So after getting back from Rome on Sunday I was back at Malpensa Airport to pick up Aaron on Monday afternoon. It was great to see him after being gone for twelve weeks. We're used to not seeing each other for long amounts of time, but never as long as it had been this time.
After getting him settled in and making sure he didn't sleep (I beat the jet-lag out of him) we went to the Duomo area. The Christmas tree was being put up and they had it lit up for ten minutes while we were there. I showed Aaron the outside of the Duomo, the Vittorio Emmanuele Galleria (he spun on the bull's testicles for good luck), the outside of La Scala, and the castle. We got dinner near my apartment and I took Aaron to our 100 Flavor (centogusti) shop in order to get him his very first gelato.
Tuesday morning I had to perform for my music class so Aaron actually came along to hear me. He picked a good day to come since it was probably our most interesting class all semester. Then he and I went back to the Duomo, saw the inside, had some panzerotti at Luini's (if you're ever in Milan you have to go there, it's cheap and delicious. Perfect for lunch), and then we climbed to the top of the Duomo. It was so clear outside that you could see the mountains to the north. It was really beautiful.
After that I had to have a horn lessons so Aaron occupied himself by going to La Scala's museum and walking around the castle area. He met me at the IES center and we headed to my apartment to relax a bit before we went and got some traditional Sicilian pizza at Spontini (another place to hit up if you're in Milan).
Wednesday Aaron explored the city some more while I went to Italian class and then we went to see a few churches and wandered around a bit, got lunch, and then I headed to my second class of the day. After that we were going to go to the Science and Technology Museum but the entrance is really confusing to find and by the time we had an idea of where it was the museum was only going to be open for another hour.
However, in the evening he and I both had our first experience at an Italian soccer (or calcio as they say) game. We went to see Inter Milan play FC Twente with Allie as well. Our seats were with all of the Inter Milan fans which was crazy. They are the most organized sports fans ever. They all knew every cheer and some of them were really complicated. Allie and I managed to understand a few but we were even lost. Aaron knows no Italian so I told him what I did understand which still wasn't a lot. Especially when it was a really long and complicated "song" instead of a shorter chant. When Inter scored the one goal of the game everybody went crazy. It was so much fun. And it was really exciting that Inter won!
I don't have classes on Thursdays so Aaron and I decided to take a day trip. I knew Torino was close and I'd heard it was a nice city. It's the third largest in Italy and was the host of the 2006 Winter Olympics (in English it's often referred to as Turin). We took about a two hour train to get there, walked around a lot. We saw the two main piazzas, a student protest in one of them (we steered away from it and watched from a distance. They definitely egged a government building. From what I figured out they were protesting monetary cuts from the public university), a palace or two, Torino's Duomo (which has this shroud that many believe was the shroud on Jesus's face in the tomb and it has an imprint of his face on it), and a few parks. We had a really good lunch and continued to walk around more.
We ended up going to the Cinema Museum but not to see the museum, but to go up in the tower. They have this spire on the building that you can ride and elevator up the museum and up onto the top of it. You can see the mountains all around you and the city of Torino is laid out in front of you. It's really beautiful so we spent a lot of time up there. After that we headed to Torino's Egyptian Museum. Torino actually has the third largest Egyptian collection in the world after Cairo and London. It's also in a museum completely dedicated to Egypt, not among other things as in London apparently. There was a nice student discount so we went and walked around. It was really interesting to see all of this Egypt stuff, even if we were in Italy.
After the Egyptian museum we headed back to the train station (after stopping for gelato of course) and back to Milan. Now, as Thursday was Thanksgiving we decided to go have a really big Italian dinner. We went to another restaurant in my neighborhood and had the primi piatti (pasta) and the secondi piatti (meat usually) as well as dessert. The whole dinner took over two hours to eat and we were stuffed after it. We had originally thought to get two desserts to share and ended up only having one. After that we went and Skyped with my family which was really great. Everybody who was at my house just kept filing past the computer and talking to me. All my cousins from my mom's family got on at the same time (including Sammy the dog) and I talked to my Grandpa and everybody else. I wish everybody could have been there but it was fantastic to talk to those who were. As much as I'm going to miss Milan I'm really looking forward to going home for Christmas Eve and Christmas and getting to see everybody.
So Friday I had three hour Italian. I had booked Aaron a ticket to see Da Vinci's The Last Supper so he went to that first and loved it, as does everybody who sees it. Then he walked around and managed to find himself a leather jacket which was his one purchase for himself. He met me at IES and we grabbed some lunch to go for our train we had to catch to Venezia (or Venice for those of you who don't know Italian names of towns).
When we got to Venice it was pouring rain and freezing. We had to find where we were staying and then we decided to venture back out since it was only 5:30 and we had a lot of time. We took the vaporetto to San Marco to see the outside and ended up wandering around. We popped into a lot of Murano glass shops (definitely one of my favorite things in Venice) and ended up walking all the way to the Rialto Bridge. We found some dinner near the Rialto before heading back for the night.
Luckily we woke up Saturday to blue skies and sun. We went back to San Marco again and went inside. We also went upstairs to go on the terrace that overlooks Piazza San Marco and then to the museum up there which was really interesting. I didn't even know there was that much of a museum up there and I enjoyed it a lot.
We then tried to go see the church were Vivaldi was baptized (which I had stumbled across the last time I was in Venice) but they were just closing up. So we got some lunch and headed to Isola San Giorgio with the intention of going up the bell tower to view Venice from above. However, there's this thing where most churches close for a few hours in the afternoon and we were right in that time. But we got some good views of Venice from the island before heading back to the main island. We then tried to go the Santa Maria Della Salute which was also closed. So...we wandered. And wandering in Venice is pretty fun. Eventually you end up back at the Grand Canal. We ended up back there at the Accademia bridge and then went back up towards the Rialto. We spent the rest of our day just wandering, seeing the picturesque-ness of Venice, and looking in the windows of every Murano glass shop we saw (if you've never seen Murano glass you should Google it. It's gorgeous).
We had a very early dinner at a pizzeria and then we were on the last train back from Venice to Milan. When we got back we had to pack everything up. I bought a suitcase here for Aaron to take back with him so we had to fit everything in it. Then this morning we got up early and I took Aaron back to the airport and he headed off to Atlanta and then he'll head to Detroit.
It was fantastic to Aaron here in general and really nice to have somebody to spend Thanksgiving with. Next visitors: my parents! Just two and a half weeks!
Showing posts with label gelato. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gelato. Show all posts
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Roma!
So we had another long weekend and my friend Allie and I jetted off to Rome (yes, we took a plane...it is cheaper and faster than a train actually).
We got in Thursday evening, had some dinner at a cute restaurant near the Colosseum (we were about 10 minutes from there in our hostel) and got to see the Colosseum all lit up at night. It's beautiful at night and I loved getting to see that.
We got up on Friday and we hit practically everything. We saw the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine during the day. Then we spent forever trying to find the entrance to the Roman Forum and walked around three quarters of it (it's huge) before figuring out that the Roman Forum is no longer free, it's a combined ticket for the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. We were saving our pennies for the Vatican but we got some nice views of the Forum as we walked around. We saw a bunch more ruins, Capitoline Hill, and the Vittorio Emanuelle Monument and then headed to the Pantheon which is beautiful and a must see in Rome.
After the Pantheon we decided to have a quick pick-me-up and we headed to Giolitti...best gelato in Italy. I went there last time I was in Rome nine years ago and my dad and cousin Anna insisted I go back. It was still as good as I remembered.
Next we hit the Piazza Navona for some people watching before getting lunch. After lunch we walked over to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. We climbed the steps and watched the sun set over Rome from the top. We then met up with two other friends from our program that happened to be also be in Rome (one was Allie's roommate). We went for a cappuccino at the oldest cafe in Rome and then Allie and I headed back to the hostel...exhausted from the large amounts of walking we did (Milan's public transportation is way better than Rome's).
Saturday morning we woke up super early, had breakfast, and took the metro out to the Vatican. We met up again with our friends and went through the Vatican museum. We only had to wait an hour in line but it was pouring rain so that wasn't fun. We were very happy to find that there's a really good student discount for the Vatican museums. Last time I was there I only remember seeing the Sistine Chapel but we saw pretty much the whole museum. Besides the Sistine Chapel I enjoyed seeing the Raphel rooms and his famous frescos including my friend Allie's favorite "School of Athens."
We ate lunch when we finally finished with the museum and then head to St. Peter's. The sun came out and we had a great time seeing the church, Michelangelo's Pieta, and a lot of people in interesting hats (not all clergy...although we saw a cardinal in the Vatican museum and three Bishops in St. Peter's Square.
We walked over to Castel Sant'Angelo and saw the outside, plus a nearby palace before taking our friends to...you guessed it...Giolitti! We had some wonderful gelato before heading back to our hostel. We wandered a bit and ended up finding the Roman Theatre ruins which were cool to see, especially since it was night and they were all lit up.
Sunday we slept in and relaxed after our two really big days. We hit up the Campo dei Fiori to see some markets and look around. We also headed back to the Piazza Navona for people watching before getting our final gelato at Giolitti. We headed back to the hostel, made it through the thunderstorm that had hit Rome, and headed back to the airport (luckily the storm didn't last long and our plane was only delayed slightly).
It was a wonderful trip to see the Eternal City and I took a lot of pictures that will be up soon, but first I have to head to pick up Aaron at the Milan airport! He'll be here for a week and we'll see Milan, Torino, and Venice! I can't wait.
We got in Thursday evening, had some dinner at a cute restaurant near the Colosseum (we were about 10 minutes from there in our hostel) and got to see the Colosseum all lit up at night. It's beautiful at night and I loved getting to see that.
