Finally!!!!! I am going to share my Italian adventure. There’s so much that can be said about it. I will just go by each day.
Day 1
I arrived early Saturday morning at MXP which is Milan’s larger of the 2 airports. It was Snow White outside. Being from the south, I have never experience that before so it was gorgeous to me but to my friend it was annoying. I went through customs, gathered my luggage, and hugged my friend who I hadn’t seen in over a year. I knew this would be a great week! My friend told me we would relax then go to her brother’s birthday party. Immediately I’d be immersed into true Italian culture and family. Later in the evening, we arrived at her brother’s house. They had homemade pizzas and desserts. It was so yummy and easily the best pizza I’ve ever had in life. After the party, we went out with her boyfriend and his best friend. I honestly couldn’t tell you the name of the clubs, but they did play American music so I had a blast.
Day 2
It really wasn’t much to Day 2 because my body was still on American time so I slept almost the entire day, and it didn’t help we got in at 430am. Once we woke up, we went to the mall. It is 1 of the largest malls in Europe. I found it interesting that grocery stores are in malls and shopping centers so it’s literally a 1 stop shop. Also, fast food chains are not drive-thrus. They are attached to something as well. Anyways, we ate at McDonald’s and I loved their Miami fries, much better than the fries here. My friend’s boyfriend took us to an Italian restaurant for dinner. It was really good and traditional. They even gave me a menu in English! We had a cheese and meat platter as an appetizer. I ordered traditional ravioli which was amazing!!!! I paired it with a red wine. My dessert was a hot/cold gelato like mixture which was really good as well. We ended the night with an after dessert shot. That was our Sunday night!
Day 3
Milan!!!!! I do not think I am a “fashionista” but I love fashion’s ever evolving trends. What better place to be than 1 of the fashion capitals of the world! I booked a tour through city-sightseeing. It was a hop on hop off tour throughout the city. It started at an amazing castle and ended there as well. We saw many of the city’s gems including cathedrals, historic landmarks, canals with water boats and restaurants, shopping, and everything in between. I hopped off at the Duomo-Galleria stop. The Duomo is just breathtaking true old world architecture with marble and wood and the best materials. I browsed through the galleria as that was certainly out of my price range. I did find shops that I bought a few things. Just being immersed in the culture was enough for me. I walked through the shops and turned down the streets and just snapped pictures. I spent a few hours in the shopping area taking pictures and just enjoying my time end trying to stay warm. After the tour I took a taxi to my friend’s job and we went back to her house. I slept all the way home. My body was still not use to the time change.
Day 3
My favorite day of the entire trip! Rome! I still pinch myself because I fell in love with that city. I took the train from Milan to Rome. It was a fast ride and I mostly slept. I used the same tour company again that allowed me to hop on and hop off, city-sightseeing! The buses had plug in headphones that allowed it to be said in different languages. I think it was 8-10. I saw many historical landmarks, Roman courts, amphitheaters, famous statues, the Coliseum, Tiber River, ancient ruins, Spanish steps, Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Vatican museum, and just so much more I certainly don’t remember it all. One of the most touching things to me was being able to see the Vatican since I am catholic. Seeing the coliseum was just an awe moment. At some point I thought about my history classes at Southern University with Dr. Comminey. I was finally seeing everything I learned about and it made sense. I think it is an integral part to actually see history because it meant so much more. I will show some photos at the end of the blog. My next stop was Vatican City. I spent the rest of my day here until I had to get back to catch my train to Milan. We walked through the Vatican museum which held artifacts, mostly the original and a few replicas. It was quite the place. I did the short tour which is still about 2.5-3 hours. In order to see every single thing, it would take over 14 hours and that’s just walking through. So needless to say I didn’t have 14 hours to spare. I did see the most important things. The last place I saw just before going into the Vatican was the Sistine chapel. It is truly amazing. To know that Michelangelo went blind 3 times painting it and did not make one mistake is truly mind blowing. We were fortunate that we got to see it as we all know now our former Pope resigned and the Sistine chapel would be limiting the daily number of people entering starting this past January. While the world watched the cardinals elect the new pope, it brought me back to being there. The Sistine chapel only has natural light because it is so old that any direct light or cameras will deteriorate it at a faster rate. So I do not have any pictures of it just the memories. I hope to be able to take my future children one day to experience this. My last stop, the Vatican itself. First, it’s quite hard to imagine that this was built hundreds of years ago. The marble and stone will have one in awe. It is 3 stories. I walked in on the 2nd floor or the main floor. This is where the main alter is which is where mass is celebrated. Pope John Paul II tomb is on this floor so I did get a picture. His is the least intricate of the Popes. He did not want the typical fanfare. There are over 18 alters in the Vatican, all the Popes tombs in the lower floor, and St. Peter’s tomb. Since St. Peter’s Basilica is built on the site where he was crucified, it is in the basilica where he is said to have suffered his death. After taking pictures I left and caught the bus back to the train station. Rome’s traffic is much like the states except with smaller cars. I did see the shopping district and other landmarks. I probably didn’t pay as much attention because I was still in shock at what I had just witnessed.
