detour.

On the way back to America, I took a little detour to visit a dear friend from college, Sarah, and her husband, Alessandro, in Milan, Italy.

I flew in over the Alps, all snowy and glorious!

A very, very early morning train ride to Tuscany where Ale's family lives

 Driving around Pistoia

And then off to Siena, my favorite town in Italy, where Ale and Sarah picked out photos for their wedding album and I meandered around and took pics.  

Pistoia on a lovely Sunday morning

Then, our train back to Milan was delayed two hours, so we hopped on an earlier one.  We barely got seats in the aisle, where Sarah thought it smelled terrible.  I guess the toilet breeze flows more in the aisles than in the booths!

We got back late that night, and the next few days I spent wandering around in the city of Milan.  Here's the Duomo.  Makes me think of drizzle castles in the sand!

I just love old castles, crumbling walls, and plants growing in rubble!

It was a splendid detour over to Milan, and I am so glad that I got to spend time with the Martinis!  Thank you again, Ale and Sarah, for letting me jump into your world for a few days!