From Sunny Empty Milano

Hiya,
My friend Nina turns out to have been right all along: August is not the best time to go to Milano and do anything. The temperature is not the problem, the problem has to do with the Italian holiday-habits. The city has been abandoned. The central square is filled with tourists, but as soon as you step of that square, the streets are completely empty. Apart from MacDonalds restaurants, hardly anything is opened. Even major shops such as Zara and H&M are closed. Public transport has nearly disappeared and it is now allowed to park everywhere in the city for free (obviously, this is normally very different). Even finding an internet cafe took me 3 hours!!! My plan, to look at ads in the university hallways is obviously impossible as the University is completely closed. I did meet an elderly couple there who had a place on offer. But the price was a bit too high (850€ excl.) to afford alone. After these few minutes here on the internet, I will try calling some of the phonenumbers I have found on walls etc in the city.
Please think of me!
ciao, OJ