Monday September 29th:
Alisa showed me around Milan today! We started by going to "Via Marina" for our good friend named (you guessed it) Marina! Then we headed to the very center of Milan and saw the castle. We didn't go inside because money and it's not castle-y but museums of other things. There were 3 big food trucks with gelato....except we missed the gelato festival by ONE DAY! this was super depressing but probably best for our health. I saw loads of different police cars and police. They do it a bit differently at home. We saw the regular police (polizia) as well as the bank police, military police (carabineri), and the traffic police. I liked all the cars and vans. We also saw actual military guys (perhaps carabineria in different uniforms?). Then we saw the "living room" of Milan which is a huge pretty shopping mall of sorts. I didn't dare go inside Louis Vuitton, Prada, or Versace but merely admired through the windows. Also, a touristy thing for good luck is to stand with your heel on the bull's balls and turn in a circle 3 times. Yes. You read that correctly. I had to participate.
For lunch we made our way to Luini where they serve panzerotti and many other delicious things. We went for the panzerotti fritti aka fried calzones. Mine had ham and mozzarella and was amazing! Marina was super jealous. We then admired the duomo of Milano (third largest in the world) from the cafe at the top of la Rinascente, a high end department store. Inside the cathedral was super pretty and awe inspiring. We then took a trip to see the bronze horse that Leonardo designed and the stadium where AC Milan plays. I was hungry and we passed a McDonalds so I had to try it. THEY HAD ICE IN THEIR SODAS AND IT WAS GLORIOUS! I miss ice. Also, have I mentioned that the light switches are on the outside of the room? I mean sure, turn on the light then go inside the room...works like a charm except for pranks and accidents. One of the girls on the quidditch team mentioned that her mom would sometimes accidentally turn off the light in the bathroom when she didn't know someone was inside. I know Evan would take full advantage of this if light switches were on the outside of rooms at home. We finally made it back to Alisa's apartment where naps were first on the agenda. Now I'm mostly packed up and ready to move to Saronno tomorrow morning!
Buonanotte!
Monday, September 29, 2014
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Firenze & Quidditch
Today is Sunday September 28th but I'm just now getting around to writing...
On Friday September 26th: Alisa and I took a high speed train to Firenze to visit Marina/Maureen Melita (my Italian 101 teacher and friend). The train went over 200km/hr! The view out the window was gorgeous because of all the pretty mountains and countryside. We arrived in Firenze, dropped our bags off at Marina's apartment, then set off for lunch! We ate at a fantastic sandwich shop where all the sandwiches are on baguettes and they were lovely and put only turkey (freshly sliced) and mozzarella (super fresh and delicious) on my sandwich instead of everything (like vegetables). Marina and Alisa's sandwiches were much more complex but all were equally tasty to each. I had a Fanta because yum, sugar, and it tastes better over here in Europe. Can sodas are way more common than fountain sodas. Probably not gonna drink too many more of them because they're usually 3 euros each. Water is also typically bottled because the water in the city is kinda bleh tasting though completely drinkable. The fountains are nice so I'll definitely have to get a re-usable water bottle. After lunch we saw Dante's church where his beloved Beatrice is buried and we saw "il duomo" which is actually named the Basilica of St Maria the flower but the dome is really pretty and easiest to see. It was super pretty inside and out. We also went and saw Michelangelo's David which is ginormous and awe inspiring. Marina was really happy because you are now allowed to take pictures of it. I'll get around to posting mine on facebook eventually... Then we had a lovely dinner at Trattatoria Anita, where Marina has been a regular for years, and enjoyed some amazing food and chats with the waiters/owners. After a taxi ride back to her apartment we went to sleep then Alisa and I headed back to the train station in the morning so I could make it back to Milan in time for Quidditch.
