Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 2026 Opening Ceremony!

What an experience. Brought tears when Andrea Bocelli sang, echoing throughout the stadium.

Even more so to be able to share it with friends Andrew and Narelle who decided to sign up as volunteers too when I did. Andrew received his confirmation middle of last year for the Ice Skating arena. Narelle just confirmed in the last week as a volunteer at the Milan Athletes village! 
The whole show was filled with tasteful style, uncluttered, made full use of lighting (many spectators were given a flashing wristband). From our seats we could see the Milan cathedral in the distance all lit up. 
Cheering the Aussies entering the stadium and supporting the other countries. Being a part of the crowd was moving.
Everything I wanted and more! 

And bonus... Young Gregorica had stayed back to wait for me at his family restaurant with his bags. Narelle had an Aussie flag pin which he gratefully received.
Now navigating public transport.
What a fabulous day(s)!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Verona - Venice 🇮🇹

Image
My Italian adventure continues.  Only 1hr 15 mins by train through vineyards with houses dotted on the surrounding hills and I arrived at Venice station on the mainland.  A short walk to my funky hostel to drop off my backpack and then back to the station to catch the train 2 stops to Venice (the Island part).  Travelling over the long bridge that connects the two brought back the emotion from September when I cycled across the bridge after riding Munich to Venice over the Alps.  Amazing to be back again so soon. Today I was drawn back to Venice to experience the annual Feb Carnivale.  What an experience to wander through the narrow streets with people walking around in costume with masks on, all happily posing for photos.  The sun came out for a while and it felt quite balmy at 10 degrees.  St Marks square has a huge stage set up as part of the Winter Olympics Arts program and so...
Read more

Mantova 🇮🇹 to Verona 🇮🇹

Image
Marvelous Monday! After a great sleep and a hotel breakfast that included apple strudel and the local speciality cake (😂), I said a reluctant goodbye to the town of Mantua and walked to the train station for my next destination. A short 45 min train ride and I was in Verona. I dropped my bag at my hotel and then met up with the guide for a free walking tour of Verona. The meet point was the old city gate, built in Roman times but dismantled by Napoleon but thoughtfully all the blocks were numbered and it was able to be relocated and rebuilt in the 1920’s. We wandered through the mediaeval cobbled streets lined with Palaces. Lots of history explained. We stopped at bakeries to marvel at the local delicacies.  We stopped to see the famous balcony from Romeo and Juliette and interestingly Shakespeare had never visited Italy! The tour finished at the Arena, the 3rd largest in Italy but the largest...
Read more

Milano - Mantua 🇮🇹🚄🚌

Image
This morning I said farewell to Andrew and Narelle who will continue their volunteering in Milan, and started my journey to the mountains via a few towns along the way.  I caught a suburban train to Milano Centrale station and then onto a regional train with a bus connection.  Centrale station is a stunning grand building and the view when you come up the escalators always takes my breath away. Mantova is a little secret, a treat for those who search for off the beaten track towns.  Today’s heavy fog only started to lift around 5pm and so created a moodiness to the mediaeval walled city.  I wandered through the cobbled streets wondering how many people had gone before me.   First stop to the Cathedral Basicalla of St Andrea the Apostle - built in 1472 and famous for allegedly having some dirt with Jesus blood dropped on it.  The painted ceilings and walls are beautiful and there is a dome which you can pay to climb....
Read more