We got up on Friday and we hit practically everything. We saw the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine during the day. Then we spent forever trying to find the entrance to the Roman Forum and walked around three quarters of it (it's huge) before figuring out that the Roman Forum is no longer free, it's a combined ticket for the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. We were saving our pennies for the Vatican but we got some nice views of the Forum as we walked around. We saw a bunch more ruins, Capitoline Hill, and the Vittorio Emanuelle Monument and then headed to the Pantheon which is beautiful and a must see in Rome.
After the Pantheon we decided to have a quick pick-me-up and we headed to Giolitti...best gelato in Italy. I went there last time I was in Rome nine years ago and my dad and cousin Anna insisted I go back. It was still as good as I remembered.
Next we hit the Piazza Navona for some people watching before getting lunch. After lunch we walked over to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. We climbed the steps and watched the sun set over Rome from the top. We then met up with two other friends from our program that happened to be also be in Rome (one was Allie's roommate). We went for a cappuccino at the oldest cafe in Rome and then Allie and I headed back to the hostel...exhausted from the large amounts of walking we did (Milan's public transportation is way better than Rome's).
Saturday morning we woke up super early, had breakfast, and took the metro out to the Vatican. We met up again with our friends and went through the Vatican museum. We only had to wait an hour in line but it was pouring rain so that wasn't fun. We were very happy to find that there's a really good student discount for the Vatican museums. Last time I was there I only remember seeing the Sistine Chapel but we saw pretty much the whole museum. Besides the Sistine Chapel I enjoyed seeing the Raphel rooms and his famous frescos including my friend Allie's favorite "School of Athens."
We ate lunch when we finally finished with the museum and then head to St. Peter's. The sun came out and we had a great time seeing the church, Michelangelo's Pieta, and a lot of people in interesting hats (not all clergy...although we saw a cardinal in the Vatican museum and three Bishops in St. Peter's Square.
We walked over to Castel Sant'Angelo and saw the outside, plus a nearby palace before taking our friends to...you guessed it...Giolitti! We had some wonderful gelato before heading back to our hostel. We wandered a bit and ended up finding the Roman Theatre ruins which were cool to see, especially since it was night and they were all lit up.
Sunday we slept in and relaxed after our two really big days. We hit up the Campo dei Fiori to see some markets and look around. We also headed back to the Piazza Navona for people watching before getting our final gelato at Giolitti. We headed back to the hostel, made it through the thunderstorm that had hit Rome, and headed back to the airport (luckily the storm didn't last long and our plane was only delayed slightly).
It was a wonderful trip to see the Eternal City and I took a lot of pictures that will be up soon, but first I have to head to pick up Aaron at the Milan airport! He'll be here for a week and we'll see Milan, Torino, and Venice! I can't wait.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Bella Toscana
So I stole the title from the sequel to Under the Tuscan Sun except I used correct Italian grammar (the title of the sequel is Bella Tuscany and is definitely worth a read).
This trip was an IES sponsored trip which was awesome because all I bought all weekend was lunch. Yay! Also, it was led by one of my most favorite people at IES, Walter! Yay! We had classes off on Thursday as an end of midterms treat so we left Thursday morning and came back Saturday night.
THURSDAY
We started with a four hour bus ride. Joy. However, we arrived in Siena and had a guided tour. This time our guide spoke pretty good English so it didn't take as long to have the translations. He was also a lot less long winded than the guide we had in Aosta. We were given breaks a few times as well which was nice. We saw the Piazza del Campo, the political center of Siena where the hold the big horse race Siena has every year for which province is more adored by the Virgin Mary. We took a break here and ate some very good gelato while sitting in the square.
We also saw the church with St. Catherine's head (yes, you can really see the head. I believe my cousin Anna was really intrigued by this when she went there) which is San Domenico and the outside of the Duomo. We then climbed up this wall that was supposed to be the facade for a new church when Siena decided to try and expand their Duomo into the largest cathedral in the world (beating St. Peter's in Rome). However, the plague hit and nothing was finished. However, now you can climb it (for a price which IES covered for us, yay!) and see some beautiful views of Siena and the Tuscan countryside that surrounds it.
Siena is a small town so we then headed and checked into the hotel and relaxed until dinner.
FRIDAY
We woke up, had some breakfast, and headed to Montalcino where there's a castle/fortress we went to. We went up on the walls of the fortress and then tasted wine in the enoteca (wine club) in the castle. This wasn't covered by IES but there was a deal that we got to try a brunello that Montalcino is known for and it was only one euro. We then had time to explore the town of Montalcino and get some lunch. We basically saw some churches (the Duomo was closed for lunch when we got there but we hung out in the little park in front of it and took pictures of the beautiful fall colors).
After Montalcino we headed to a monastery nearby and got to hear the monks there doing their Gregorian chant. We actually then heard from a monk there who is originally from LA but just moved out to the monastery.
We left Montalcino and went to Pienza which is a small Renaissance town that was designed by Piccolomini! (a reference to a Blue Lake song for those that don't know). Turns out Piccolomini became Pope Pius II. We got to see a beautiful Tuscan sunset (so many Under the Tuscan Sun references...) and wander the town before going back to our hotel in Siena and having dinner.
SATURDAY
We packed the bus up (we jokingly said "upload" because Walter had misspoke and said "download" the bus instead of unload earlier on the trip) and went to Arezzo for the day. We went into San Francesco and saw these very famous frescos that I enjoyed. Other than that we just wandered the town. Saw the Duomo which had also just closed for lunch, had lunch with the RAs and Walter because we ran into them, and then got on a bus back to Milan.
It was a wonderful trip and Tuscany was so beautiful. I've come back to gray, cloudy Milan (we're supposed to have rain for four days in a row this week) and back to classes. I will be spending next weekend in Milan but am very excited because my host sister from St. Gallen, Switzerland during my 2007 European tour with the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp International Southern Winds is coming with her other sister to visit me. Yay!
This trip was an IES sponsored trip which was awesome because all I bought all weekend was lunch. Yay! Also, it was led by one of my most favorite people at IES, Walter! Yay! We had classes off on Thursday as an end of midterms treat so we left Thursday morning and came back Saturday night.
THURSDAY
We started with a four hour bus ride. Joy. However, we arrived in Siena and had a guided tour. This time our guide spoke pretty good English so it didn't take as long to have the translations. He was also a lot less long winded than the guide we had in Aosta. We were given breaks a few times as well which was nice. We saw the Piazza del Campo, the political center of Siena where the hold the big horse race Siena has every year for which province is more adored by the Virgin Mary. We took a break here and ate some very good gelato while sitting in the square.
We also saw the church with St. Catherine's head (yes, you can really see the head. I believe my cousin Anna was really intrigued by this when she went there) which is San Domenico and the outside of the Duomo. We then climbed up this wall that was supposed to be the facade for a new church when Siena decided to try and expand their Duomo into the largest cathedral in the world (beating St. Peter's in Rome). However, the plague hit and nothing was finished. However, now you can climb it (for a price which IES covered for us, yay!) and see some beautiful views of Siena and the Tuscan countryside that surrounds it.
Siena is a small town so we then headed and checked into the hotel and relaxed until dinner.
FRIDAY
We woke up, had some breakfast, and headed to Montalcino where there's a castle/fortress we went to. We went up on the walls of the fortress and then tasted wine in the enoteca (wine club) in the castle. This wasn't covered by IES but there was a deal that we got to try a brunello that Montalcino is known for and it was only one euro. We then had time to explore the town of Montalcino and get some lunch. We basically saw some churches (the Duomo was closed for lunch when we got there but we hung out in the little park in front of it and took pictures of the beautiful fall colors).
After Montalcino we headed to a monastery nearby and got to hear the monks there doing their Gregorian chant. We actually then heard from a monk there who is originally from LA but just moved out to the monastery.
We left Montalcino and went to Pienza which is a small Renaissance town that was designed by Piccolomini! (a reference to a Blue Lake song for those that don't know). Turns out Piccolomini became Pope Pius II. We got to see a beautiful Tuscan sunset (so many Under the Tuscan Sun references...) and wander the town before going back to our hotel in Siena and having dinner.
SATURDAY
We packed the bus up (we jokingly said "upload" because Walter had misspoke and said "download" the bus instead of unload earlier on the trip) and went to Arezzo for the day. We went into San Francesco and saw these very famous frescos that I enjoyed. Other than that we just wandered the town. Saw the Duomo which had also just closed for lunch, had lunch with the RAs and Walter because we ran into them, and then got on a bus back to Milan.
It was a wonderful trip and Tuscany was so beautiful. I've come back to gray, cloudy Milan (we're supposed to have rain for four days in a row this week) and back to classes. I will be spending next weekend in Milan but am very excited because my host sister from St. Gallen, Switzerland during my 2007 European tour with the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp International Southern Winds is coming with her other sister to visit me. Yay!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Language Partner and Thursday Adventure #2
Wednesday I met for the first time with my Italian Language Partner. The language partner is an optional IES program where you're paired with an Italian student and speak in both English and Italian to have practice for both students. I finally decided a few weeks ago that I felt prepared enough to speak in Italian so I signed up. My partner is Francesco and he's a fifth year (last year for Italian universities; you do 3 years of general studies and 2 years of specialized studies) law student. We met up at the IES center for the first one as most do and also got some lunch when we were done. Luckily he speaks fantastic English (I'm his third language partner and he also studied in Washington state). He's very nice and I'm excited to meet again.
