THE FAM IS HERE!!!! Milan

My parents and one of my older brothers arrived my last school day before our Winter Break. It has been GREAT to have them here! We have traveled and seen a ton... seen both places and people. I feel exhausted, loved, ...and I don't want them to leave.

My brother, Sean, left Milan yesterday to head back to his home in the mountains of Colorado. My parents are still here for one more week  : )

Below are some pictures of their first full day in Milan. We went into the city and saw the beautiful Duomo (with over 4,000 statues!), the Vittorio Emanuele Galleria (the first mall ever), and walked up to the Navigli canals. Unfortunately, the weather has not been great in Milan. The day they arrived it began to rain and has done so most days. D'Oh! ...But it hasn't slowed us down too much.   : )

Ahhh... the view of Milan's Duomo never gets old:

Walking into the Vittorio Emanuele Galleria next to the Duomo:

Mom twirling her heel on the bull's testicles in the Vittorio Emanuele Galleria:

The galleria's gorgeous main domed ceiling... decorated for the holiday season:

Backtracking - when Mom, Dad, and Sean first arrived, they were troopers on public transportation the airport to school (after the plane... a train, metro, tram, and bus). They met teachers and students at school... were served up a great lunch from the school's kitchen of pasta, artichokes, chicken, eggs, etc. We all grabbed an afternoon coffee and then I had one last class before the break began. That night we had dinner at Le Chalet, a great restaurant in my small town of Opera and we all loved our food. Sean won with the best dish... ravioli with meat inside. And everywhere we've been, my dad has ordered il vino de casa rossa (the house red wine).

Milan's heel twist on the bull

It is a tradition in Milan to twist on your heel on the testicles of the bull... one of the mosaics on the floor inside a plaza next to the Duomo.

I did this... but I also put a finger to my nose as I twisted... as silly, extra made-up luck!

...I'm going to like living here  : )

And the building where we were: