The Beginning

We biked today from Milan to Lodi, short ride of only about 20 miles. Milan was fantastic though we were ready to move on. Our first night there was definitely the most interesting. Will and I had set a place to meet as my flight got in about 6 hours before his. After meeting at the Cadorna train station, the evening began with a celebratory drink at a bar called the Red Mullet.

Unable to secure a hostel for the evening, our Sri Lankan bartender - Roshan - suggested we crash on the grounds of an enormous castle - Castello Sforzesco - just a few hundred yards from Cadorna station. We were able to stay out of site because I'm pretty sure we were in what was once the moat surrounding the castle. We easily found the castle and immediately realized why Roshan had made the suggestion. Before settling in for the night, however, we made our way over to the drum circle going down about 50 yards away. Fifteen Sri Lankan guys jamming out with a single drum, singing, clapping, etc. We joined and soon found common musical ground with the tunes of Bob Marley. It was a hoot.

Around midnight we headed to our makeshift campsite, blew up our insulation mats, got into our sleeping bags and slept under the stars. Just before falling asleep I recall thinking to myself, welcome to Europe Tour 09.