On Thursday I finally had another "Thursday Adventure" after almost a month. I started by heading to the Arena in Parco Sempione (near the castle) which I couldn't get into but I saw the outside. Then I headed to the Aquarium next door which is tiny. However, it was free and pleasant to walk around. They have a nice terrace with pretty views. It is definitely becoming fall here. Milan isn't very green. There's not many trees until you find a full-blown park so it's hard to tell the seasons sometimes. Parco Sempione was on fire though. Lots of yellows and reds and oranges on the leaves. After leaving the aquarium I walked around the front of the castle just because I never had and there's a pretty fountain there. I also walked to the Triennial Design Museum but didn't feel like paying to see an exhibit.
I got lunch at a place near IES and was going to see Sant'Ambrogio church. Saint Ambrose (Sant'Ambrogio) is the patron saint of Milan and a big deal. The church is the oldest in Milan I believe and is supposed to be gorgeous. However, it was closed for two hours and I was right at the beginning of when it's closed. Guess I'll have to make it back there now that I know the times it's open.
I went over by the Duomo to La Scala and went into the museum. It was really nice. Lots of old instruments and paintings and busts of famous composers and singers. You can also walk out into the nice boxes and see the lobby area. Sadly I could not take pictures inside but I enjoyed wandering around. I also went to see Peck a very famous grocery store near the Duomo. It was really nice but I was slightly overwhelmed. I will have to make a trip back with my parents when they're here since they are the ones who told me to see it.
I took the metro back towards my apartment but stopped to see the first park in Milan the Giardini Publici. Again, fall was in full bloom and it was very pretty to walk around. Also, while looking for the park I finally stumbled across my parent's favorite gelato place in Milan: Bianco Latte. And they were right. It might be the best gelato I've had so far this trip (I don't know if it beats Vivoli's in Florence or Giolitti's in Rome from my last trip to Italy). The dark chocolate had chunks of super dark chocolate in it and there was also an orange chocolate. So good! I balanced out the chocolate with some biancolatte (since that was the name of the store).
I have just found out that Friday is a strike day in Milan for public transport. Luckily it seems that our train to go to the Umbria region will be running and we'll just have to take a cab to Centrale to get there.
On Thursday I finally had another "Thursday Adventure" after almost a month. I started by heading to the Arena in Parco Sempione (near the castle) which I couldn't get into but I saw the outside. Then I headed to the Aquarium next door which is tiny. However, it was free and pleasant to walk around. They have a nice terrace with pretty views. It is definitely becoming fall here. Milan isn't very green. There's not many trees until you find a full-blown park so it's hard to tell the seasons sometimes. Parco Sempione was on fire though. Lots of yellows and reds and oranges on the leaves. After leaving the aquarium I walked around the front of the castle just because I never had and there's a pretty fountain there. I also walked to the Triennial Design Museum but didn't feel like paying to see an exhibit.
I got lunch at a place near IES and was going to see Sant'Ambrogio church. Saint Ambrose (Sant'Ambrogio) is the patron saint of Milan and a big deal. The church is the oldest in Milan I believe and is supposed to be gorgeous. However, it was closed for two hours and I was right at the beginning of when it's closed. Guess I'll have to make it back there now that I know the times it's open.
I went over by the Duomo to La Scala and went into the museum. It was really nice. Lots of old instruments and paintings and busts of famous composers and singers. You can also walk out into the nice boxes and see the lobby area. Sadly I could not take pictures inside but I enjoyed wandering around. I also went to see Peck a very famous grocery store near the Duomo. It was really nice but I was slightly overwhelmed. I will have to make a trip back with my parents when they're here since they are the ones who told me to see it.
I took the metro back towards my apartment but stopped to see the first park in Milan the Giardini Publici. Again, fall was in full bloom and it was very pretty to walk around. Also, while looking for the park I finally stumbled across my parent's favorite gelato place in Milan: Bianco Latte. And they were right. It might be the best gelato I've had so far this trip (I don't know if it beats Vivoli's in Florence or Giolitti's in Rome from my last trip to Italy). The dark chocolate had chunks of super dark chocolate in it and there was also an orange chocolate. So good! I balanced out the chocolate with some biancolatte (since that was the name of the store).
I have just found out that Friday is a strike day in Milan for public transport. Luckily it seems that our train to go to the Umbria region will be running and we'll just have to take a cab to Centrale to get there.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Thursday Adventure #1, Wine Tasting, and Lago di Como
Whew, I've had a busy past few days.
THURSDAY:
So, if you've read my earlier post you know that I am extremely fortunate not to have classes on Thursdays. Therefore I have entitled it my "Thursday Adventures" and I get to go around the city to various sights.
I started off my Thursday this past week with the Orto Botanico di Brera...the Botanical Gardens at the Brera. These are free and very pretty. It's small but intimate feeling and I had a great time wandering around and taking pictures of pretty flowers and plants. However, it was an adventure just to find the gardens as they are not located next to the Brera is it appears, but behind it. I also discovered that the Astrological Museum at the Brera is free and may have to visit that sometime.
After the garden I headed to Maria della Grazie. I was trying to get my Last Supper tickets there and not deal with the online hassle. I got some nice pictures of the outside and found out they only sell tickets a week in advance at the box office and that they were all booked up. I got the website address and headed off. Later I checked it out and they said it was totally booked until the end of December (which is how far they're selling tickets in advance). I ended up finding a third party vendor and paid a little more for my visit but I do have a knowledgeable English speaking guide which I guess is nice. I will be visiting The Last Supper on November 2nd.
I met a friend at IES quick who needed something before heading to the Archeological Museum at the Castello Sforzesco. I found out that there are about six museums in the castle and that it's only 1,50 euro to see them all if you're a student. I thought this was fantastic and went through the Archeological Museum (which is gorgeous, there's a room painted by Leonardo Da Vinci and a Michelangelo sculpture...luckily I was able to take pictures so everybody can see them), a bit of the furnishing museums (I skipped modern times kinda on accident), some of the art museum, quickly made my way through the ceramics and such, and spent some time in the musical instrument museum. Apparently I missed the Egyptian museum which I would very much like to see. But for 1,50 I'll totally go back another time.
I went back to my apartment for a bit before I headed to the Verdi Orchestra concert. IES has three tickets for every concert that we get for free, we just have to sign up. There's one ticket a student then but if nobody signs up students that have gone before can go again. This was the second one of the season and I saw Schumann no. 4 and Mahler no. 4 both of which were beautifully done. The conductor was actually a woman which I thought was amazing and she did the entire Schumann without a score. Wow!
FRIDAY
The deal with our Friday classes is that every once and awhile we have them off (it's actually about every other week). As a result the weeks we do have Friday class (we only have Italian) the class is three hours long from 9-12. However, this week Italian class was pretty fantastic. Instead of meeting at IES and having class we met and went to a wine club (an enoteco I believe they're called). We learned about wine (half in Italian, half in English), had to answer some questions, and got to taste two different wines. A prosecco and a Chianti. It was odd drinking wine at about 10am but both were good. I enjoyed them and it was interesting to learn about wine from somebody who has been in the wine business his whole life (it's a family owned club).
SATURDAY
So, in lieu of spending lots of money on a weekend trip this week I decided a day trip would be nicer. I headed up to Lake Como (Lago di Como) in the morning. I was supposed to make the trip with a friend but he never showed and his cellphone fails so I ended up going alone (don't worry, I was safe and on a train back by dark).
I started off in the actual town of Como. I wandered for a bit, not sure where I was going before I found a stand that sold a map which helped a lot. I went to the Duomo which is quite beautiful and then headed up the side of the hill (Lake Como is surrounded by hills) on a funicolare. A funicolare is like a train that goes up the hill but it's actually built on the angle of the hill. It was pretty interesting. I got some nice views of Como and the lake from above, although it was a bit overcast and not as pretty as I bet it would be on a clear day.
After heading down I made for lunch. I tried to go to this osteria my parents recommended but it was packed. Apparently it is good. I ended up at a smaller cafe instead and had gnocci al pesto which was quite good. I've never really dined by myself in public but it was nice. I sat outside and people watched. Plus I got all of the bread to myself. After lunch I got on a boat and headed to Bellagio.
Bellagio I discovered was much hillier than Como which was rather flat. I tried to go to a villa that my map recommended (it had little tourist hints on it) but the map failed and it's apparently a private residence. Oh well, I wandered the town for a bit, got some gelato, before I got on another boat (this one smaller and open aired which as great) and headed to Varenna which is also on the lake.
I think I liked Varenna the best. From the ferry stop I walked this cute little path along the coast to the main part of town which I liked a lot. I ended up visiting the Villa Monestero which has really pretty gardens and a museum with the rooms displayed as they would have been when the villa was built. It was very interesting.
I went to a very early dinner, again attempting to go somewhere my parents had recommended but it was out of my price range and not really open yet so I went to a bar right on the water and had an asparagus pizza (which was good and rather interesting) while I watched the water and the cute little dog dressed in a shirt to advertise the bar. Not wanting to stay out alone after dark I headed to the Varenna train station which has trains into Milano Centrale. However, I got a little mixed up a boarded the wrong train. Luckily it was going the right direction but after we sat at one stop for awhile it backtracked. Whoops! I had to get off and wait for about forty minutes for the next train to arrive at that train station (in Lecco) to take me back to Milan.
I had a good time and now know that I can travel by myself (although I wouldn't want to do more than a day trip that way).
I'm now dedicating my Sunday to doing some work for class, some laundry, and practicing. Oh, and uploading my pictures. Look for those soon!
THURSDAY:
So, if you've read my earlier post you know that I am extremely fortunate not to have classes on Thursdays. Therefore I have entitled it my "Thursday Adventures" and I get to go around the city to various sights.
