July 30 - Milano Centrale

Not all tourist attractions are written about in guide books.  Yesterday, Lyle and I arrived in Milan, Italy.  We took the train from the airport to the central station, Milano Centrale.  The station was huge, very old, and crowded.  We followed the rush of passengers leaving the main hall to the exit. The lead us to a long staircase of worn, uneven stone steps with no railing.  This was somewhat difficult for Lyle with our suitcase, but it was even more difficult for me with my white cane.  I like to use a railing when I am going down steps.

This morning after a good night's sleep we walked around the area and found a beautiful city park. There were many large shady trees with easy walking trails, but also a large number of homeless people sleeping in sheltered areas.  On the way back to our hotel we walked through the train station again, looking for an easier entrance/exit for our train trip this afternoon.  There was!  At the far end there was a set of escalator ramps from the street level to the train platforms.  We will head back to this entrance this afternoon for our train trip to La Spezia.  It was cool here early this morning but now at 10:00 a.m. it is already humid and muggy.