Buongiorno Milano!

Yes I have arrived it Italy. And, as expected, I have fallen instantly in love with it. Had a funny night with my people on the inside here, Pete Ross and his lovely partner, Michelle, last night. We went and had a quick aperitivo and then got loose over many many wines into the night. There was broken glassware, cherry ripes, 3am pies, and a long drunken rendition of Solitary Man by Mr Ross and I at the kitchen table. Good times.

The transit across the pond was quite bearable actually. Korean Air were awesome. Had an overnight stopover in Seoul where they kindly put me up in the Hyatt. The airport Hyatt, of course, but it was the Hyatt no less. I swear the bed could have fit 6 people in it.

So I had a long bath, dinner in the restaurant and then found myself in the VY hotel bar, solving the problems of the world until the wee hours with a German cosmetic dentist named Bernd.

Upon boarding flight 927 the next day, I was pleased to see three nuns sitting directly in the row behind me. God was watching over this flight I thought. We will not die today.

For take off I opened up my holiday read, Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer. It's quite an awkward feeling actually; being surrounded by nuns while Miller liberally and unashamedly drops the c-bomb again and again. Yes, awkward indeed.

Arrival at Malpensa: all baggage received, customs a breeze. There was not one official to be seen at the customs desk. Not one! Should've brought that illegal drug haul after all...

Speaking of money makers, today I tried my hand at busking in Milan. After a quick pep talk from Michelle and Pete I made my way down to Via Dante to do the job.

I walked up and down, trying to find the perfetto busking position and that's when I met the best dressed older man in all of Milan. He stopped me, interested in my guitar case and my story. He was draped in beige linen and wore white brogues. Class. He spoke to me in Italian and I managed to decipher (somehow) that he liked Tom Waits, had a penpal in Perth and had just been to a piano recital. When we parted ways he laid his best wet lipped kiss on me. I didn't mind. He was handsome for an old fella.

I set up and sang for a hour or so and made about 26 euro. All in 10c pieces of course... I learned quickly that if I capo'd each song 2 frets up from where I normally play it, it put me into prime busking territory... a wailing cat, a far away siren, a frequency not easy to ignore.

The most memorable busking moment was when a young fellow sat on the chair directly in front of me... and then hurled. He hurled real good. Yep, this was an EPIC spew people. It went on for three full songs. Did I mention he was directly in front of me? Yep, an epic spew right there.

...I'm pretty sure it wasn't because if my singing.

...I'm pretty sure he was just summer drunk.

....pretty sure.

I am now spending some of my 10c pieces on sweet espresso and marscapone gelato. Yep, I like you Italy, I like you just fine.