Milan!

On Friday night, we hoped on a train and headed to Milan for the night/day. We arrived and quickly settled into our HOTEL. Don't get too excited, it wasn't your typical hotel, but still very nice to have our own room and bathroom. We were also surprised to find a TV! None of us had turned one on since leaving the states, so that was an exciting realization. Only problem, it wasn't in English :).

The next day, we woke up early and headed towards the "city center." It was fashion week, and we were hoping to see some of the action. Megan had looked up various addresses of where the festivities were taking place, and we walked by them, but obviously, being the cheap college students/tourists that we are, we didn't get to participate in the action. Plus, what we walked by was extremely closed off to the public. The fashion in Milan itself is UNBELIEVABLE though. Honestly, the entire day I kept thinking, "I've got to go buy a new outfit. I just don't fit in with these people!" Although, It was the best people watching you can imagine and an all around great day!

Enjoy the pictures!

The Duomo

Inside the Duomo

Authentic/best Gnocchi ever!

You see Ferrari's in Milan like you see BMW's in the states...crazy

The Travel Week Continues, in Spain!

Our next stop after Paris was Barcelona, Spain. The palm trees and sunshine were a nice welcome coming from the 20 degree weather in Paris! The first day we wandered around after finding our hostel and immediately locating all of the Starbucks in the vicinity. Our hostel was located right around the corner from Spain's Arc de Triumf, and we were able to walk nearly everywhere we wanted to go which was nice. For dinner we had the traditional Spanish dish "paella" which was rice with veggies, it was delicious!

The next day we went to a market off Las Ramblas, one of the major streets in Barcelona. The market was filled with vendors and we all got fruit, bread, and cheese for breakfast. Everything was so fresh and tasted amazing!

Day two in Barcelona was a whirlwind of sightseeing. We went to the famous Sagrada Familia cathedral, which began to be built in 1882 and is still being worked on today. I have never seen anything like it! We continued our tour to Park Guell, which was definitely my favorite part of the day. The view was unbelievable, ocean on one side and mountains on the other. I could have spent all day up there! 

Sagrada Familia

View from Park Guell 

On our last night in Barcelona we were able to experience the famous night life! We went to a bar called the "Dow Jones Bar" where the drink prices fluctuated with demand, such a fun idea (especially for all of us business majors). I was especially excited to see NBA basketball playing on the TV, if only it was the Mavs...

The next day four of us took an overnight bus to Madrid, which wasn't nearly as bad as it sounds! We managed to be in and out of sleep for about 5 hours, and arrived in Madrid at 7 am on Friday. We were so excited because we were meeting two of our best friends, Anna and Caroline, at the hostel. It was such a blessing to be able to spend the weekend with them! We walked around Madrid for the day, and saw the Royal Palace, a beautiful park, and of course Plaza Mayor.

Palacio Real de Madrid

Churros & Chocolate

Plaza Mayor

We spent a lot of time catching up and comparing stories from our different study abroad experiences, Anna and Caroline are in a home-stay in Seville, Spain! We went to a famous club in Madrid Friday night, Kapital, which is 7 stories tall and sprays mist on the dance floor. It was so much fun to be there with so many people we knew! We danced the night away before heading back to the hostel for some much needed rest. 

Saturday afternoon I was able to see one of my best friends from high school, ANNIKA! She is studying just outside of Madrid and came in for the day to walk around with us. We went to a beautiful park that reminded me of Central Park in NYC, we could have spent hours there. That night our whole group went to Botin, which is the oldest restaurant in the world! It was a great way to end our travel week, with new friends and old.

Parque del Retiro

Oldest Restaurant in the World

ANNIKA!

We made it back to Paderno without a hitch, and we couldn't have been happier to be back in our "home town"! Tomorrow we head to Milan, where it just happens to be fashion week. Time to break out the cute clothes.

-Megan

In Love with Paris!

Well, I can’t believe it, but we have now survived our first 5 weeks in Europe and just completed our first long week of travel. What a week it has been! Now time for some rest, relaxation, and…studying? :) 

We began the week off in Paris. I absolutely fell in love with Paris. I had pretty high expectations going in, but they were exceeded. We had heard from previous travelers that you need a good 3-4 days, so we took their advice, and planned accordingly.

