When I landed in Milano, I knew I was home. This city offers the very best of everything I am passionate about: fashion, architecture, cuisine, culture, and love. The Italians embrace life in a way that is so admirable. To be quite frank, Milano is the best city on earth. Getting here, however... Let me back track:
Funny story... really funny story...you will laugh. Trust me, it's a doozy. When I boarded my flight to Milano from Dulles airport, everything was perfect. It was on time and the weather couldn't have been nicer for a flight. The plane proceeded down the runway and came to an abrupt stop all at once. The pilot comes over the speaker saying, "Yeah... sorry about this guys... but we have a slight technical issue that we need to get resolved. A mechanic is on the way. We will remain here." I take a deep breath and think "I sure am glad this was realized before we left the ground." After twenty minutes of waiting on the runway, the pilot's voice returns, "There seems to be....a slight problem with the control board that cannot be fixed here. We are returning to the gate shortly." I then contributed to the collective SIGH of everyone on board the sold out aircraft. Whatever. After sitting idle for nearly twenty minutes on the plane parked at the gate, they finally declare that the aircraft is unable to fly given the mechanical issues. "Please exit the aircraft and standby for further details." "WHERE IS ASHTON KUTCHER BECAUSE I KNOW AM BEING PUNKED." Alas, Mr. Kutcher was not in Dulles airport. After accepting the fact that there was a major delay and the connecting flight in Frankfurt, Germany would be long gone by the time of arrival, all there was left to do was sit. Waiting. Come on, United Airlines... COME ON. Finally, at 8:45pm, they pulled a new and non-broken plane out of what seemed like thin air. At this point, I was prepared to swim to Milano so it really didn't matter what plane they provided. I was thrilled.
Plot twist: this ended up being the most enjoyable flight I have ever taken! Maybe it was sheer desperation to get to the Motherland (my name for Italia) but I think it was an incredible flight. The night sky was crystal clear and the city lights of DC, NYC, and Boston were flickering bright orange and yellow. The cities looked like millions of candles were lit below the plane, perfectly aligned in rows. Life felt like a photo straight from Tumblr as I watched the plane wing tilt up and down with The 1975 playing softly in my headphones. It was magical. After eight hours of folding my body into impressive origami-like shapes to try to get comfortable enough to sleep (unsuccessful), the plane finally landed in Frankfurt. By the grace of God, United Airlines had coordinated our boarding passes and baggage to accommodate a new connecting flight to Milano. It was seamless. The flight from Germany to Italy is stunning regardless of your destination city. One moment I looked out of the window to see patchwork-like fields of green farmland and the next I saw the snow-covered Alps. Moments like these make any travel dilemma completely dissipate.
The process of traveling can sometimes be intimidating to those who have never done it. I AM HERE TO HELP. After almost nineteen (!!!!!) hours of traveling, I still looked very put together. No one in Milano would ever suspect that just hours ago I was doing human-origami to try to get sleep on a delayed airplane. It's all about strategic planning. Makeup wise I wore very little foundation and no eyeshadow because it tends to crease and look oily. On this flight I wore red lipstick, it was a lifesaver for my appearance. I parted my hair down the middle and pulled it into a low bun. It was loose and romantic looking which hid the fact that I had been through the United Airlines wringer. I wore Express black snakeskin slip-ons, Calvin Klein performance leggings, Express Most Loved Cami, and my Warehouse cape purchased on keep.com. This outfit was equal parts chic and comfort. Choose outfits wisely before traveling as you never know how long you will be in those clothes. Put your best (well-dressed) foot forward and never let minor dilemmas discourage you from traveling. I would have waited for weeks on United Airlines to provide a new plane if that's what it took to get me to this most glorious city.
Don't forget you can see all of my day-to-day adventures on Instagram - @ashleycookpr
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