitive & GREEN. Surrounded by mountains, closer to British Columbia than mainland Alaska. Scoped out lunch/early dinner options on my walk to the Tramway. Ticket please. UP UP UP Mount Roberts, lift every 30 minutes.
Top of the tramway: restaurant, gift shop AND a trailhead. Just 2 hours in Alaska, already found myself a hike. BESTEST views of Juneau & Gastineau Bay.
LUSH vegetation, mountain flowers, BALD EAGLES & bugs. Crazy HUMID too. POWER HIKED UP, movin’ fast/protecting my blood supply from insect vultures. Whole lotta, whole lotta going on. Limited to only four months of temperate weather – live, breed & die.
Father Brown’s Cross, Gold Ridge, Gastineau Peak. Snapped my scenic shots & trail-ran returned. Felt GREAT to RUN.
Bathroom splash bath, cooled-off watching a documentary ‘bout the local Tlingit’s Raven & Eagle clans. Crab bowl at Tracy’s King Crab Shack (gotta/hafta/must); SPRUCE TIP ice cream for dessert. Voted Juneau’s BEST Ice Cream – how could I go wrong?
Tomorrow’s kayak/crampon-hike itinerary: Mendenhall Glacier ❤️
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- diggin’ the summer temps
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- UP UP UP Mount Roberts
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- Tlingit totem
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- BIG, WILD, primitive & GREEN
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- Father Brown’s Cross
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- Gastineau Peak
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- downtown Juneau
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- Alaskan King Crab
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- Native Soldier Memorial
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- Lady Baltimore
Mount Roberts Trail, Juneau
