The good, the bad and the transvestite

I'm back home and in Chef's loving embrace again. Although I took today off of work because the jet lag kicked my ass. That and the fact that I was awake and travelling for about 30 hours.

My last night in Europe was in Milan, where I was leaving from. It wasn't anything like I expected it. You hear Milan and think "Fashion capital, beautiful, metropolitan." It was mostly dirty and grafitti-covered. Dad showed me all the pretty parts and still I liken it to going to Europe to visit Pittsburgh. We stayed one night in a hotel that wasn't too bad but not in a picturesque neighborhood. All night as we tried to sleep (we had to get up at 4 to get me to the airport in time), I kept hearing horns honking and people going in and out of the hotel.

It wasn't until we went outside to wait for the cab that we finally put everything together. We were staying on the Hooker Highway. Prancing across the street was a topless, thong-wearing transvestite with her friends. Everytime a car passed, more honking. Europe was interesting even up until the end.

I'm posting a couple of pictures from my adventure with probably more to come in the future. Here are just a few:

The beers were much bigger in Germany and tasted better too. Here I am having one at noon in the English Gardens in Munich.











The beers are bigger, but the cars are smaller. This is a two-seater Smart Car. It runs 80 mpg and is supposed to be coming to the states in a few years. Chef says they're really safe, but I'd still hate to be hit by an Escalade in one of these.









Breakfast at the Burgers, our German hosts. From left to right, Elizabeth Burger, Heine Burger, Michael Sturmlinger, Edith Sturmlinger, Robin, me, and Hansi Burger. Germany was so beautiful.











This is the side street that our apartment in Bellagio, Italy was on. It's obviously beautiful, but loses its immediate appeal when you're lugging up a 40 lb. suitcase after the two train rides, taxi ride and rough trip on a hydro-foil boat that it took to get there.






These are only four of the pictures that I took while there. I've got another 185 to share. It was the best trip of my life. The only thing that could've made it better was if Chef was there too. Next time, he will be.