Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Coming to an end
So I have 1 more day of school left here in Milan. After my final at 11:30 tomorrow, I will officially be a college senior. Crazy. It's been a great time here in Italy and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to come. On Friday, mom, dad, and Colton are coming to visit and I couldn't be more excited. We'll get to travel all over Italy and hopefully I'll get to finally enjoy some authentic Italian food. It's so weird to think that I've already been here for 3 months and that the semester is over. I'm happy and sad about it. I've met a lot of great people here and will miss the friends I've made. Luckily I'll still get to see Katie at school next year. After my family flies back to the States, I'll be meeting Katie in London for a couple days before we head up to Scotland. We'll be staying in Edinburgh, Stirling, and Inverness in the Highlands. I'm very excited for that. It'll be so nice to be around people that I can actually communicate with. I'm really glad that I'll have that time to travel before finally heading home. I think I'm ready to come home for a bit. It's been so fun here, but I'm ready to get back into my routine and go to all the places I've missed. Plus, I'll get to see Shila, who I've missed so much. She's really a lovely dog. Anyways, I'm so grateful to have been able to come to Milan and study here. It's been a great opportunity and I feel like it's definitely helped me grow as a person. I'm sure one I get on the plane to go home, I'll miss it immediately. Although, I don't know if I'll miss having to take the metro everywhere. I hope that one day I'll be able to come back to Europe and visit all the places I didn't get a chance to see, but for now, home is sounding pretty nice.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Belgium, Germany, and Spain
So it's been about two months since my last blog entry. Sorry it's taken me so long! A lot has happened in these two months. I have about 3 weeks left of school before Mom, Dad, and Colton come to visit. It should be really fun. My classes have been going really well. They're not too difficult, which makes it easier to travel since I don't have to spend my weekends doing homework. Since Venice, I've mainly just been hanging around Milan relaxing and getting a feel for the city. I've discovered this thing called Panzerotti, which is like this dough that is filled with different things and then deep fried. I love the spinach and ricotta one. It's so good. Of course the gelato is amazing as well. A few weeks ago I went to Belgium to stay at one of my roommate's houses while waiting to meet up with my friend/roommate in Germany. In Belgium we saw her town, Liege, and then went to Brugge, which was a nice town with some canals and cool architecture. I flew into Maastricht in the Netherlands before going into Belgium, and we spent some time there. It was a cute little town with a really cool bookstore.
After leaving Belgium, I met up with my friend, Katie, and we took the train over to Berlin. We got in in the evening so we went to this authentic German restaurant before going to sleep. It was really good and such a great change from pasta and pizza. We spent the next two days sight seeing and exploring the city. We also went into a few museums on Museum island and saw some cool artwork. We also ate classic German things like pretzels and currywurst, which is amazing. Berlin is a huge city with lots to see, so we probably could have stayed there longer, but we wanted to see other towns as well. From Berlin, we took the train to Nuremberg. There's not a ton to see in Nuremberg, but we made our way around town, went to a museum of terror about Nazis and then ate another amazing dinner that was kind of like scrambled eggs, cheese, pork, and bacon. It was really good. The restaurant was a brewery so we also tried some really good beer there. I'll put up pictures of these things. From Nuremberg we then went to Freiburg on the train. Freiburg is a really cute little town. Right after we got into Freiburg, we stumbled upon a little street fair/farmer's market where we got the most delicious bratwurst/hotdog things. We then went to the hostel, rented some bikes and rode along the river. We had more German food that night. The next day, we went up into the Black Forest and hiked around a bit. It was really pretty and really nice to see some nature. So, that's my trip to Germany. It was really fun and I liked Germany a lot.
This last weekend, one of my friends and I went to Barcelona. We were only there for 2 days, but we saw as much as we could and were even able to get to the beach before we flew back to Milan. It was a really pretty city with interesting architecture. I enjoyed Barcelona as well. I will post some pictures of all of the trips below.
After leaving Belgium, I met up with my friend, Katie, and we took the train over to Berlin. We got in in the evening so we went to this authentic German restaurant before going to sleep. It was really good and such a great change from pasta and pizza. We spent the next two days sight seeing and exploring the city. We also went into a few museums on Museum island and saw some cool artwork. We also ate classic German things like pretzels and currywurst, which is amazing. Berlin is a huge city with lots to see, so we probably could have stayed there longer, but we wanted to see other towns as well. From Berlin, we took the train to Nuremberg. There's not a ton to see in Nuremberg, but we made our way around town, went to a museum of terror about Nazis and then ate another amazing dinner that was kind of like scrambled eggs, cheese, pork, and bacon. It was really good. The restaurant was a brewery so we also tried some really good beer there. I'll put up pictures of these things. From Nuremberg we then went to Freiburg on the train. Freiburg is a really cute little town. Right after we got into Freiburg, we stumbled upon a little street fair/farmer's market where we got the most delicious bratwurst/hotdog things. We then went to the hostel, rented some bikes and rode along the river. We had more German food that night. The next day, we went up into the Black Forest and hiked around a bit. It was really pretty and really nice to see some nature. So, that's my trip to Germany. It was really fun and I liked Germany a lot.
This last weekend, one of my friends and I went to Barcelona. We were only there for 2 days, but we saw as much as we could and were even able to get to the beach before we flew back to Milan. It was a really pretty city with interesting architecture. I enjoyed Barcelona as well. I will post some pictures of all of the trips below.
