MIlan July 25-August 3

Vannie said, "I know a place in the duomo. . . ."

Above is the entrance to the duomo. Below is the building-sized poster that filled one whole side of the square. Marte took this photo as a special gift for me.

In fact, all photos were taken by Marte. I had no camera.

Marte and I rode the train from Milan up to Annecy, France.

I wish so badly I had more photos. . .these dont even come close to doing it justice.

Here is what I was writing at this exact moment:

"There is something about riding the train. . .by far it is my favorite mode of transport. It's smooth and relaxing and beautiful. And my imagination goes back and forth through time: 1900, 1950, 1980, 2008. This is old school travel at its best. One of my earliest favorite books, Catcher In The Rye, has some great train moments. Every time I ride a train, I am always reminded of this book; one of my earliest experiences with the train.

Strasa is an Italian village on a lake and in the summer it looks like a less populated Riviera. Stresa has palm trees and the alps. What more could you ask for?
Marte is sitting across from me, listening to music and snapping photos. She is a good travel companion. She likes her space too.

We stayed five days in Milan. Marte says when she travels by train, 'my soul and body travel at the same speed.' Both of us have smiles on our faces and wonder in our eyes. This never gets old.

We have reached Verbania.

Now we are travelling deeper into the alps and I see wild flowers. Passing Premosello. Vogona. Domodossola. Some day I would like to stop in Domodossola. There are pine trees now.

We are now entering Die Schweiz and the border gaurds just asked me for my passport.
Sierra. St. Leonard. Sion. Monteaux."

Then later on 8/16/08 I wrote, "Riding the train from Italy to Switzerland to France--and then back again--is like riding a train through a fairy tale. Smooth. . . with big windows providing the pefect frame."

It is never a mistake to go to Italy.