Il Marito spent the day at the office, but Bambino and I got to spend most our time outside In the sunshine. It was glorious. I didn’t realize how much I missed sunshine and warm weather. (It better not be snowing when we return home!)

This morning, I started chatting with an older gentleman in the piazza, and he asked about where we live. I told him that, in many ways, our home is like Varese. It’s near lakes, has a beautiful downtown, good food and friendly locals. I showed him a few pictures, including one of this winter.

I can see the Alps from here. They get Snow (with a capital S). But my new friend looked shocked. He advised me that both he and I were better off staying in Italy. (Don’t worry. We’re coming back.)

After chasing pigeons in the piazza, we visited the Gardens of Estense, near our hotel. Apparently, Stendahl called Estense “the Versailles of Milan.” Bambino loved the fountain, the playgrounds, and the terraced gardens. We will be revisiting Estense this week, but with the baby carrier. I worked off last night’s pizza pushing him up an alpine hill on a gravel trail.

Post-adventure, Bambino took a nap. A 4.5 hour nap. He awoke laughing and ready to go. After lunch, Bambino insisted we visit a bookstore. How could I say no?

Then, il Marito came home, we had a nice dinner, blah, blah, blah. More importantly, Bambino had his first taste of gelato.

A picture says a thousand words. It was a good day. Buona notte, amici.

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