I started off my Thursday this past week with the Orto Botanico di Brera...the Botanical Gardens at the Brera. These are free and very pretty. It's small but intimate feeling and I had a great time wandering around and taking pictures of pretty flowers and plants. However, it was an adventure just to find the gardens as they are not located next to the Brera is it appears, but behind it. I also discovered that the Astrological Museum at the Brera is free and may have to visit that sometime.
After the garden I headed to Maria della Grazie. I was trying to get my Last Supper tickets there and not deal with the online hassle. I got some nice pictures of the outside and found out they only sell tickets a week in advance at the box office and that they were all booked up. I got the website address and headed off. Later I checked it out and they said it was totally booked until the end of December (which is how far they're selling tickets in advance). I ended up finding a third party vendor and paid a little more for my visit but I do have a knowledgeable English speaking guide which I guess is nice. I will be visiting The Last Supper on November 2nd.
I met a friend at IES quick who needed something before heading to the Archeological Museum at the Castello Sforzesco. I found out that there are about six museums in the castle and that it's only 1,50 euro to see them all if you're a student. I thought this was fantastic and went through the Archeological Museum (which is gorgeous, there's a room painted by Leonardo Da Vinci and a Michelangelo sculpture...luckily I was able to take pictures so everybody can see them), a bit of the furnishing museums (I skipped modern times kinda on accident), some of the art museum, quickly made my way through the ceramics and such, and spent some time in the musical instrument museum. Apparently I missed the Egyptian museum which I would very much like to see. But for 1,50 I'll totally go back another time.
I went back to my apartment for a bit before I headed to the Verdi Orchestra concert. IES has three tickets for every concert that we get for free, we just have to sign up. There's one ticket a student then but if nobody signs up students that have gone before can go again. This was the second one of the season and I saw Schumann no. 4 and Mahler no. 4 both of which were beautifully done. The conductor was actually a woman which I thought was amazing and she did the entire Schumann without a score. Wow!
FRIDAY
The deal with our Friday classes is that every once and awhile we have them off (it's actually about every other week). As a result the weeks we do have Friday class (we only have Italian) the class is three hours long from 9-12. However, this week Italian class was pretty fantastic. Instead of meeting at IES and having class we met and went to a wine club (an enoteco I believe they're called). We learned about wine (half in Italian, half in English), had to answer some questions, and got to taste two different wines. A prosecco and a Chianti. It was odd drinking wine at about 10am but both were good. I enjoyed them and it was interesting to learn about wine from somebody who has been in the wine business his whole life (it's a family owned club).
SATURDAY
So, in lieu of spending lots of money on a weekend trip this week I decided a day trip would be nicer. I headed up to Lake Como (Lago di Como) in the morning. I was supposed to make the trip with a friend but he never showed and his cellphone fails so I ended up going alone (don't worry, I was safe and on a train back by dark).
I started off in the actual town of Como. I wandered for a bit, not sure where I was going before I found a stand that sold a map which helped a lot. I went to the Duomo which is quite beautiful and then headed up the side of the hill (Lake Como is surrounded by hills) on a funicolare. A funicolare is like a train that goes up the hill but it's actually built on the angle of the hill. It was pretty interesting. I got some nice views of Como and the lake from above, although it was a bit overcast and not as pretty as I bet it would be on a clear day.
After heading down I made for lunch. I tried to go to this osteria my parents recommended but it was packed. Apparently it is good. I ended up at a smaller cafe instead and had gnocci al pesto which was quite good. I've never really dined by myself in public but it was nice. I sat outside and people watched. Plus I got all of the bread to myself. After lunch I got on a boat and headed to Bellagio.
Bellagio I discovered was much hillier than Como which was rather flat. I tried to go to a villa that my map recommended (it had little tourist hints on it) but the map failed and it's apparently a private residence. Oh well, I wandered the town for a bit, got some gelato, before I got on another boat (this one smaller and open aired which as great) and headed to Varenna which is also on the lake.
I think I liked Varenna the best. From the ferry stop I walked this cute little path along the coast to the main part of town which I liked a lot. I ended up visiting the Villa Monestero which has really pretty gardens and a museum with the rooms displayed as they would have been when the villa was built. It was very interesting.
I went to a very early dinner, again attempting to go somewhere my parents had recommended but it was out of my price range and not really open yet so I went to a bar right on the water and had an asparagus pizza (which was good and rather interesting) while I watched the water and the cute little dog dressed in a shirt to advertise the bar. Not wanting to stay out alone after dark I headed to the Varenna train station which has trains into Milano Centrale. However, I got a little mixed up a boarded the wrong train. Luckily it was going the right direction but after we sat at one stop for awhile it backtracked. Whoops! I had to get off and wait for about forty minutes for the next train to arrive at that train station (in Lecco) to take me back to Milan.
I had a good time and now know that I can travel by myself (although I wouldn't want to do more than a day trip that way).
I'm now dedicating my Sunday to doing some work for class, some laundry, and practicing. Oh, and uploading my pictures. Look for those soon!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Bello Valle d'Aosta
I just spent the weekend up in the Italian alps and it was beautiful.
We had no classes on Friday as this trip was sponsored by our group, IES, and we left Friday morning from Milan by bus and headed north. It took probably about two hours before we were in the region of the Valle d'Aosta and went to Forte di Bard, an old military base that is up and hill. We took this round, glass elevators up three times to get to the top and explore. There were some beautiful views and the history of the fort is very interesting. It was rather old but Napoleon destroyed it when he captured the Aosta region and it was rebuilt later by those who felt it was important to have. It was converted into a museum in the 1900s.
We went into the museum which had these very odd videos at the beginning but after there were many interesting things about the mountains. However, everything was in Italian and French, no English. I was able to pick out a few things and enjoyed the mock-ups of different alp dwellings throughout history. Sadly I could not take photos in the museum.
After that we got back on the bus and headed to lunch. We were treated to a common dish of the area: venison with polenta. It was very yummy and I enjoyed it a lot. There were all these little, old Italian ladies running around serving us and they especially liked the boy at the end of our table who kept eating. It was very cute.
We got to the village of Aosta and wandered around. Sadly it started pouring rain. I lost my umbrella already in Milan so I decided then was a good time to buy a new one. Apparently I got my four euros worth a few minutes after purchasing when my umbrella caught a huge gust of wind and broke. However, we found a very cute little church on accident and saw some other nice sights.
Saturday morning was the Aosta guided tour. All of our tours on IES trips are done in Italian with translation into English after. It made it very interesting to me because I could try and pick out words and phrases that I did understand. However, it also made the tours rather long.
My favorite part of the Aosta tour was the Roman Theatre. Aosta was controlled by the Romans for a very long time and set up like a Roman town. They had an amphitheater and a theatre and a forum. Everything a good Roman town needs. The theatre is still there a lot, although the amphitheater is so gone that we didn't even go to see it. One place I was sad we did not get to was the Cathedral but it wasn't for lack of trying. We went and it turns out that there was a wedding going on that day. However, under the cathedral you can see the hidden passageways that they had in Roman towns. They were basically underground roads people would walk versus walking outside and also held meetings and functions. It was super interesting to see.
After the tour we had some lunch and then my roommate for the trip, Allie, and I observed siesta from 2-4 where everything closes and people relax. In Milan not everything closes as it is a big city, but in Aosta (which is much smaller and has a lot more families) pretty much everything was closed down.
Following siesta we headed to Aosta's archeological museum which was free for the day. We saw a special exhibit on what I think was Renaissance symbolism that was inspired by Roman artifacts (everything was again in Italian and French). Then we headed to look at the normal exhibits and were directed by a guy who obviously worked there to check out the basement. Under the building are Roman ruins that you can see. It was some sort of building and it was super interesting. Allie and I spent a good amount of time wandering around down there. We enjoyed the other parts of the exhibits, mainly artifacts from life in Aosta, before heading out. Allie wasn't feeling well and dinner was approaching so we got some gelato and people watched. There are way more families and babies and larger dogs in Aosta than in Milan. It was really interesting how many of them knew each other and we loved the little Italian ladies gathering on the street for what I assume was gossip.
Sunday was probably the best day of the whole trip. We headed out of Aosta about 9 and we went to Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc in French) which is, I'm pretty sure, the tallest mountain in the Alps. We took three gondolas (which is also a word for a type of ski lift, not just a boat) to get to the top and I took so many pictures. It was gorgeous up there. It was below 0 in Celsius which is still pretty cold for Fahrenheit. There was a small crystal museum at the top and you could also cross the border right into France. It was pretty fun.
Afterward we only took two gondolas down and hiked the last portion. It took a little over an hour, had breathtaking views, and was rather steep. I had a great time and I think that hiking Cinque Terre last weekend definitely put me in shape for this hike. I have not felt any pain yet but we'll see how that goes in the near future.
Once everybody had made it to the bottom (some people did not hike and just took all three gondolas back down) we went to a small town nearby for lunch and then headed back. We made a quick stop at a castle that is in the area which was not open but I got some lovely pictures of the outside, before we made it back to Milan.
It was great to get into the fresh mountain air and be away from the city before starting all of our classes on Monday!
We had no classes on Friday as this trip was sponsored by our group, IES, and we left Friday morning from Milan by bus and headed north. It took probably about two hours before we were in the region of the Valle d'Aosta and went to Forte di Bard, an old military base that is up and hill. We took this round, glass elevators up three times to get to the top and explore. There were some beautiful views and the history of the fort is very interesting. It was rather old but Napoleon destroyed it when he captured the Aosta region and it was rebuilt later by those who felt it was important to have. It was converted into a museum in the 1900s.