Day 4
This was a calm day. I slept all day. My friends mom came and cooked me lunch and I went back to sleep. The previous few days wore me out.
Day 5
On day 5 I toured Bergamo. It was a city straight out of a movie or storybook. The town had a Christmas tree, outside market with decorations and gift ideas, a train for kids to ride, and just anything you can imagine. It was really cute. I walked around and shopped. I purchased Christmas gifts for my family and friends here. I bought Italian crystal, coffee, bath items, and anything else I thought I could fit in my already stuffed suitcase. It was everything you’ve seen in movies brought to life. I enjoyed walking around like a local and shopping. After I finished I went and had hot chocolate and dessert cookies in a coffee shop.
Day 6
Venice! I was finally going to Venice. After seeing the Angelina movie in Venice, it’s been a goal of mine to see the canals of Venice. It certainly did not disappoint. As soon as I got off the train, I caught the water bus to San Marco island. Venice is made up of over 120 islands. So each island is named something different but collectively it is Venice. Of those 120 islands only about 10 allow cars to actually be used as a method of transportation. It’s a walking and boating kind of city. I got to walk the roads that Marco Polo did. I saw where his family lived. In those days entire families lived in a building. The buildings are not small in the least bit. There are small canals and of course there’s the grand canal of Venice. There are bridges over the mini canals and it’s so cute. During the tour we could see how the buildings are sinking into the water. My advice is for everyone to get there ASAP. While it may not go underwater during our lifetime, it most likely will be the underwater city in a few centuries. I managed to get sick so I did not get to go on the grand canal tour but only made my walking tour. I did ride along the grand canal on my water bus but that is the extent of it so I did not know what I was looking at on my ride. I hope the next time I go back I fight the weather. It was cold and of course wet since its the city built on water. It just wasn’t a good mixture for me and my lack of sleep. When I returned home and went to my doctor she told me her husband got sick on their honeymoon there so I felt I was in good company. Later that night we had an Italian Christmas and dinner. It was my last night before I returned back to the states.
Day 7
Time to come home. After a whirlwind vacation, the great vacation came to an end. I had an amazing time. My friend and her family couldn’t have been a better hostess. My flight left early so we had to wake up early as the airport is about an hour ride. We briefly stopped in Germany before heading to DC then to Nola. Lufthansa is by far the best way to travel when flying to and from Europe. It was quite the plane with plenty of room in economy compared to my flight going.
Food
I ate at little cafes everywhere. I did not have not 1 bad meal my entire trip. So I recommend just finding a small restaurant where the owners are the cooks. I loved that!
Recap
I thoroughly enjoyed my vacation. I know it’s a tad long but I tried to make it as short as possible. I’ll be jetting back to Europe next summer and possibly the end of this year. I would have to say it was everything and more than I could have ever thought it would be. I hope everyone can experience history in person.
H
ello Everyone!
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