Going into Paris we had our hearts set on doing a bike tour around the city. We had heard it was a great way to see and learn about the city. Although this is a wonderful way to see the city, and I would completely recommend the company we used, I would not recommend it when it is 20 degrees outside. It was cold. Super cold. As we began, we were saying to each other, “Oh, it’s not that bad! This is awesome!” and by the end (middle) of it we were saying, “We’ve got to go. I can’t feel my face or feet.” Needless to say, we cut the bike tour early along with some other girls that were feeling the same way, using the Eiffel tower as our reference to return the bikes.

After the cold bike tour, we knew of one thing that could quickly warm our bodies and spirits…Starbucks. Most of you reading this probably know of Megan and I’s obsession with Starbucks. I must inform you that Italy doesn’t have a single Starbucks and as we were planning the trip, we were looking so forward to the sip of our first latte after leaving the states. It was great.  Latte in hand, we spent the afternoon exploring shops and stores before heading back to our hostel for a shower and dinner.

Day two of Paris was packed full of history.

First, the Sacred Heart Cathedral... 

Then, the Phantom of the Opera Theatre...

 Arc de Trioumph...

Notre Dame...

To conclude the night, we set out to the Eiffel Tower. The light show was beautiful and going up in the tower was well worth it. It was fun to see the lights of the city in the place known as the “City of Lights.” Sadly, there was a bit of a fog over the city.

 The following day we ventured to the Louvre. Honestly I am not one that has the greatest obsession with art, but the Louvre was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Obviously, along with many other tourists we flocked to the main attractions…

But, my favorite part was the replica set up of Napolean’s apartment. The colors were so rich and I found this part of the museum particularly fascinating. Let me tell you, he had many, many, chandeliers.

After lunch we headed to the big shopping street that we had walked by on our way to the arc the day before. Paris has great shopping as you can imagine, but due to our light packing restrictions, by bag could only take about one more article of clothing. I settled on a shirt that I loved from Zara. I mean, you’ve got to buy something in Paris, right? J

It was a girl in our group’s birthday, so, to celebrate we decided to splurge on a fun meal from Le Refuge des Fodues. This was by far the best night of the trip. The atmosphere of this place is exactly what you would expect from a Paris restaurant. It is the definition of a “hole-in-the-wall” and the perfect way to end our trip and spend her birthday. They serve wine from baby bottles, you have to literally climb over the table if you are sitting against the wall, and the walls are covered in signatures. I would definitely recommend it to anyone and everyone. Get there early though, and make reservations, because as we were leaving there was a long line out the door.

Paris was great. Hopefully, someday, I will be able to go back!

One final note...Eat all the crepes you possibly can!! They are AMAZING!

All Things Edible

Over the past couple of weeks we have finally had some REAL Italian food! (Not that the cafeteria isn't great and all...) And we decided to devote this post to food.

This past weekend we stuck around Paderno and even had a visitor from Rome! Alex, Hannah, and I spent the weekend relaxing with friends, eating pizza and gelato, and enjoying the beautiful mountains. To read more about that weekend, visit Alex's blog here: italiannunnsense.blogspot.com

It also just so happened to be the coldest weekend Northern Italy has had in 27 years! The snow was light, though, and it dusted the town quite beautifully. 

Last week CIMBA hosted the first "Formal Dinner" at a hotel nearby. Before attending the dinner we all went to an Etiquette Seminar, where we were taught everything from the right hand to hold your glass in to where to place your hands on the table. It was interesting to hear about the style in which Italian's eat, hopefully I can bring some of the things I learned home! (Although, they don't really acknowledge left-handed people...) The actual dinner was a blast, and the food was amazing! We were served "apertivos" in a big room where everyone could walk around and socialize, then we moved to tables where we were served artichoke risotto, pasta, and the BEST DESSERT EVER. They even gave me my very own sign.

This past week has been full of tests, papers, and projects. We had a nice break on Tuesday though with a "Date with a Professor". This is something that is organized through the program. The professors chose an event they would like to attend, and then about 15 students can sign up to join them. Hannah and I decided to do pasta making with Professor Chope, an accounting professor. We went to a local restaurant and were escorted into the kitchen where we met Luca, the chef. He was the most precious man! We watched as he made the dough for our noodles from scratch, and he even let us help cut the gnocchi. We asked him how long he had been making pasta, and he said "Since I was a little boy! My parents taught me, and their parents taught them." It amazes me every time the deep ties people have to the community here.

LUCA!

First course

Needless to say, the food was incredible. We had a great time chatting with the professor and his wife, and will definitely go back to visit our favorite chef.

 

Tomorrow we leave for a week of travel. We will be going to Paris, Barcelona, and Madrid. Somebody pinch me.

-Megan