Saturday morning slept in at the Crowne Plaza and then drove (yes, drove our car!!) into the center of Milan to see the Duomo. (Believe you me, this is 10 times better than trying to drive in Roma.)
The Duomo in Milan is the 4th largest church in Europe behind St. Peter’s Basilica, Notre Dame de Paris (not Indiana) and I can’t remember which others. Designed to accommodate some 40,000 people for mass. It is one of those things that we hadn’t even known we wanted to see, but damn!! it is fantastic. So sad though that, in spite of signs everywhere all over the place partout that as for “silence” “silencio” or as we say back home “hush!!” People were talking and laughing and being generally terribly disrespectful in a place of worship. I think the term “ugly American” crosses the lines of all nationalities. 
Left Milan around noon:30 to drive to Lake Como to see the views and to (hopefully) find a pretty spot to stay the night. Boy oh boy oh boy!!! We ended up finding a room at the Hotel Bellagio in the picturesque town of Bellagio. Had a great (last) dinner in Italy complete with another bottle of Rosso di Montalcino and some really tasty pasta.
Sunday, November 30
Italy – Switzerland – Dijon, France
Up early and had our last breakfast of cappuccino and crossante. We Left Bellagio on a ferry across Lake Como. Very cool experience. (Some of you may remember a trip Kristin and I took some years ago up the east coast of the US that involved a uhaul full of college apartment stuff and a sick appendix. I was supposed to have taken a ferry boat on that trip from Long Island to New London Connecticut. Unfortunately, neither I nor my appendix made that trip. So I was excited about my first ferry ride in a car. PS My appendix didnt make this ferry ride either...my appendix has missed out on a lot of cool stuff).
The goal today is to drive through Switzerland to Bourgogne, but we know already in advance that some of the smaller passes in Switzerland are closed due to an early heavy snow. We will stick to the autostrade for much of the drive, but so far it’s still quite beautiful even though it’s cloudy and raining sporadically. We expect the rain to turn to snow any minute now.
Hope to arrive in Dijon around 5:00pm today. This will be my first time back in Dijon since I went to school there 30!!!!! years ago. I
wonder if I will recognize any of it? I’m sure it won’t matter whether I do or not. I know they’ll still have boeuf bourgignon, wine and mustard ;-). I know I will be very happy there for the short time we can spend.Hold the phone!! May not make it very far today afterall. We are now in near blizzard conditions still quite far south of Zurich. Life is nothing if not interesting.
Hokay, so. GIGUNDA snow flakes just before the San Gottardo
pass. Stopped in to the the BPShop for provisions. Not kidding, this is some really serious snow. So we had a swiss version of cappuccino (more like a chocolatino, but still dee-licious.) Got a coupla sandwiches in case we get stranded. (Oh and of course, being from Atlanta, we bought all the milk and bread and beer in the store.) Terry, I think there is a business opportunity here for you and Doug to pursue. These countries all have a severe shortage, a lack, nay, dare I say a dearth of orange food group 
items. Not a cheet-o, nor a dorito, nor a circus peanut to be found. I will be happy to stay on to research market conditions and develop a go-to-market strategy. Please make a wire transfer in the amount of 1 MILLION dollars (obligatory homage to Austin Powers now completed.) And I will begin work immediately.Passed through the pass which thank god is a 15 km tunnel and not overland heading now toward Zurich and will turn west toward Basel. And as we came out of the tunnel it was clear that we were not in Kansas, Toto, anymore. Crystal clear blue skies and bright white snow on the mountains. Spec-friggin’-tacular doesn’t even come close to describing it. ‘Course, we’ll probably never make it to France today. We’ve only driven 2 kilometers and Jim has stopped 12 (ok, 2) times to take pictures.
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