Northern ITALY 9/22, part 1

Northern Italy 2022, (September 3-14)

So, this trip was planned very last minute, started just 6 weeks out in mid July to be precise! When the stress of covid testing restrictions were removed our family of 3 scrambled to find a window of time to fit all of our schedules. We would have loved to tack on more days, but heck, we were traveling again!! First on the agenda book our flights, that gave us that good feeling of knowing we were actually going!

Lodging was next to check off, this took 2 weeks to figure out between busy schedules. Each of us had taken time to research airbnb's and hotels in Milan, Liguria, Piemonte and Lake Como. Because we were booking a month out our choices were fairly limited, we agreed on what would turn out to be 4 perfect airbnb's. When our family of 3 travels it can be tricky to find the right accommodations, hotels usually require 2 rooms and airbnb's usually win out because we enjoy being together in more spacious environments. Lastly, we reserved a car in Genova that we would return at Malpensa Airport. All systems were go at this point!

We departed from Dulles International Airport in Virginia around 11pm via Lufthansa through Munich. We were reminded once again of the presence of the virus when told masks must be worn during the 8 hour flight, but heck, we were traveling again!! No hiccups regarding flights or luggage, we were bused out to our connecting flight and actually saw our bags being loaded, great feeling! We did make a rookie mistake picking seats on the first leg, seats against the bulk head reclined about half the distance of "proper seats" but we had a large open area to stand and stretch periodically, thus last minute booking limitations...one last time...HECK, WE WERE TRAVELING AGAIN!!

From Malpensa Airport we took the train to the Milano Cadorna station. Fyi, we exchanged dollar/euro at our local AAA office before leaving Virginia, as well as getting issued International Drivers licenses. Our credit cards only had one issue on the very last day, we always take plenty of cash to avoid such credit card issues. It's been 4 years and we did require a little help at the train station choosing the correct train, we were a well oiled machine the rest of the trip! From the station we leisurely walked about 15 minutes to our airbnb which was between the station and the Cathedral. We carried our small bags up 3 flights to our comfortable 2 bedroom overnight stay. It was warm and we were fortunate to have a/c to sleep comfortably. We freshened up and had drinks and a nice dinner close by in a quiet alley at Rosso Brero. Early to bed to be ready for Santa Margherita Ligure the next day. How about some pics of our short stay in Milano....Ciao

That was our last stop in 18. Second to last photo, that’s some shopping mall! We were at the square when the Christmas market was going on. Lots of memories. Looking forward to the next installments

We had only previously connected through Milan and it was nice to see just a small section of it this time. Christmas market must have been something to see! Part 2 soon.......

As always, such magnificent pictures! And, as TravelHat said, that is some shopping mall! Checking out the next installment now!

We are booked for May. Also flying into Milano - direct flight from ATL to Malpensa via Delta. Spending 4 nights in Lake Como (our second time there, I love it), 3 nights in Bologna (first time there), 4 nights in Florence (second time there), and final 3 nights in Milan (haven’t spent time there yet). All our bookings are Airbnbs, except for the hotel in Milan. Can’t wait. We fell in love with Italy during our 2019 trip and decided to go back for more gelato. Love your photos!

We just left 4 nights in Bologna and we loved it! Currently sitting above the Mediterranean in Manarola.

I’ll put together a trip report when we get back.

Happy planning!
Ellen

These reports will also contain 3 nights on Lake Como, stay tuned! We are also planning to return ALREADY! Either spring or Fall....we shall see!