Saturday, March 2nd. Milan

Woke up tired from all the travel. Went to breakfast(which wasn't bad). Went back and planned on doing things in Milan, but ended up taking a nap. Woke up, went to the Duomo and galleria. Has gelato. Went straight to San Siro from there.

I was supposed to take one train and transfer over to another train but the trains were packed. I decided to walk instead of taking the second train. It was only 2.3 km, not that far at all. Saved money. I didn't have that many euros either.

I walked up and when I finally saw the San Siro, it really was magical. It's kind of breathtaking, but that might be just because I'm a Milan fan.

I walked around the stadium just to get a feel. I went in early, but they wouldn't let me in with my battery pack. They said it was too big. I asked if I could store it somewhere and they said I had to ask someone from one of the kiosks. Wtf!

I bought a beer and the worker kept the battery pack there.

Impressions from the game:

The players seem much taller in person. The goal and box seem way closer in person. The chants are just as amazing as you would expect.

Ugly game but the important thing is we got the three points. Now we've leapfrogged inter and we're in third! Amazing.

I was so glad when I returned to the beer kiosk and the lady gave me back my battery pack. I figured the trains would be even more packed than before, so I walked back to the train station that I took on the way there. But I didn't have many euros and any time I tried to pay for my ticket with my credit card, the machine asked for my PIN. But I've never set up a PIN for my credit card, so it wouldn't accept my card. I didn't feel like trying to fix the situation while hundreds of people were coming through the station, waiting in line behind me.

So I went to the nearby McDonald's and ate real quick. I came back, paid for my ticket with euros (iirc) and came back to the hotel. They weren't showing the roma-lazio game at the restaurant bar, so I called it a night. I didn't get much sleep and it hurt my sleep schedule.

My general impression of Milan is that it isn't my favorite city (shoutout to Barcelona). It feels like it's outdated? Not contemporary enough for my liking? I dunno. The architecture is underwhelming. You can tell that smog has taken its toll on the buildings and the city in general. There are some nicer buildings but they stick out like a sore thumb. And not in a good way. They've got to find a way to mesh the old with the new here. There's a ton of graffiti. Not a bad or good thing, but there's a ton of graffiti.

I don't think Milan as a city sucks though. I clearly love AC Milan. I'm just not that into fashion or art like that. I will be back to catch a Milan game when we're finally back in champions league, where we belong. Matter of fact, I'll be back sooner than that. I'll be back in two weeks for the Derby Della Madonnina. *AIRHORN*