There is a knock on the door. I open it and find Rosa, the owner of Hotel Berna Milana standing there with a sheet of paper in her hands. "La lana", she says. She had found me the names and addresses of two knitting wool shops in Milan and had printed off a map for each and written directions for getting to each. What a lovely gesture and fantastic customer service! We spend this morning browsing the shops in Milan, including the wool shop. In the shopping area near the cathedral was a chocolateria with the most amazing chocolate shoes!! Morning tea was at Grom Gelateria, of course. Today's choice - raspberry and dark chocolate. To get to Bormio, we must catch a train from Milan to Tirano and then a connecting bus to Bormio. After being fined last week, we make sure we validate our tickets on the platform before boarding the train!! The train is incredibly crowded. There are at least ten carriages and we walk all the way to the front carriage before spotting a fourseater near the door. It's easier with luggage. It is a regional train so all second class and no booked seating but this doesn't matter. It is clean and comfy although not airconditioned. We open the window as it is very hot. We have fifteen minutes in Tirano between the train arriving and the bus departing. But our train is nearly twenty minutes late leaving! Oh well, this is Italy. I sit back and relax! It is very flat around Milan but as we approach Lecco (where the latest Elizabeth George novel is set!) the mountains are appearing. The train line follows the shore of Lake Lecco which becomes Lake Como and I now understand why the train is so crowded. Many people are getting off at stations along the lakes. They are very popular tourist spots. We leave the lake and head east. The mountains are getting taller and their peaks are covered with snow. My favourite scenery! We arrive in Tirano at 5:10 and our bus is due to leave at 5:10!!!! The bus leaves from just behind the station but we miss seeing the sign. I ask at 'information' and the lady directs me. We grab our luggage and run. If we miss the bus we have to wait two hours for the next one! The last passenger has just got on the bus as we hurl ourselves around the corner. Colin asks the bus driver for two tickets to Bormio but because this is the terminal we have to buy them from the ticket office. I ask the driver to wait while Colin gets them. I think the poor man is quietly cursing Trenitalia trains but he waits. The trip from Tirano to Bormio is a one-hour drive of snow covered mountain peaks and small villages nestling in the valleys. The roads in the villages are often only wide enough for the bus so cars coming towards us have to pull over and wait for us to pass. The houses in Bormio are typical Tyrolean rather than Italian. There are flower boxes everywhere - red geraniums, white alyssum, purple petunias. We are met at the bus station by the hotel's van to take us to the hotel (fabulous service). A nice dinner and a beer finish off the day!