I got off of the train and Lisa, my best friend since forever, was there waiting for me! It was ssooo good to see her. While we were together, we tried to think of the last time we spent this much time together, and I think we came up with our Canada trip that was five or six summers ago. We probably spent more time together this past week than the last four years combined. It was so much fun! I was excited to go to Italy, but I think I was more excited that I was going to spend the week with Lisa.
Sunday was Easter, so we woke up and went to a cathedral for an Easter service. We were excited and expecting an extravagant. Nope. We just caught the last part of the service, but we were let down by it. The service was all in Italian, obviously, but it seemed like any old service. Lisa and I were expecting fancy dresses, stylish shoes, and big hats but a lot of people were just in jeans. It was kind of weird. Maybe we missed something. After that, we headed back to Lisa’s apartment and just relaxed the rest of the day. It rained all day long, so we just laid low and hung out. Lisa got a chocolate Easter egg from a trip she went on, so we broke into that. It was delicious! Nothing was open because of the holiday so we just cooked dinner, played lots of King’s Corners, talked, and laughed. Together again!
Monday was a bit nicer. We took our time in the morning, but we did get out a bit. We went to the Duomo, a big cathedral in Milan that was constructed in 1387. It was beautiful. We even got to climb the many, many, many stairs to the top and look out. The view was incredible! We saw all of Milan, and we could even see the Andes Mountains. We spent the afternoon walking around, doing a little eating of focaccia and gelato, and hanging out some more. Most restaurants were still closed, but a pizza place by Lisa was open. You better believe we went there and enjoyed every last bite. There is nothing like eating Italian food in Italy. Delicious!
Duomo in Milan
From (almost) the top of the Duomo
Soaking up some sun at the top of the Duomo
Pizza!
Tuesday was another beautiful day, and things were finally open! We did some more walking around, and Lisa showed me her university. We had a quick espresso there. (It is weird because the typical coffee drink in Italy is a shot of espresso, and it is typical to drink it quickly while still standing at the counter. The typical coffee drink in Spain is café con leche (coffee with milk), and it is served in a small mug, but you take your time sipping it, usually seated. I missed my café con leche while I was gone!) The grocery store was finally open, so we did a little shopping and stocked up for the week. We bought some supplies for dinner, eggs, and an Easter cake. Yes, Easter had passed by this point, but the cakes were on sale! We bought a “Zuppa Inglese” (whatever that means…) cake for just 2 Euros (about $2.75), and it was huge (and delicious)! We walked out of the grocery store feeling like we were buying food for a party, but, nope, it was just for us! We got home from the store and got ready to dye Easter eggs. Lisa’s parents had just been to Milan to visit Lisa, and they brought an egg dying kit for us, so you better believe we took advantage of that! It was a good night… happy hour in the apartment, King’s Corners, dying Easter eggs, cooking pasta with pesto sauce and chicken, and digging into our Easter cake!
Castle in Milan
Easter Eggs
Our 2 Euro Easter cake that lasted all week!
