Heading home from Milan

I got to visit Milan one last time. It worked out really well because my friend Dan who lives here is moving back to Brazil next week and I got to see him and go to his going away party.

Now I'm heading back to the US. It's a long flight with a layover in Stockholm (not on the way). I leave at 6:30 AM Italy time and arrive in Newark at 3:15 PM EST.

This trip has been wonderful! I've seen so many places, met so many people, done so many things. Here are a few of the things I've learned these past three months.

How to carry my suitcase up and down the train station underpass to my platform.

How to schedule my train itinerary so I don't have to carry my suitcase up and down the underpass.

How to take a shower in a tub with no curtain and leave the bathroom cleaner than when I started.

That toilet seats are not that important at home if it's just girls.

All laundry should be turned inside out to be washed.

I do not do my laundry as well as I should. According to Filippa.

If I don't get married soon, I won't be able to. According to Filippa.

You can get canned pumpkin in Rome, but not pie crust.

Bananas make you fat. And I eat too many of them. According to Filippa.

To turn the water heater on an hour before I want to shower.

Washing my face with warm water in the morning is a luxury.

To light the stove with a lighter. With one hand. While I fill the pasta pot with the other.

Everything is cheaper in the US. Especially clothes. Especially US labels. Except espresso and pizza.

Vodafone is an evil company.

Heat in October is a luxury.

Fresh ricotta is nothing like what we buy back home in 12oz containers. The mozzarella is pretty amazing, too.

How to avoid eye contact with cruising Italians.

No matter how hot it is in the Metro you keep your coat on, hussy. Or be prepared for the stares.

The best place to buy cloths is from the street vendors. Actually that's the best place to buy anything.

How to pee while squatting like a pro. (Thank you two years of bicycling in San Francisco.)

To recycle almost everything. My q-tips where the only thing I had to put in unsorted.

Where to find the three best gelaterias in Rome.

How much I love (and sometimes hate) Italians.