Last One

At a sharp 10 today, Sarah and I embarked on our last day of adventuring. We started by making a trip to 'The Bagel Factory' for breakfast and then strolled along one of Milan's main roads, Corso Italia. We kept with it until the Duomo popped up. It was rather shocking to arrive at such a landmark when you have no idea its coming. We went down another street until we reached the castle, where we sat in the shade for a couple of hours. Ultimate sadness came across me when we were getting on the metro as I realized I wouldn't be back here anytime soon. Milan has become such a lovely city to me that I hope to return to later. Living in a big city for the past month has made me decide that I definitely want to live in another one when I graduate, whether it be in America or overseas. 

Today is my final day on this study abroad trip, thus my last day of blogging. I hope everyone who read it enjoyed my stories! I'm leaving for Germany tonight and will be staying there for a week before heading back to the states. I could not be more excited about my upcoming week. In addition to testing out my German language skills, I'll be touring a country I have always wanted to see. I can't wait to fill everyone in on my next adventure when I get back! XO

Museum Day

Tuesday, as well as every day this week, was scorching! It reached 93 degrees so after our last class of the trip, Sarah and I went to a couple of museums we've been wanting to see. Our first stop was the science and industry museum. It used to be a monastery and I think it was in the late 1950s that it made its transformation into a museum. The largest in Italy, it contained over 15,000 items and had 15 areas of exhibits such as energy, chemistry, telecommunications, astronomy, metals, boats, planes, trains, and a section on Leonardo. Leonardo's area was my favorite. He has easily become my new favorite person in history. He did everything and was so advanced for his time. It's amazing. I had to write down the different areas he worked in because there's just too many. Among some are: geology, statics, anatomy, geometry, cartography, botany, art, and the list really does go on and on. If the world has had one true genius, he has to be it. I really would like to see all of his original notes on everything. They would be endless. 

This is a torpedo called 'The Pig'. In Alexandria in 1941, three of these destroyed all five  British ships in the Mediterranean. The Pig was the most famous assault unit in WWII for Italy. 

The 'Ebe'

The Last Supper. Clearly it's not the original. 

We spent three hours in that museum before making our way to the famous opera house, La Scala. I've never been one for operas but I would be in heaven if I could see one here. It was so grand and beautiful. 

We went back to the apartment around 5:30 and relaxed. By 8, we were ready for dinner so we went to a pizza place and split one that had onions and sausage on it. So delicious. I'm going to miss Italian pizza so much when I go home. We were originally sitting outside but the mosquitos were hitting us will full force so we moved inside after the waitress noticed us swatting like madmen. We got, for the first time on this trip, free bread! It was pretty exciting. After dinner, we talked with some of the people at the apartment and then watched Game of Thrones. I've never seen it before, so we started with the first one. It was scary to me at times but only because I'm afraid of everything with suspense in it. When it's not gory though,  the plot is really cool. I'm definitely going to start watching it when I get home. 

Pool Day

Today kept up with the baking temperatures this week! Our professor set up a trip for us to go to the public pool so I was all over that. My goal of becoming another skin color is still in effect. It was only like a 20 minute walk and it was AWESOME! We were sort of expecting a ghetto, dingy pool but it was quite the opposite. It had two really big swimming areas, one complete with a tall wall that encouraged intricate flips and dives.  I kept wishing that I was 10 again and I had my daredevil tendencies when it came to diving into the Elks pool. I used to be able to do flips, back dives, and wonderful splashing moves but I don't know where that side of me went! I stuck with the simple, keep your bottoms on leap in. There was one bit of a surprise that came along with this place, though. We had to wear swim caps. It wasn't the worst thing in the world but it sure was different. We definitely couldn't stop laughing at each other when we first sported our new looks. 

We stayed from 11 until 3 before heading back to replenish our bodies and get rid of the food we've bought. 

At 7:30, our professor took us all out for a final dinner together. Located just down the street, 'Carmen' featured a variety of the authentic dishes that will be severely missed. I ordered veal with garlic and olive oil with grilled vegetables on the side. I had a really fun time with a lot of the people around me, too. Sarah and I talked with our professor and his wife for quite a bit of it. After dinner, we went back and finished the episode of 'Game of Thrones' we had started before dinner and then got ready for our final night out in Milan. Around 11:30 or so, we set out for 'Old Fashion', an outdoor club in the park around the castle. We stayed decently late before hailing a cab home. Though I went to bed at 5 (had to watch another episode of 'Game of Thrones'), Sarah and I were up and ready to go by 10 for our final day of exploring this awesome city. 

Striking Out

Yesterday, Monday, began with a trip to the market for a melon followed by class for a couple of hours. At 3, Sarah and Aaron and I set out for the science and industry museum, which supposedly has a lot of interactive Leonardo exhibits. When we arrived, we found that it was closed on Mondays. We then went to La Scala, the famous opera house in Milan. We arrived with only an hour left until it closed so we decided to hold off. After suffering setbacks twice, we went into the Renaissance shopping center and had some treats on the 7th floor and planned out Tuesday's events. On our way home from the metro, we stopped at the grocery and picked up some wine. Two bottles for a total of 5€! Sarah and I enjoyed our wine and then set out for pizza down the street. My delicious margarita pizza was only 4€! We sat outside for an hour or so enjoying life and the food. We came back to the apartment for a while and talked with some different people that live here. It was a really great evening overall. 

Leonardo 

Sunday Funday

Sunday was my last day on Lake Como! I was sad to leave, but made the most of my time left there. I got up around 7:30, mostly because my room was so hot, and had breakfast. I left for a bit and took a walk around Menaggio. 

