Travelling is always such an exciting part of your trip, although flying from Australia does make it an extra long journey. For me it took 21 hours for flying, but from door to door it was 34 hours!! Flying with Singapore Airlines was pretty easy because the food and in-flight entertainment is always top quality and the service is always one of the best that I’ve seen on flights.
Not to mention, Changi Airport is also one of the most beautiful and exciting airports you can come across. Not only does it has very high end stores across the three terminals, they also have free interactions such as the Butterfly garden as well. If you ever do transit at Changi, you can also collect a $20 voucher which you can use on shopping within the airport!
I arrived at Milano Airpot (MXP) on a Sunday morning, which despite still being in the holiday period was still very busy. I managed to buy a SIM card quite cheaply at the airport with Vodafone.
There are a lot of options for transport when leaving the airport. There’s plenty of taxi’s around, and there is a train underneath the airport, and plenty of coaches outside as well that you can catch. I would recommend Flixbus, it only cost me €8 to go from the airport to Milano Centrale, which took just over an hour. They also have an app that you can download so it’s more pracitcal rather than paying cash up front, where I heard someone charge €2 extra.
From there you can go to the Milano Centrale Railway Station. The station was very big and super busy but at that time in the morning there’s a lot of people like you travelling in the same manner! You are able to buy a train ticket with the app TrenItalia or there are also ticket machines on the first floor of the Station. I caught the train to Genova Piazza Principe and it also took just over an hour, although we did leave a little later than planned and we did get stopped on the way due to some mechanical situation.
Tip #1: Always, ALWAYS be prepared for things to be late in Italy. Do not trust transport.
After settling in to the house it was pretty smooth from there. The daughter of my host family took me around the Piazza de Ferrari and we saw Palazzo di Bianco and Palazzo di Rosso, and had some gelato.
A lot of Genova is accessible by walking, and it’s especially easier than private transport because the roads are so narrow and probably really difficult to drive. You will also have the option of catching a bus as well. You’re able to organise your trips by AMTGenova, it’s a great app although I still haven’t found the English option, but I’m getting by. You can buy your tickets on the app or also at ticket booths scattered around the city. The thing I found the most hilarious was the fact that you actually have to pay to ride the venicular or even an elevator here! It counts as part of the transport because we’re living in such a steep area.
That’s all for now, ciao bella! ❤
Jenny is Away 