We went into the museum which had these very odd videos at the beginning but after there were many interesting things about the mountains. However, everything was in Italian and French, no English. I was able to pick out a few things and enjoyed the mock-ups of different alp dwellings throughout history. Sadly I could not take photos in the museum.
After that we got back on the bus and headed to lunch. We were treated to a common dish of the area: venison with polenta. It was very yummy and I enjoyed it a lot. There were all these little, old Italian ladies running around serving us and they especially liked the boy at the end of our table who kept eating. It was very cute.
We got to the village of Aosta and wandered around. Sadly it started pouring rain. I lost my umbrella already in Milan so I decided then was a good time to buy a new one. Apparently I got my four euros worth a few minutes after purchasing when my umbrella caught a huge gust of wind and broke. However, we found a very cute little church on accident and saw some other nice sights.
Saturday morning was the Aosta guided tour. All of our tours on IES trips are done in Italian with translation into English after. It made it very interesting to me because I could try and pick out words and phrases that I did understand. However, it also made the tours rather long.
My favorite part of the Aosta tour was the Roman Theatre. Aosta was controlled by the Romans for a very long time and set up like a Roman town. They had an amphitheater and a theatre and a forum. Everything a good Roman town needs. The theatre is still there a lot, although the amphitheater is so gone that we didn't even go to see it. One place I was sad we did not get to was the Cathedral but it wasn't for lack of trying. We went and it turns out that there was a wedding going on that day. However, under the cathedral you can see the hidden passageways that they had in Roman towns. They were basically underground roads people would walk versus walking outside and also held meetings and functions. It was super interesting to see.
After the tour we had some lunch and then my roommate for the trip, Allie, and I observed siesta from 2-4 where everything closes and people relax. In Milan not everything closes as it is a big city, but in Aosta (which is much smaller and has a lot more families) pretty much everything was closed down.
Following siesta we headed to Aosta's archeological museum which was free for the day. We saw a special exhibit on what I think was Renaissance symbolism that was inspired by Roman artifacts (everything was again in Italian and French). Then we headed to look at the normal exhibits and were directed by a guy who obviously worked there to check out the basement. Under the building are Roman ruins that you can see. It was some sort of building and it was super interesting. Allie and I spent a good amount of time wandering around down there. We enjoyed the other parts of the exhibits, mainly artifacts from life in Aosta, before heading out. Allie wasn't feeling well and dinner was approaching so we got some gelato and people watched. There are way more families and babies and larger dogs in Aosta than in Milan. It was really interesting how many of them knew each other and we loved the little Italian ladies gathering on the street for what I assume was gossip.
Sunday was probably the best day of the whole trip. We headed out of Aosta about 9 and we went to Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc in French) which is, I'm pretty sure, the tallest mountain in the Alps. We took three gondolas (which is also a word for a type of ski lift, not just a boat) to get to the top and I took so many pictures. It was gorgeous up there. It was below 0 in Celsius which is still pretty cold for Fahrenheit. There was a small crystal museum at the top and you could also cross the border right into France. It was pretty fun.
Afterward we only took two gondolas down and hiked the last portion. It took a little over an hour, had breathtaking views, and was rather steep. I had a great time and I think that hiking Cinque Terre last weekend definitely put me in shape for this hike. I have not felt any pain yet but we'll see how that goes in the near future.
Once everybody had made it to the bottom (some people did not hike and just took all three gondolas back down) we went to a small town nearby for lunch and then headed back. We made a quick stop at a castle that is in the area which was not open but I got some lovely pictures of the outside, before we made it back to Milan.
It was great to get into the fresh mountain air and be away from the city before starting all of our classes on Monday!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Cinque Terre
So I am going to preface this post with just saying that I had never heard of the Cinque Terre until I got here and I will never forget the Cinque Terre. It is fantastic and I would recommend it to anybody who enjoys good views and hiking.
For those that don't know, the Cinque Terre are five villages (that's what Cinque Terre translates too): Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterossa set right along the Gulf of Genova (the northwest side of Italy at the top of the boot). They are connected by hiking trails and there is swimming, and vineyards, and very good food. They are absolutely beautiful (there are 581 pictures I took to prove it).
FRIDAY:
We got into Monterosso about 5 o'clock and headed down on the train to Riomaggiore where we stayed. There were four of us and we met up with one of the guys in our group's girlfriend and three of her friends as well. We basically took lots of pictures of Riomaggiore and then ate dinner, had some gelato, and went to bed.
SATURDAY:
Now, this is the big day. We were told to walk from Riomaggiore north to Monterosso on the trails (opposite of what most guidebooks say but I think it was better). We started about nine am and finished about five pm so here it goes:
RIOMAGGIORE TO MANAROLA:
This section is the Via Dell'Amore and it is the easiest part to hike because it is flat and paved. It has beautiful views of the water and there are all these love words engraved on the walls in marble set into the cliffs. There is a lot of love related graffiti (they also like to carve their names into cacti we discovered) and people put locks up to represent their love. It was all very touching and a very nice warm up to the beginning of the hike.
We explored the town of Manarola which has a very nice marina and I bought some foccaccia bread which the Cinque Terre are known for. It was fantastic and a great snack for as I got hungry.
MANAROLA TO CORNIGLIA:
So, this part of the trail was closed due to risk of landslides. Apparently this is common. This also means I need to come back so I can hike this portion. However, we took the train to Corniglia and it turns out to get into the city center (and the rest of the trail) from their train station you have to climb 382 steps. I didn't count, they congratulate you at the top with a sign.
Corniglia is beautifully set out on a small peninsula and, like all the Cinque Terre, a cute little town. We went to this panoramic view area to get some great shots before continuing on our adventure.
CORNIGLIA TO VERNAZZA:
This is the hardest part of the entire hike. The paved paths were gone and we were left with stone paths, lots of steps, and beautiful views. Although it also took us pretty far from the coast compared to the rest of the hike. This portion took us over two hours, despite the fact that it says it should only take an hour and a half. However, we stopped for water a lot, and to take pictures. The sun was coming out at this time (the morning had previously been overcast and the forecast predicted rain all day) which made things pretty but it was also hot. I took a lot of trail pictures so you should check those out. Pictures are worth a thousand words in this case.
However, Vernazza may have been my favorite of the Cinque Terre. It's set almost like a pier coming out of the coast (it also has a pier coming out of the coast). It was 1 when we got in so we had lunch at this place called Blue Marlin. I had Trofie pasta with pesto (Cinque Terre is known for pesto!) and it was fantastic. Probably one of my best meals so far and well priced. We spent a good amount of time in Vernazza because we were so tired. We went out to the pier area, took some pictures, and relaxed on these big rocks for awhile. It was quite nice, but it was onto the final leg.
VERNAZZA TO MONTEROSSO:
This part was not as hard as the previous leg, but it was the second hardest and the most treacherous I think. I was so glad we started in the south though because our trip had a ton of steps at the beginning going up and then was pretty gradually downhill plus some small uphills. Meaning coming the other way it was a lot of uphill instead.
The trail here got pretty narrow for awhile and it had started to rain which made the stones that marked the path rather slippery. It rained for about an hour but it was refreshing since we were so hot from hiking the other two legs (particularly the first leg). My friend Allie almost fell down a hill from slipping on the stones, luckily there was a railing at that part (some parts do not have railings, this is not for anybody bad with heights).
This part goes through a lot of vineyards at the end which was fun to see. The grapes looked gorgeous.
The very end part of this was a TON of steps downhill (hence why I was glad to go down, not up). The rain had stopped but some were still slippery. We got into Monterosso and were so proud of ourselves for taking the 2 hours they say it takes to complete that leg that we celebrated with, what else?, gelato!
We ended up not exploring Monterosso but heading back to our hostel (which was really nice, much improved over last weekend) and showering before finding some dinner in Riomaggiore. I had gnocci stuffed with tomato and mozzarella which was fantastic. We wandered Riomaggiore's main street a bit before heading back up to our hostel (we were rather high up on the hill). We talked a bit before more or less passing out from exhaustion.
SUNDAY:
We slept in until about 9, and packed to leave by 10 (check-out time). Three of us headed back to Vernazza to explore the Castello Doria which had fantastic views of the area. We had lunch at Blue Marlin again because we loved it so much and I had anchovy pizza. Allie stared at me through my whole first piece since she thought I was crazy for having anchovies on pizza. We then headed onto Monterosso to explore for once.
The biggest thing with Monterosso is there is beach access. So we walked a little but we were so tired that we ended up wading into the Gulf of Genova (part of the Linguarian Sea) for a good amount of time.
We finished our trip with some gelato and our three hour train ride back to Milan thoroughly tired but with beautiful memories and pictures of the Cinque Terre!
For those that don't know, the Cinque Terre are five villages (that's what Cinque Terre translates too): Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterossa set right along the Gulf of Genova (the northwest side of Italy at the top of the boot). They are connected by hiking trails and there is swimming, and vineyards, and very good food. They are absolutely beautiful (there are 581 pictures I took to prove it).
FRIDAY:
We got into Monterosso about 5 o'clock and headed down on the train to Riomaggiore where we stayed. There were four of us and we met up with one of the guys in our group's girlfriend and three of her friends as well. We basically took lots of pictures of Riomaggiore and then ate dinner, had some gelato, and went to bed.
SATURDAY:
Now, this is the big day. We were told to walk from Riomaggiore north to Monterosso on the trails (opposite of what most guidebooks say but I think it was better). We started about nine am and finished about five pm so here it goes:
RIOMAGGIORE TO MANAROLA:
This section is the Via Dell'Amore and it is the easiest part to hike because it is flat and paved. It has beautiful views of the water and there are all these love words engraved on the walls in marble set into the cliffs. There is a lot of love related graffiti (they also like to carve their names into cacti we discovered) and people put locks up to represent their love. It was all very touching and a very nice warm up to the beginning of the hike.
