We arrive in Italia

Buongiorno!

Up early and caught our plane to Brussels where we connect for our flight to Milan. Third time we’ve been to this airport, so we pretty much know the drill, and where Starbucks is located. Ryan Air is our connecting flight and as a “discount” airline there is no checking in until 3hrs before your flight so we’ll drag our bags with us while we wait.

Travel today is an all-day sucker so not much to report. Catching our flights was uneventful and arriving in Milan no big deal. Funny thing about customs. If you’re flying from a EU country into another EU country, basically no customs, no passport check, nada. Back in the States you can’t fly from one city to another without a strip search by TSA (Thousands Standing Around).

Our room for the night is in a small boutique hotel in the town of Osteria della Pista. Quaint little town known for horses and golf, neither of which we get to enjoy because we arrive at 8:45pm and leave the next morning for Lake Como. The hotel and restaurant opened in 1875 and was a favorite stop for nobles and knights traveling in the area. There have been a few upgrades since then, so we decided to try it for the night.

Outside dining area

Our flight arrived a little early, almost 20 minutes, and we breezed through customs. Once outside, in a very muggy 85 degrees, we made the call for our ride to the hotel. The shuttle is free and the hotel is advertised as 15 minutes from Milan’s Malpensa airport. About 45 minutes later, the shuttle did arrive and it was off to the hotel.

Even though it was late for us, we decided to try the restaurant for dinner. Nice place, very friendly staff and a cool breeze on the patio. Just what the doctor ordered, that and a carafe of wine of course. We chose the fungi pizza, had a couple glasses of wine and enjoyed the rest of our evening.

Potato chip appetizer(?)

Excellent pizza!