FRANCE: Milan, Italy

The next day, we woke up pretty early – around 9:30. We got breakfast (there was cereal –YAY) and headed out to check out the sights. It was pouring. Elita bought an umbrella from a street vendor at the metro but I didn’t figuring I was fine because I had a raincoat. Man was I wrong.

We got to the Duomo and took pictures of the church. I got sucked in by one of the street vendors to take pictures with pigeons on my hand. He gave me a bunch of corn and then the pigeons flocked to me. It was pretty disgusting. It felt kind of cool to have birds perched on me and if they weren’t pigeons I would’ve probably loved it. Not really sure why I had the urge to do that. Then, we hurried in the church to take a break from the rain. It was beautiful. What I was most struck by was the floor. I loved the tiled patterns. In all of Milan, from the magnificent floor of the church to the cobblestone streets to the tiles of the Castello Sforzesco and to the designs on the floors of the shopping areas – the ground was always strikingly beautiful.

We wandered past all these stunning buildings and walked 5 minutes to the castle (Castello Sforzesco). My favorite part of the chateau was definitely the HUGE open courtyard. If it had been nice out I would’ve sat and read there for hours. Please keep in mind all of this was in the pouring rain. Similar to Annecy, Elita and I treated it as a challenge, whose butt we totally kicked. It never got us down and even felt good to overcome an obstacle that could’ve easily ruined the trip.

After visiting the two biggest tourist spots, we decided to get some lunch. This was the second most epic dinner of my time here. Elita and I had such a great time chatting. She ended up teaching me about the difference between lattes and cappuccinos (lattes have more milk whereas cappuccinos have more foam) and drawing a beautiful sketch of me on her placemat. So amusing. We had cappuccinos, pizza, and gnocchi. Delicious!

Then we decided to check out a gelateria. Best gelato I’ve ever had. I recommend trying tiramisu flavor! We spent the whole afternoon there chatting (in French), journaling, and just relaxing. It was wonderful. Then we wandered along the streets and visited this weird needle and thread statue. It started pouring really hard so I finally decided to buy an umbrella and we rushed into a bar to have a pre-dinner drink. It was a cool place with a great atmosphere that we could picture being busy at night. Unfortunately since it was only 5 in the evening it was dead. We hung out for a couple hours and then decided to wander around a little more until dinner time. Elita got her fortune told by a phony – it was so ridiculous.

We decided to splurge on dinner and have a traditional, delicious Italian meal. We started off with champagne for an aperitif. For our entrées we both got pasta. I ordered spaghetti in a goat cheese sauce. This pasta was just incredible. I’ve never had anything like it. It was thicker and richer tasting than anything I’ve ever had. We shared a bottle of wine (the waiter’s recommendation). Then we split tiramisu. Yum.

The waiter pointed us in the direction of the bars and we hung out until 4 in the morning! It was a great night. Elita and I ended up hanging out with one group of Italians the entire night. She talked to one guy who spoke English very well the entire night. I talked with a group of his friends - 3 guys and one girl. Only the girl could speak English. Since Italian is pretty much a mix of French, English, and Spanish I would speak in English and translate in French right after. Every now and then the boys could understand without her translation. It was so interesting! After we got back from the bars, we went back to our hostel and met some really friendly Brazilians before going to bed. Overall, a great day!

After being in Italy for the weekend and not being able to understand when anyone talked to me in Italian, I really appreciated knowing the language of French and realized I do know more than I think. It’s easy for me to have everyday conversations with people, a simple skill I took for granted in Grenoble! It’s frustrating to just stare at someone with a blank face because you cannot understand a word of what they’re saying!

One last note: I ADORE Italy. Because of the weather, we mostly got to experience the food and people culture and it was incredible. I am bound and determined to return again – hopefully next time I’ll know more Italian tha “Preggo” and “Ciao”!