We explored the town of Manarola which has a very nice marina and I bought some foccaccia bread which the Cinque Terre are known for. It was fantastic and a great snack for as I got hungry.
MANAROLA TO CORNIGLIA:
So, this part of the trail was closed due to risk of landslides. Apparently this is common. This also means I need to come back so I can hike this portion. However, we took the train to Corniglia and it turns out to get into the city center (and the rest of the trail) from their train station you have to climb 382 steps. I didn't count, they congratulate you at the top with a sign.
Corniglia is beautifully set out on a small peninsula and, like all the Cinque Terre, a cute little town. We went to this panoramic view area to get some great shots before continuing on our adventure.
CORNIGLIA TO VERNAZZA:
This is the hardest part of the entire hike. The paved paths were gone and we were left with stone paths, lots of steps, and beautiful views. Although it also took us pretty far from the coast compared to the rest of the hike. This portion took us over two hours, despite the fact that it says it should only take an hour and a half. However, we stopped for water a lot, and to take pictures. The sun was coming out at this time (the morning had previously been overcast and the forecast predicted rain all day) which made things pretty but it was also hot. I took a lot of trail pictures so you should check those out. Pictures are worth a thousand words in this case.
However, Vernazza may have been my favorite of the Cinque Terre. It's set almost like a pier coming out of the coast (it also has a pier coming out of the coast). It was 1 when we got in so we had lunch at this place called Blue Marlin. I had Trofie pasta with pesto (Cinque Terre is known for pesto!) and it was fantastic. Probably one of my best meals so far and well priced. We spent a good amount of time in Vernazza because we were so tired. We went out to the pier area, took some pictures, and relaxed on these big rocks for awhile. It was quite nice, but it was onto the final leg.
VERNAZZA TO MONTEROSSO:
This part was not as hard as the previous leg, but it was the second hardest and the most treacherous I think. I was so glad we started in the south though because our trip had a ton of steps at the beginning going up and then was pretty gradually downhill plus some small uphills. Meaning coming the other way it was a lot of uphill instead.
The trail here got pretty narrow for awhile and it had started to rain which made the stones that marked the path rather slippery. It rained for about an hour but it was refreshing since we were so hot from hiking the other two legs (particularly the first leg). My friend Allie almost fell down a hill from slipping on the stones, luckily there was a railing at that part (some parts do not have railings, this is not for anybody bad with heights).
This part goes through a lot of vineyards at the end which was fun to see. The grapes looked gorgeous.
The very end part of this was a TON of steps downhill (hence why I was glad to go down, not up). The rain had stopped but some were still slippery. We got into Monterosso and were so proud of ourselves for taking the 2 hours they say it takes to complete that leg that we celebrated with, what else?, gelato!
We ended up not exploring Monterosso but heading back to our hostel (which was really nice, much improved over last weekend) and showering before finding some dinner in Riomaggiore. I had gnocci stuffed with tomato and mozzarella which was fantastic. We wandered Riomaggiore's main street a bit before heading back up to our hostel (we were rather high up on the hill). We talked a bit before more or less passing out from exhaustion.
SUNDAY:
We slept in until about 9, and packed to leave by 10 (check-out time). Three of us headed back to Vernazza to explore the Castello Doria which had fantastic views of the area. We had lunch at Blue Marlin again because we loved it so much and I had anchovy pizza. Allie stared at me through my whole first piece since she thought I was crazy for having anchovies on pizza. We then headed onto Monterosso to explore for once.
The biggest thing with Monterosso is there is beach access. So we walked a little but we were so tired that we ended up wading into the Gulf of Genova (part of the Linguarian Sea) for a good amount of time.
We finished our trip with some gelato and our three hour train ride back to Milan thoroughly tired but with beautiful memories and pictures of the Cinque Terre!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Venice and Verona
My first time traveling for more than a day trip!
On Friday after my horn lesson (post on that later) eight of us headed to Venice. We took a train and got there in the early evening. We had a bit of an issue checking into our hostel (more like a camping ground, it was interesting) because some people didn't realize they needed their passport. However, things worked out, we got our stuff into our "house tents" and headed back to the main island of Venice (it's a lot cheaper to stay on the mainland area) to find some dinner. We got to pass San Marco (St. Mark's) in the evening which was pretty.
Saturday was our whole day in Venice. We started at San Giorgio which overlooks the rest of Venice and was very pretty. Then we headed to get some lunch on the mainland and while wandering (always keeping in mind where the Grand Canal was) we actually ran into the church were Antonio Vivaldi was baptized. That was pretty awesome so we poked around there a bit. We got some lunch and headed to see San Marco's.
This is when it got interesting...turns out that since Venice is sinking, at high tide Piazza San Marco floods. We had to take our shoes off and wade to a higher area and then only one entrance to the church was open since it wasn't being flooded. We had to walk in on these raised platforms for the entry areas. Luckily the actual church area does not flood.
After San Marco's our group decided to split up (we discovered that going around with eight people is really difficult) and my group spent time looking in at all the Murano glass stores around the Duomo area, getting gelato, and then heading over towards the Rialto.
The Rialto was the first bridge still standing to cross the Grand Canal and was the only bridge to cross it for about three hundred years. It's really pretty and has good views down the Grand Canal. The area was also the first populated area and we wandered around the market area. Finally, we headed about halfway down the Canal toward San Marco, got a nice drink before dinner, and then met up with the other group to go to dinner. I had a really good pizza with prosciutto on it which was really yummy.
After dinner we walked up the Grand Canal some, crossed the Accedemia bridge (the second bridge built to cross the Grand Canal) before getting on a vaporetto (a water bus and our main form of transportation) and head back to the bus stop to catch our bus back. It was great but I'm glad I know I'll be visiting Venice again because there's so much more I want to see.
The next morning we headed out of Venice and took a train to Verona. Verona is gorgeous and very quaint. It made a fantastic day trip and we had a really good time. We split up again and I started by heading to the castle that is there which reminded me a lot of the Castle Sforza in Milan, it's called the Castelvecchio. Attached to the Castelvecchio is the original defense system bridge the Ponte Scaligero. The bridge was actually bombed out in WWII and the city of Verona loved the bridge so much they went to enormous lengths to rebuild it.
We headed down the river and back across to see Verona's Duomo. The outside is beautiful but we didn't go in because there was an entrance fee. This is the first I've seen of an entrance fee to get into a church. We walked through the town some more (stopping for some gelato of course) and headed to the Piazza Erba which is a market place area and just down from the Casa de Guilietta (Juliet's House). We of course headed there next.
All I can say about Juliet's house is that a lot of people were there. I got some pictures in but we all decided it was nice but we wanted out.
We headed to the center of the city to see the Arena which is like a mini-Colosseum. Unfortunately they'd just stopped selling admittance tickets because they were having a concert there (they often stage operas and have concerts) so they were closing down early. There was a festival going on the area and we listened to some drummers and walked around. I went with two girls back before the rest of the group because we wanted to save money by eating at home and have time to shower and relax before going to bed.
The weekend was wonderful and I can't wait for more like it!
On Friday after my horn lesson (post on that later) eight of us headed to Venice. We took a train and got there in the early evening. We had a bit of an issue checking into our hostel (more like a camping ground, it was interesting) because some people didn't realize they needed their passport. However, things worked out, we got our stuff into our "house tents" and headed back to the main island of Venice (it's a lot cheaper to stay on the mainland area) to find some dinner. We got to pass San Marco (St. Mark's) in the evening which was pretty.
Saturday was our whole day in Venice. We started at San Giorgio which overlooks the rest of Venice and was very pretty. Then we headed to get some lunch on the mainland and while wandering (always keeping in mind where the Grand Canal was) we actually ran into the church were Antonio Vivaldi was baptized. That was pretty awesome so we poked around there a bit. We got some lunch and headed to see San Marco's.
This is when it got interesting...turns out that since Venice is sinking, at high tide Piazza San Marco floods. We had to take our shoes off and wade to a higher area and then only one entrance to the church was open since it wasn't being flooded. We had to walk in on these raised platforms for the entry areas. Luckily the actual church area does not flood.
After San Marco's our group decided to split up (we discovered that going around with eight people is really difficult) and my group spent time looking in at all the Murano glass stores around the Duomo area, getting gelato, and then heading over towards the Rialto.
The Rialto was the first bridge still standing to cross the Grand Canal and was the only bridge to cross it for about three hundred years. It's really pretty and has good views down the Grand Canal. The area was also the first populated area and we wandered around the market area. Finally, we headed about halfway down the Canal toward San Marco, got a nice drink before dinner, and then met up with the other group to go to dinner. I had a really good pizza with prosciutto on it which was really yummy.
After dinner we walked up the Grand Canal some, crossed the Accedemia bridge (the second bridge built to cross the Grand Canal) before getting on a vaporetto (a water bus and our main form of transportation) and head back to the bus stop to catch our bus back. It was great but I'm glad I know I'll be visiting Venice again because there's so much more I want to see.
The next morning we headed out of Venice and took a train to Verona. Verona is gorgeous and very quaint. It made a fantastic day trip and we had a really good time. We split up again and I started by heading to the castle that is there which reminded me a lot of the Castle Sforza in Milan, it's called the Castelvecchio. Attached to the Castelvecchio is the original defense system bridge the Ponte Scaligero. The bridge was actually bombed out in WWII and the city of Verona loved the bridge so much they went to enormous lengths to rebuild it.
