About Me

I am a 45 year husband and dad, currently adjusting to life back in the United States after living in Italy for a little over two years. I love spending time with my family, cycling, model railroading, mosaics and watching TV and movies.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Last Saturday in Vedano al Lambro

What do Speedy Pollo, Parco di Monza, Milano and Mexicali all have in common?  They are the places and events of our last day Saturday in Vedano al Lambro.  One week from today we will be in Venice one last time, and two weeks from today we will be back in Corvallis.  Wow, that is shocking me at this moment...hmmm...take a moment to talk among yourselves, I'll be right back....

Ok, I'm over my moment of sadness.  We had a fun filled day today.  It started out with us walking into downtown Vedano to buy Speedy Pollo at the market.  Brandon is hooked on these chicken fingers with "a bit of spice", as he says.  We ate them as we walked through Parco di Monza, heading towards the bike barn where bicycles are rented.


Hell's Kitchen, providers of Speedy Pollo


Vedano Saturday market

We rented a Carozzella.  Its a two person, two kid bike.  I think they also have 4 person bikes, but didn't see any when we rented ours.  They are a beast to pedal through the park, so we took it easy and stayed away from the big hills.  We liked the one we rented at a park in Rome - they have a motor assist on them.

Anyway, we cruised around the park for an hour.  About halfway along our ride, Brandon decided to give pedaling a try, so he and Katrina rode around the park and I did my best to keep up, finally meeting them at the bike barn when our hour was up.


Who's in control here?


Make way for the tractor.  Parco di Monza is so big it has its own dairy farm, an 18 hole golf course, a fine dining restaurant, the Autodromo, two bar/gelaterias, several playgrounds, lots of open space and forests, and the Lambro River runs through it.  We will truly miss this park.



Lambro River


I'm left behind to walk!


Waiting for me to catch up.


Via Cavriga, the main road that crossed the park.  Katrina drives this road each time she heads to and home from work.  It's closed to car traffic on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as the whole month of August. 

Todays ride was special because this is one of the first activities we did when we moved here a little over two years ago.

From the park, we walked back home.  I needed to take my Pinarello bike to BiciMania today.  I had an appointment to drop it off so they could dismantle it  and pack it in a bike box for our flight home.  I am bringing it home with me on the plane because I have two big rides in September and cannot go for two months without getting some training miles in.  Ahh, another sad moment.  I will not be riding my Pinarello in Italy anymore....please chat among yourselves as I take another moment...

When I returned home, we hopped in the car and headed to Sesto San Giovanni to catch the Metro into downtown Milan.  We visited the Brera District, and area we had not explored before.  What a great part of town.  I wish we had explored it a long time ago - lots of shops (including a hobby shop with model trains), restaurants and even the Brera Museum of Art.  Katrina visited the museum while Brandon and I wandered the pedestrian zone and nearby streets.  It was a fun last afternoon in Milan.

After riding the Metro back to Sesto, we drove to Mexicali for dinner. This has been our traditional Mexican fix for the past two years.  We usually had dinner at Mexicali with Mike.  Our usual waiter, who is from Mexico and speaks English, we there.  He's a fun guy to talk to and listen to his stories.

We had a big day, but we needed a break from being in the apartment and seeing all the things we need to get done in the coming week.

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