Friday: Milan
This Friday AEF took us to Milan. I always felt like this city was going to be more my speed and it definitely was. I could 100 percent see myself working there someday. I don’t think the fam would be too happy but ciao! Anyway, once we arrived we took the train to the Duomo. It was beautiful. It is very gothic compared to the Florence Duomo. Then we walked through the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II where we saw all the expensive stores. One day I want to invest in a Hermes bag. Then, I stopped at Matta Caffe for the best jelly croissant I have yet to have.
With our group, we made our way to the Sforza Castle. This is the location of Michelangelo's Pietà Rondanini sculpture that he worked on before he died. Of course, I had the pleasure of hanging with my homies: Will, Sam, Noah, Katie, Kate and Kevin. Man, I love them. After that tour, we headed to La Scala, a famous opera theater. The only reason we went there was because of our Core Capstone class. Then, it was finally lunch but it is like 2:00 PM. We were all starving. Of course, Will wanted to get lunch together because it's me, come on. Who wouldn't! So Will, Kate, Noah, Kevin and I grabbed lunch at Hosteria Della Musica. Kate and I shared a pizza and Milanese risotto. The restaurant had a nice ambiance. During lunch, we decided that I should have a charcuterie party and indeed that happened. When I am rich someday I am going to host so many parties. Be on the lookout for parties in my Millpoint apartment next year.
With our group, we made our way to the Sforza Castle. This is the location of Michelangelo's Pietà Rondanini sculpture that he worked on before he died. Of course, I had the pleasure of hanging with my homies: Will, Sam, Noah, Katie, Kate and Kevin. Man, I love them. After that tour, we headed to La Scala, a famous opera theater. The only reason we went there was because of our Core Capstone class. Then, it was finally lunch but it is like 2:00 PM. We were all starving. Of course, Will wanted to get lunch together because it's me, come on. Who wouldn't! So Will, Kate, Noah, Kevin and I grabbed lunch at Hosteria Della Musica. Kate and I shared a pizza and Milanese risotto. The restaurant had a nice ambiance. During lunch, we decided that I should have a charcuterie party and indeed that happened. When I am rich someday I am going to host so many parties. Be on the lookout for parties in my Millpoint apartment next year.
After lunch, we made our way back to Florence. We came back around 7:00 PM and Kate and I rushed to the store to get all the necessities for the party. Thank god for the vouchers. We bought four kinds of cheese, jam, bread, sliced meats and wine! Oh, we also made pasta too! Only a few people showed but we devoured everything and danced to middle school songs while doing it.
Saturday: Cinque Terre
I spent the day in Cinque Terre! I was originally going to go alone but a friend, Orlando from AEF joined me! Honestly, doing a day trip by myself low-key would have been miserable. I am way too extroverted to be alone for that long. Shout out to everyone who puts up with me. I am very aware that I can be high maintenance. My dad always makes that clear. Okay back to my day. So, of course, I don’t book the tickets from Santa Maria Novella train station (closest to me) and don’t realize it until I arrive at the station. Mind you that I woke up at 6:30 AM for this journey to begin. So now I am apologizing to Orlando but of course, he is groovy with it all.
So the next train is 9:53 AM. We sit in Shake Cafe for two hours where Orlando has the pleasure of hearing my life story. It may as well be stapled to my forehead. Then, we finally arrive on the train and it is going to be a three-hour journey. The conductor tells us that our tickets are not validated for the train. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I just got robbed. Can I catch a break? No. So we had to fork up 18 euros for the train. But we finally arrived around 1:00 PM. We got off at Vernazza and hiked for about an hour and a half. It was such an amazing experience. Certainly rough but well worth it. Everyone was amazing on the trail. There were people way older than us who made us look weak. Once we arrived in Monterosso, I was ready to plop in the sand. Indeed I did. I napped for about an hour and then off we traveled to Manarola where we enjoyed dinner and the sunset. We ate at Marina Piccola. I ate spaghetti with clams and muscles. The restaurant overlooked the water. It was perfect. Then we got gelato and took more photos! Around 7:00 PM, we made our way towards the train station but I found this adorable store and picked up jeans and a gift for my dad. Then off we went! I was greeted at the apartment by one of best friends, Kaylie. So glad she could make it to Florence for spring break!
So the next train is 9:53 AM. We sit in Shake Cafe for two hours where Orlando has the pleasure of hearing my life story. It may as well be stapled to my forehead. Then, we finally arrive on the train and it is going to be a three-hour journey. The conductor tells us that our tickets are not validated for the train. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I just got robbed. Can I catch a break? No. So we had to fork up 18 euros for the train. But we finally arrived around 1:00 PM. We got off at Vernazza and hiked for about an hour and a half. It was such an amazing experience. Certainly rough but well worth it. Everyone was amazing on the trail. There were people way older than us who made us look weak. Once we arrived in Monterosso, I was ready to plop in the sand. Indeed I did. I napped for about an hour and then off we traveled to Manarola where we enjoyed dinner and the sunset. We ate at Marina Piccola. I ate spaghetti with clams and muscles. The restaurant overlooked the water. It was perfect. Then we got gelato and took more photos! Around 7:00 PM, we made our way towards the train station but I found this adorable store and picked up jeans and a gift for my dad. Then off we went! I was greeted at the apartment by one of best friends, Kaylie. So glad she could make it to Florence for spring break!
Sunday:
I studied. Believe it or not, I actually have work here!
Tips:
Tips:
- Book your train tickets out of Santa Maria Novella train station
- If you are not crazy about hiking all of Cinque Terre, you can easily visit in one day
- Climb the Duomo in Milan if you have time
Another fabulous weekend and, yes, your family would not be happy cuz we would miss you terribly, but that doesn't matter as long as you are happy xo
ReplyDeleteFor train tickets: if you don't buy them online but at the station from a ticket machine you have to validate them. It's kinda stupid, but it allows you to buy the tickets in Advance and validate when you need to. There are little machines for validation.
ReplyDeleteGreat trip! I love to read experience for foreigners in my country
love living vicariously through your blogs, Kelly! I feel like I've visited Italy, except for the gelato!! Glad you're enjoying it all, now you'll have memories for a lifetime!
ReplyDelete