We headed down the river and back across to see Verona's Duomo. The outside is beautiful but we didn't go in because there was an entrance fee. This is the first I've seen of an entrance fee to get into a church. We walked through the town some more (stopping for some gelato of course) and headed to the Piazza Erba which is a market place area and just down from the Casa de Guilietta (Juliet's House). We of course headed there next.
All I can say about Juliet's house is that a lot of people were there. I got some pictures in but we all decided it was nice but we wanted out.
We headed to the center of the city to see the Arena which is like a mini-Colosseum. Unfortunately they'd just stopped selling admittance tickets because they were having a concert there (they often stage operas and have concerts) so they were closing down early. There was a festival going on the area and we listened to some drummers and walked around. I went with two girls back before the rest of the group because we wanted to save money by eating at home and have time to shower and relax before going to bed.
The weekend was wonderful and I can't wait for more like it!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Friday Adventure, Market, and Pavia
My first Italian class went very well. My teacher's name is Linda and she will run off in Italian and then tell us just to try and understand what we can. I think this might be a pretty effective way for me to learn actually because it helps me to hear it a lot if I'm trying to speak it. The class lasts two and a half hours but we get a fifteen minute break, ours ended up being half an hour (Linda gave us the return time). Despite being a beginning Italian class we are expected to speak in Italian as much as possible. Luckily she taught us a bunch of classroom phrases we may need, such as asking her to repeat something or ask what something means.
After class a group of us got some sandwiches for lunch and then we embarked on a journey. We headed for to the Castello Sforzesco (known as the Sforza Castle in English) which is where the ruling family of Milan (the Sforzescos) once lived. It is gorgeous and I took tons of pictures (they are up on facebook and Google - links on sidebar). We then walked through the park that is by the castle (apparently the second city park in Milan) to the Arco de Pace which is similar to the Arc de Triomph in Paris.
We then took the metro over to the Duomo and I finally climbed to the top! Okay, well, not the total top because there is renovation going on and I believe normally you can go higher, but I was on top of the main roof. It was beautiful up there and there were amazing views of the city. Again, many many pictures. We spent a long time up on the top, just relaxing and looking over the city (our feet also hurt and needed a break).
Yet, we continued on our awesome tour and took another metro out by my apartment to go to Cimitero Monumentale (or Monument Cemetery). Basically, it's the huge cemetery and everybody buried there has some elaborate tomb or grave with this beautiful statues and engravings. There are some famous people of Italy buried there although I did not knowingly find any of their graves. The place was huge and I wanted to stay longer but we needed to head out (plus it was closing soon) so I must make a trip back and see even more. I saw a picture of one that reminds me of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and I want to go see that one. I took a ton of pictures of everywhere we went and it was a fantastic time.
On Saturday morning I got up and went to the market on our street. We saw them setting up on Tuesday (the other day of the week for market) but could not go. I wandered around the whole thing (it goes a few blocks past my street as well) and saw everything there was. I bought a bag to carry my books in for school (so my horn can go on my back). I also bought fruit and for four euro I got a kilo of these yellow fruits I've tried and liked but cannot name for the life of me, two peaches, and then he threw in a bunch of green grapes. I had held off buying fruit at the store so I could go to the market and it was so worth it.
Then I met some people at the train station and we went to Pavia which is a half an hour south of Milan and has the third largest duomo in Italy (I guess it's bigger than the Milan Duomo). Pavia is also a very ancient city. Besides seeing the Duomo we saw a restored bridge that had been bombed out in WWII, more churches, and some of these torre medaevile (medieval towers) that are all over the city. And of course we got some gelato...yum!
We also wandered a bit (aka, got slightly lost, but Pavia is a small town) and ran across a European market. It seemed to be a special event and I got to eat some yummy Sicilian pasteries (according to my RA, Sicily has the best food - she's originally from Florence but her boyfriend is in Sicily and she has been to visit him). Then, we started heading back towards the train station and ran across the equivalent of Civil War reenactments in Italy...I think (after research) that it was a reenactment of the Battle of Pavia in like 1525 or something like that.
Sunday is going to be my day of relaxation after all this craziness. But don't worry, more is already planned!
After class a group of us got some sandwiches for lunch and then we embarked on a journey. We headed for to the Castello Sforzesco (known as the Sforza Castle in English) which is where the ruling family of Milan (the Sforzescos) once lived. It is gorgeous and I took tons of pictures (they are up on facebook and Google - links on sidebar). We then walked through the park that is by the castle (apparently the second city park in Milan) to the Arco de Pace which is similar to the Arc de Triomph in Paris.
We then took the metro over to the Duomo and I finally climbed to the top! Okay, well, not the total top because there is renovation going on and I believe normally you can go higher, but I was on top of the main roof. It was beautiful up there and there were amazing views of the city. Again, many many pictures. We spent a long time up on the top, just relaxing and looking over the city (our feet also hurt and needed a break).
Yet, we continued on our awesome tour and took another metro out by my apartment to go to Cimitero Monumentale (or Monument Cemetery). Basically, it's the huge cemetery and everybody buried there has some elaborate tomb or grave with this beautiful statues and engravings. There are some famous people of Italy buried there although I did not knowingly find any of their graves. The place was huge and I wanted to stay longer but we needed to head out (plus it was closing soon) so I must make a trip back and see even more. I saw a picture of one that reminds me of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and I want to go see that one. I took a ton of pictures of everywhere we went and it was a fantastic time.
On Saturday morning I got up and went to the market on our street. We saw them setting up on Tuesday (the other day of the week for market) but could not go. I wandered around the whole thing (it goes a few blocks past my street as well) and saw everything there was. I bought a bag to carry my books in for school (so my horn can go on my back). I also bought fruit and for four euro I got a kilo of these yellow fruits I've tried and liked but cannot name for the life of me, two peaches, and then he threw in a bunch of green grapes. I had held off buying fruit at the store so I could go to the market and it was so worth it.
Then I met some people at the train station and we went to Pavia which is a half an hour south of Milan and has the third largest duomo in Italy (I guess it's bigger than the Milan Duomo). Pavia is also a very ancient city. Besides seeing the Duomo we saw a restored bridge that had been bombed out in WWII, more churches, and some of these torre medaevile (medieval towers) that are all over the city. And of course we got some gelato...yum!
We also wandered a bit (aka, got slightly lost, but Pavia is a small town) and ran across a European market. It seemed to be a special event and I got to eat some yummy Sicilian pasteries (according to my RA, Sicily has the best food - she's originally from Florence but her boyfriend is in Sicily and she has been to visit him). Then, we started heading back towards the train station and ran across the equivalent of Civil War reenactments in Italy...I think (after research) that it was a reenactment of the Battle of Pavia in like 1525 or something like that.
Sunday is going to be my day of relaxation after all this craziness. But don't worry, more is already planned!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Orientation: Days 2-4
I figured I'm going to try and make fewer but longer posts, hoping it'll keep your interest (although, if you're my family you're almost obligated to at least pretend to be interested...)
TUESDAY:
Oh wow...lots of sitting. And people talking. However, they are not metal folding chairs like Blue Lake's orientation so that was at least nice.
We started the morning by going for a real Italian breakfast with our resident assistant Maria. She lives two floors up from us with five other girls in the program and helps us get around and such. I had a wonderful chocolate croissant (brioche) and un cappuccino. It was very yummy.
We have orientation meetings in a large meeting room at the Universita Cattolica (I cannot figure out how to do accents in this thing...) which is the main school associated with IES for those wanting to take either courses in Italian or English business courses (I think...). They also took us on a tour of the Cattolica. We all have student IDs for the school which is good because we can use their library. I learned that Italian libraries to check out a book you look it up, write down the number, and give it to the librarian. They go and get the book for you. I don't know if I'll get to try it but we'll see. We had lunch in the Cattolica cafeteria which was really good for cafeteria food. I had pasta with marinara, some type of fish, a roll, and a pear juice box.
After lunch is was more meetings. Most of us were pretty tired so it was kind of hard to sit through.
The best part of the day was in the evening. Our activity was to go to a spa called Terremilano which is a spa that believes in water doing the healing. They had pools and jacuzzis. There were these relaxation rooms that had different element themes so earth, fire, water, air (and I think I forgot one). Then the basement was what they called the "Wellness course." They had hydromassage jets in a jacuzzi (I really liked the ones that I could massage my feet with), this walk that goes through hot, then cold water to help circulation. There were also multiple saunas including one that smelled like lemon (very refeshing) and one that you took a handful of powdered soap in your hand, held it while sitting in the sauna for about five minutes, and then used the soap. It exfoliated and felt really good. Then you showered off. A lot of people thought that it would be lame but we all loved it, it was very relaxing and they had a "light dinner buffet" for us which was mostly fruit so I enjoyed that. Plus foccacia bread, and little chocolate cookies.
WEDNESDAY:
A bunch of us from the building (and our hard to pronounce street) made it to breakfast and to the Universita Cattolica all on our own without help from Maria (she had to wait for the electrician...I discovered we have two lights in the bathroom actually since he was here). We had more meetings but there were some more tailored meetings than yesterday. I got to attend the music meeting and learn that they have already contacted a horn teacher in Milan for me. He is currently out of Milan on a trip but will be back soon and then we will set up our first "appointment" as Walter refers to them. The music program here has many vocalists and only a few instrumentalists so our chamber groups will be pretty interesting. But I'm excited to start the music class.