Maastricht
Bookstore in Maastricht
Point where Germany, Belgium, and Netherlands intersect
Tallest point in the Netherlands
Brugge, Belgium
Berlin, Germany
Fun on the train
Nuremberg, Germany
Nazi Rally Grounds
Freiburg, Germany
Black Forest
Barcelona, Spain
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Venezia
I just got back from Venice last night where I spent the day walking around the city. We went during Carnivalle, which is a big celebration where people dress up in crazy costumes and have parades and all sorts of fun things like that. The city was beautiful and much more Italian looking than Milan. Some of my friends bought masks at the little kiosks. We saw some gondolas going through the canals in the city. The pictures I'm posting below are of the city and the huge group of people that flocked Venice for the festival. It was funny seeing people in colonial garb. There were even some Native Americans playing music right when we got off the boat, which was kind of strange, but interesting all the same. I can't wait to explore more of Italy. Here are some pictures...
Monday, February 13, 2012
Duomo
Here are pictures of the Duomo and the galleria next to it. At the Duomo, there are pigeons everywhere and they're crazy. The first day I went there, a pigeon landed on a guy's head with others attacked this lady that had food in her hand. They landed all over her, sitting on her arms and shoulders. Personally, I will stay as far away from those pigeons as possible.
The Beginning of Penne Everyday
First blog entry since I've been in Milan. It's been quite an adjustment with the whole language barrier, but I'm definitely learning. I've moved into my apartment and settled in, which makes my stay feel much more permanent and less like a week long vacation. It's nice to have a space of my own, but I think I've gotten my fill of apartment living already. Walking up 3 flights of stairs everyday isn't exactly fun and hearing my neighbors coughing and watching t.v. late at night can get a bit annoying. It's a pretty place though and I enjoy living here with my roommates.
It's been freezing here since I got here. For some reason I expected it to be warm even though it's winter here. Probably some crazy idea I got from movies where Italy always looks beautiful and sunny and warm. Not exactly the case, but hopefully it'll warm up soon. The cold has kept me from doing all the things I've wanted to, so soon I'll venture out more and hopefully see all that Milan has to offer.
I've been to the Duomo in the center of the city and that's a really cool thing to see. It's huge with intricate sculptures and carvings all over the outside. I think there are hundred of gargoyles and statues on the cathedral. My roommates and I found this little cafe called California Bakery where you can get huge cups of coffee and American style breakfasts. It was really comforting to go there and see some of the things I miss from home.
I'm worried that I'm going to be so sick of pasta by the end of my semester here that I'll never be able to eat another noodle again. Eating pasta at least 4 times a week is a bit much. It is good though.
Living in a city like Milan is strange for me. I guess I'm not exactly what you would call a city person, so being around so many people and so much cement makes me miss thing like grass and big trees and quiet. It's nice that my apartment is a bit outside the city so that I can escape the noise every once in a while.
I think the funniest thing that I've witnessed this far occurred while taking the metro. I was sitting and this bigger, macho type guy was standing in front of me holding a paper bag. Once the train started going, he took a 2-disc set of Mariah Carey out of the bag and took off the plastic wrapping. Once he got that off, he attempted to get one of the discs out of the little box that they came in. When he continued to fail at getting the CDs out, he decided that he'd instead rip the box open. When he finally got the CDs out, he looked at the track listings for about 2 seconds before he had to exit the train. I think the funny part was that not only did this big guy buy a 2-disc set of Mariah Carey, but that he was so eager to look at the track listings that he had to rip the case open before he got home.
I'm sure other funny things have happened, but right now I'm sick of typing about them, so I'll save them for next time. I'll try to update this thing more often, so stay tuned.
It's been freezing here since I got here. For some reason I expected it to be warm even though it's winter here. Probably some crazy idea I got from movies where Italy always looks beautiful and sunny and warm. Not exactly the case, but hopefully it'll warm up soon. The cold has kept me from doing all the things I've wanted to, so soon I'll venture out more and hopefully see all that Milan has to offer.
I've been to the Duomo in the center of the city and that's a really cool thing to see. It's huge with intricate sculptures and carvings all over the outside. I think there are hundred of gargoyles and statues on the cathedral. My roommates and I found this little cafe called California Bakery where you can get huge cups of coffee and American style breakfasts. It was really comforting to go there and see some of the things I miss from home.
I'm worried that I'm going to be so sick of pasta by the end of my semester here that I'll never be able to eat another noodle again. Eating pasta at least 4 times a week is a bit much. It is good though.
Living in a city like Milan is strange for me. I guess I'm not exactly what you would call a city person, so being around so many people and so much cement makes me miss thing like grass and big trees and quiet. It's nice that my apartment is a bit outside the city so that I can escape the noise every once in a while.
I think the funniest thing that I've witnessed this far occurred while taking the metro. I was sitting and this bigger, macho type guy was standing in front of me holding a paper bag. Once the train started going, he took a 2-disc set of Mariah Carey out of the bag and took off the plastic wrapping. Once he got that off, he attempted to get one of the discs out of the little box that they came in. When he continued to fail at getting the CDs out, he decided that he'd instead rip the box open. When he finally got the CDs out, he looked at the track listings for about 2 seconds before he had to exit the train. I think the funny part was that not only did this big guy buy a 2-disc set of Mariah Carey, but that he was so eager to look at the track listings that he had to rip the case open before he got home.
I'm sure other funny things have happened, but right now I'm sick of typing about them, so I'll save them for next time. I'll try to update this thing more often, so stay tuned.
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