When I came back, everyone was deciding what to do with their days and I realized I just wanted to sit on the beach. From 9:30-1:45, my biggest concern was making sure I alternated between tanning my front and back equally. It was pretty hot out so every 20 minutes or so, I would go for a swim. Around noon, three people from the Netherlands came down. One of them played guitar and the other two sang. It was so awesome! They were playing a ton of songs that I recognized, too. I asked the guitarist if he knew who Dave Matthews was and if he knew how to play any of his songs. He of course knew him but said he was really hard to play. His band played 'Shake Me Like a Monkey' for a show and had to practice a ton. He said their drummer really never could master it. 

I went back to the hostel after that and got ready. At 2:30, a few of us caught a bus into the town of Como. It took an hour, so in the time we had until our train left, we went to a gelato place that was recommended. It was so good! I had such a massive portion for only 2.50€. We took the scenic route back and found a park with fountains for kids and misting stations. 

Sarah and I

The train ride went quickly and we were back at the apartment by 7. For dinner, I made potatoes, zucchini, and eggplant. The final week in Milan is here! I can't believe it. 

Serene Saturday

To start my day, this was my view:

We had our free breakfast and then Sarah, Aaron, and I went on a kayaking adventure! It was so much fun. We were gone for 2 hours and stopped a couple of times to swim. We had two really good kayaks and one pathetic one. We all took turns on the pathetic one and even, at one point, devised a system with the two good ones propelling the small one. I'll put a picture up of that adventure web I get it from Aaron. After killing my shoulders, I laid on the beach for a few hours. I don't know what the pebble beaches do to me but I've passed out on them hard each of the past two days. As I was listening to the combination of the waves and Dave Matthews, I thought how truly perfect the moment was. It's such a bummer I have to leave tomorrow. At 5, six of us went out on a boat tour. As well as kayaking, this activity was paid for by our professor. The boat tour enabled us to do whatever we wanted and go wherever we pleased for two hours because we were the captains! It was so fun and a pretty time of day to go out. 

Boat tour

Richard Branson's house

Where they shot scenes from Casino Royale

George Clooney's house

Skipper

My favorite view of the day 

We're having a BBQ night at the hostel! I'm pretty pumped;ribs are on the menu. The weather is perfect tonight. A few of us might venture out to a local bar later. We'll see. 

Catching Up!

I've been slacking lately! I'm in Lake Como currently but here's a recap of what's happened in each of the past two days. On Thursday, we had class from 1-3:30 (only 2 more!). I did some laundry in the sink before meeting up with the whole group for pizza and a movie! Our professor bought our pizza and drinks as we enjoyed the show. I had a lazy night afterward, consisting of sitting on the balcony, enjoying the perfect temperature. 

Friday began at a brisk 6AM. We needed to all be at the train station by 7:45 in order to catch our ride to Lake Como! It only took about 45 minutes. We walked through the town of Como for a little bit on our way to the metro boat. It took a little over two hours to reach Menaggio, but it was a beautiful one at that! Here are some pictures from the ride:

Once we touched down on land, we walked about 5 minutes to our hostel. It has a perfect view of the lake. So beautiful. At this point, were dying of hunger so a few of us went to a sandwich shop. Here is the view from our table:

We wandered into a gelato shop after. I got one of the best flavors I've had so far. 'Cookie' had bits of cookie in it and was so creamy. A little later, we went to the beach that's just by our hostel. I promptly fell asleep to the sound of the crashing waves. I'm working on getting a nice tan while I'm here. At 8, we met back as a group for dinner (all of our breakfasts and dinners are paid for while we're here). We feasted on delicious Ragù and bread. The hostel was really excited to have university students to liven up the place. After dinner, we had a fooseball tournament (Aaron and I were creamed) and a beer pong tournament! Sarah and I are in the finals to be played Saturday evening. A liter of wine is on the table. There was quite a mess during the end of the tournament that was the result of hammered locals at the bar here. For anyone who's interested, I'll fill you in later. I don't think I could do it justice right now. 

Found on our walk today

Wonderful Wednesday

Yesterday was another fun time! After a little yoga session with Sarah, we made pasta and zucchini as we took our time while deciding what to do. We decided to your the largest stadium in Italy, San Siro Stadium with a few of our friends. It's so massive from the outside but I was actually surprised at how small, in comparison, the interior was. It was originally built in 1926 and received its first remodel in 1955 and had its last in 1990 to accommodate the World Cup. Now, finals such as the World Cup and Champions League cannot be played there because its 5 meters too short. Our tour included perusing the VIP seating and taking a gander at the locker rooms. They're nowhere as big and glamorous as professional teams' locker rooms in America. It was a little cramped and didn't have names above their areas or anything like that. AC Milan's was the cooler one of the two (Inter Milan plays there, too). I actually sat in the chair David Beckham used 

On the walk there, we strolled down a long street filled with professionally done graffiti. The city recruited artists from around Europe to make their mark on the wall. 

VIP seat

AC Milan's locker room

After the tour, we went downtown and walked around. Did some people watching, ya know. We relaxed at the apartment from when we returned at 7 until when we went out for the evening. A few of us went to 'Old Fashion', an outdoor club in the park around the castle. There was an international students discount so we got admittance into the club and 2 drinks all for 10€. It was so much fun! The music was great and we danced all night. It was also our latest night out since being in Italy so we're just a little sleepy today. I can see a return trip in store for us next Wednesday, though.