We woke up early Wednesday morning and went straight to the train station to catch our 8:15 train to Florence. We made it to our hotel without a problem and checked-in. The hotel was located right in the center of the city, so that was a major bonus! We left our backpacks at the hotel and went out to see what Florence had to offer. We did what girls do best… shopping! There was a huge market and we just had to explore it. We spent a few hours walking around, doing some shopping, and visiting some cool old buildings. (I missed traveling without my own personal tour guide… we didn’t really know what we were looking at.) We walked all around the town, which inevitably tired us out. This was a sure sign that we had to stop for gelato, and oh man- it was amazing! It revived us and gave us the strength to climb the 463 stairs to the top of the Duomo in Florence. The view from the top was incredible! It is amazing to think that that kind of construction was done hundreds of years ago. After that, we went back to the hotel to rest for awhile and get rejuvenated before our night out on the town. We took a short nap, freshened up, and went to paint the town red! We ate dinner at a cute restaurant recommended to us by Sarah Bingham, and it was really good! Good food. Good atmosphere. Good company. After that, we did some more walking and exploring, and we ended up sitting on the some steps in front of an old building listening to some guy sing songs. It was quite enjoyable. There was a group of grad students in front of us from the States (who are studying in Spain) that kept us quite entertained! One successful day down…
River through Florence
Eating our gelato
the Duomo... it's impossible to get it all in one picture
Lisa and I at the top of the Duomo... we both have goofy looks
The weather forecast showed rain on Thursday, so we were pretty bummed about that, but we woke up to the sun shining and blue sky. We endured breakfast at the hotel (it wasn’t very good), and then went out to do more exploring. After looking at the map, we realized that we saw most of what there was to see the day before. Florence wasn’t quite as big as we were expecting, but we still did some wandering around. We hit the market again (like typical girls), and did a little purchasing this time. We found a few plazas to sit in and soak up some sun, but then we were kind of at a loss for what to do. We decided to buy some drinks and snacks and find a place to plop. We did just that, and I think we sat in the plaza for at least two hours and did the ultimate “people watching.” It was rather entertaining, and we shared a few good laughs. It was getting late and we were getting hungry, so we decided to venture out and find some dinner. We had a drink and then found a pizza place. Oh my, was it delicious! Just like in Spain, you take your time while you eat. Lisa and I had a good time laughing and talking together. We called it a night after that.
A Plaza in Florence
Italian and European Union Flags on the City Hall
An archway
Some buildings
Friday morning, we got up and got going semi-early (early on college standards). We packed our things and went back to the market. Florence is known for its leather, and Lisa had been eying a bag for the last few days, so we went back and Lisa made the big purchase! We caught a noon train back to Milan and got to Lisa’s place at about 15h (3pm). We were both pretty tired, so we just took it easy. We were contemplating whether we should go out or not, but once we got our sweat pants on, started playing cards, and began chatting, time just got away from us. We decided that staying in sounded better than going out. We made a good salad for dinner, and we topped off the meal with more Easter cake!
We woke up to more sun and warm weather on Saturday morning. We got ourselves ready, packed a few snacks and a blanket, and headed to the park. We spent the afternoon sitting in the sun and talking the day away. (There was some good people-watching going on here, as well!) We got some rosy cheeks and decided to call it a day. We headed back to Lisa’s place and got ready for our last night together. We went to a place called Más for Happy Hour, and then went to a bar to watch part of the Real Madrid vs. Barcelona fútbol (soccer) game. The place was full, and people were getting really into it! It was a fun atmosphere to be in. After leaving there, Lisa and I decided that one final gelato was in order. It is just so good here! I will definitely miss that when I’m back in Spain.
The park was filled with people!
Awesome people watching! The picture doesn't show it well but these are purple pants... stud muffin
I think he was really tired!
Sunday was my last day in Milan. We just took it easy and I got things packed up. I left Lisa at about 3pm to head to the airport for my 5:30 flight. It was so fun to be able to spend so much time with Lisa. Like I said earlier, it has been a long time since we have been able to have quality time together. Throughout the week, we came up with a long list of things we want to do this summer since we will actually be in the same town for an extended amount of time!
Overall, I had a great time in Italy, but I found myself missing home. That “home” to me was not Woodstock, though, it was Spain. While I was in Italy, I was lost with the language, but I found myself thinking in Spanish before thinking in English, and I thought that this was a really good sign! I came to the conclusion that the only things Italy has that trump Spain are good food, gelato, and Lisa. It will be good to get back “home” and get into a schedule/routine again. I start full time teaching this week on Monday, and I am nervous about how that will go. I did a lot of planning between my Madrid/Murcia trip and my Italy trip so that I wouldn’t have to worry about getting things ready while I was gone. My mind had been on vacation for two weeks as well as my body. I guess reality has to start again… until I leave for Segovia next weekend…