In the afternoon we heard from one of the main people at the US Consulate in Milan and he talked about safety in Milan. Apparently Milan is much safer than most cities its size (Milan is a rather large city, it is actually bigger than Florence but Florence is more touristy since Milan is so north). The biggest problems are petty crimes such as pickpocketing and having bags taken when you're not look so he gave us some tips on that. Finally we got to find out our Italian language assignments. As I expected I am in Italian 100 but we have three classes of it since there are so many of us that know very little or no Italian knowledge. We have our first class on Friday and I am very excited to start learning. These next three week we will take Italian only. From 9-11:30 the first week and from 9-12 the third week.
The evening activity was part of what they call Milano "Tuttifrutti." It is generally a cultural experience in Milan and varies. We got to experience a very Milanese tradition of the aperitivo. It is basically a time before dinner that seems like a "happy hour." IES provided us all with finger food at this place called Noon and we each got one free drink. I enjoyed something called a spritza (that might be incorrect) which was prosecco (an Italian sparkling white wine) and something else that I forgot and nobody could translate into English for me. It was quite good. Then I went with a few girls for my first gelato of the trip...definitely two days too late. However it was wonderful and I think I remember where the store was. They had other chocolate fare as well which I must try. We saw them making a crepe with chocolate when we left. Yum!
THURSDAY:
We didn't have anything until 10 and my roommates were out late so I was the only one up when I decided I wanted breakfast so I successfully got my own breakfast ordering in Italian even. However, when I went to pay I didn't know how to say I wanted to pay and ended up saying it in the English. The guy kind of laughed and said a few things to me in English anyway.
At 10 we met at the Duomo for a tour of Milan. We saw the Duomo and the very fancy shopping area next to it. We saw the outside of La Scala and the old medieval meeting area which also used to be a market place. When then got very good Italian fast food which was called panzetta I believe. Mine was mozzarella and prosciutto. It was kind of like a sandwich but looked like a calzone. I enjoyed it very much.
We had a 2:30 tour of the music school so before that a bunch of us went and got gelato and went to one of the apartments that is much closer to the IES Center than mine is. I finally managed to figure out which gelato is dark chocolate and it was wonderful. Then we went to the music school which takes about half an hour to get there. We took the metro and then a streetcar and then walked. Luckily I don't think I'll actually be at the Academia because my lessons with probably be at IES. It is a beautiful building though. It was first someone's villa outside of Milan before Milan grew. Then the Nazi's used it for a base so it was bombed during WWII. The City of Milan (Comune di Milano) decided to rebuild it and they're actually working on the facade still so there is a large scaffolding all of it (so I didn't take pictures).
There was a tour at 4 of two of the oldest churches in Milan, however it took so long for the Academia tour and then getting to and from (plus we left late) that I wasn't able to make it. I will have to make it to the churches on my own (one is the one with The Last Supper but I don't believe they were actually going to see that part, the other is near the IES Center so I will have to stop in after Italian one day these next three weeks). So after I took the metro back to my apartment with two of my roommates to relax a little.
After relaxing I went with some girls in the building and we found the very cheap (yet good quality) grocery store we can get to on one of the streetcar things. I'm glad to finally have food in the apartment. We went back to the apartment upstairs and Maria made what they call "student pasta" which is pomodoro sauce (tomato), tuna, and pasta. It was so good. I never would have thought to put tuna in pasta but it's good. It's also very cheap, hence the name. We talked and had a lot of fun making and eating dinner, even if we didn't eat until 10:30. I'm still getting used to eating late, but hopefully I'll adjust.
If you don't have facebook I've posted the pictures on Google Picasa too. The link is on the sidebar, someone let me know if it doesn't work.
Next adventure: 1st Italian class!
TUESDAY:
Oh wow...lots of sitting. And people talking. However, they are not metal folding chairs like Blue Lake's orientation so that was at least nice.
We started the morning by going for a real Italian breakfast with our resident assistant Maria. She lives two floors up from us with five other girls in the program and helps us get around and such. I had a wonderful chocolate croissant (brioche) and un cappuccino. It was very yummy.
We have orientation meetings in a large meeting room at the Universita Cattolica (I cannot figure out how to do accents in this thing...) which is the main school associated with IES for those wanting to take either courses in Italian or English business courses (I think...). They also took us on a tour of the Cattolica. We all have student IDs for the school which is good because we can use their library. I learned that Italian libraries to check out a book you look it up, write down the number, and give it to the librarian. They go and get the book for you. I don't know if I'll get to try it but we'll see. We had lunch in the Cattolica cafeteria which was really good for cafeteria food. I had pasta with marinara, some type of fish, a roll, and a pear juice box.
After lunch is was more meetings. Most of us were pretty tired so it was kind of hard to sit through.
The best part of the day was in the evening. Our activity was to go to a spa called Terremilano which is a spa that believes in water doing the healing. They had pools and jacuzzis. There were these relaxation rooms that had different element themes so earth, fire, water, air (and I think I forgot one). Then the basement was what they called the "Wellness course." They had hydromassage jets in a jacuzzi (I really liked the ones that I could massage my feet with), this walk that goes through hot, then cold water to help circulation. There were also multiple saunas including one that smelled like lemon (very refeshing) and one that you took a handful of powdered soap in your hand, held it while sitting in the sauna for about five minutes, and then used the soap. It exfoliated and felt really good. Then you showered off. A lot of people thought that it would be lame but we all loved it, it was very relaxing and they had a "light dinner buffet" for us which was mostly fruit so I enjoyed that. Plus foccacia bread, and little chocolate cookies.
WEDNESDAY:
A bunch of us from the building (and our hard to pronounce street) made it to breakfast and to the Universita Cattolica all on our own without help from Maria (she had to wait for the electrician...I discovered we have two lights in the bathroom actually since he was here). We had more meetings but there were some more tailored meetings than yesterday. I got to attend the music meeting and learn that they have already contacted a horn teacher in Milan for me. He is currently out of Milan on a trip but will be back soon and then we will set up our first "appointment" as Walter refers to them. The music program here has many vocalists and only a few instrumentalists so our chamber groups will be pretty interesting. But I'm excited to start the music class.
In the afternoon we heard from one of the main people at the US Consulate in Milan and he talked about safety in Milan. Apparently Milan is much safer than most cities its size (Milan is a rather large city, it is actually bigger than Florence but Florence is more touristy since Milan is so north). The biggest problems are petty crimes such as pickpocketing and having bags taken when you're not look so he gave us some tips on that. Finally we got to find out our Italian language assignments. As I expected I am in Italian 100 but we have three classes of it since there are so many of us that know very little or no Italian knowledge. We have our first class on Friday and I am very excited to start learning. These next three week we will take Italian only. From 9-11:30 the first week and from 9-12 the third week.
The evening activity was part of what they call Milano "Tuttifrutti." It is generally a cultural experience in Milan and varies. We got to experience a very Milanese tradition of the aperitivo. It is basically a time before dinner that seems like a "happy hour." IES provided us all with finger food at this place called Noon and we each got one free drink. I enjoyed something called a spritza (that might be incorrect) which was prosecco (an Italian sparkling white wine) and something else that I forgot and nobody could translate into English for me. It was quite good. Then I went with a few girls for my first gelato of the trip...definitely two days too late. However it was wonderful and I think I remember where the store was. They had other chocolate fare as well which I must try. We saw them making a crepe with chocolate when we left. Yum!
THURSDAY:
We didn't have anything until 10 and my roommates were out late so I was the only one up when I decided I wanted breakfast so I successfully got my own breakfast ordering in Italian even. However, when I went to pay I didn't know how to say I wanted to pay and ended up saying it in the English. The guy kind of laughed and said a few things to me in English anyway.
At 10 we met at the Duomo for a tour of Milan. We saw the Duomo and the very fancy shopping area next to it. We saw the outside of La Scala and the old medieval meeting area which also used to be a market place. When then got very good Italian fast food which was called panzetta I believe. Mine was mozzarella and prosciutto. It was kind of like a sandwich but looked like a calzone. I enjoyed it very much.
We had a 2:30 tour of the music school so before that a bunch of us went and got gelato and went to one of the apartments that is much closer to the IES Center than mine is. I finally managed to figure out which gelato is dark chocolate and it was wonderful. Then we went to the music school which takes about half an hour to get there. We took the metro and then a streetcar and then walked. Luckily I don't think I'll actually be at the Academia because my lessons with probably be at IES. It is a beautiful building though. It was first someone's villa outside of Milan before Milan grew. Then the Nazi's used it for a base so it was bombed during WWII. The City of Milan (Comune di Milano) decided to rebuild it and they're actually working on the facade still so there is a large scaffolding all of it (so I didn't take pictures).
There was a tour at 4 of two of the oldest churches in Milan, however it took so long for the Academia tour and then getting to and from (plus we left late) that I wasn't able to make it. I will have to make it to the churches on my own (one is the one with The Last Supper but I don't believe they were actually going to see that part, the other is near the IES Center so I will have to stop in after Italian one day these next three weeks). So after I took the metro back to my apartment with two of my roommates to relax a little.
After relaxing I went with some girls in the building and we found the very cheap (yet good quality) grocery store we can get to on one of the streetcar things. I'm glad to finally have food in the apartment. We went back to the apartment upstairs and Maria made what they call "student pasta" which is pomodoro sauce (tomato), tuna, and pasta. It was so good. I never would have thought to put tuna in pasta but it's good. It's also very cheap, hence the name. We talked and had a lot of fun making and eating dinner, even if we didn't eat until 10:30. I'm still getting used to eating late, but hopefully I'll adjust.
If you don't have facebook I've posted the pictures on Google Picasa too. The link is on the sidebar, someone let me know if it doesn't work.
Next adventure: 1st Italian class!
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