Saturday September 27th: Quidditch!!! well, first we had lunch at an amazing pizza place (Brick Oven Pizza) with oval shaped super thin crust pizzas. Then I stopped by a grocery store to buy my own shampoo and things. Learned the word for conditioner in Italian, lol. Then we got ready and went to Quidditch! It happens in Parco Lambro not tooooo far from Alisa's house. We took the bus to the subway then got off after 2 stops. We then walked and found the entrance to the park but couldn't find the rugby fields. We found a bar (which in italian is often coffee and snacks, so more of a "snack bar" but they're just called bars) in the park and the owner gladly gave us directions from there. Alisa was going to stay and watch for a bit because she has never seen it but the MOSQUITOES. holy ****. I didn't know I could hate anything so much. You thought the mosquitoes were bad in North Carolina? think again. I only seem to have one bite though so perhaps they were more like gnats or either weren't hungry. However, I wore my sunglasses for the entire practice so I didn't end up with any in my eyes and I definitely ate a few. When you stopped moving your arm had to continuously be waving around your face and body to keep them off. It makes playing quidditch extra difficult. Anyway, I was introduced as a player from the States and I don't know what else was said because it was definitely in Italian. Most of the team knows at least a little bit of English. We had a lot of fun doing drills, scrimmaging, and then playing ultimate quidditch (like ultimate frisbee, but with brooms and a quaffle instead of a frisbee). I learned all the terms in Italian for Quidditch and tried to help. I did keep mixing up everyone's names. Francesca was super nice and told me that she wasn't Clara...which is why she had never answered me when I was shouting for her when we were beating together. lol. I didn't feel like wearing my tall socks and wore normal socks with my cleats which was a mistake I won't be making again. I now have blisters because my socks were too thin. After practice we were going to go to an aperetivo but it was too late (aperetivo = buy a drink for like 8 or 9 euros and get loads of snacks/food to eat). We ended up going to a pizza place near Michele's apartment (where all the quidditch stuff was stored) where I tried gnocchi. I think either the gnocchi was not so good or either I don't like it. The pizza looked quite good. After pizza half of us went back to Michele's (where he stayed because he's old and pulled a muscle or something) to pick up our things and have some limoncello. Valeria and Gianluca helped me find my way back to Alisa's apartment and I slept for ages. Don't worry Mom & Dad, just because I'm in Italy doesn't mean I don't sleep in and watch video games :] Not sure what the plan is for the next few days yet but I'll post about it to be sure.
On Friday September 26th: Alisa and I took a high speed train to Firenze to visit Marina/Maureen Melita (my Italian 101 teacher and friend). The train went over 200km/hr! The view out the window was gorgeous because of all the pretty mountains and countryside. We arrived in Firenze, dropped our bags off at Marina's apartment, then set off for lunch! We ate at a fantastic sandwich shop where all the sandwiches are on baguettes and they were lovely and put only turkey (freshly sliced) and mozzarella (super fresh and delicious) on my sandwich instead of everything (like vegetables). Marina and Alisa's sandwiches were much more complex but all were equally tasty to each. I had a Fanta because yum, sugar, and it tastes better over here in Europe. Can sodas are way more common than fountain sodas. Probably not gonna drink too many more of them because they're usually 3 euros each. Water is also typically bottled because the water in the city is kinda bleh tasting though completely drinkable. The fountains are nice so I'll definitely have to get a re-usable water bottle. After lunch we saw Dante's church where his beloved Beatrice is buried and we saw "il duomo" which is actually named the Basilica of St Maria the flower but the dome is really pretty and easiest to see. It was super pretty inside and out. We also went and saw Michelangelo's David which is ginormous and awe inspiring. Marina was really happy because you are now allowed to take pictures of it. I'll get around to posting mine on facebook eventually... Then we had a lovely dinner at Trattatoria Anita, where Marina has been a regular for years, and enjoyed some amazing food and chats with the waiters/owners. After a taxi ride back to her apartment we went to sleep then Alisa and I headed back to the train station in the morning so I could make it back to Milan in time for Quidditch.
Saturday September 27th: Quidditch!!! well, first we had lunch at an amazing pizza place (Brick Oven Pizza) with oval shaped super thin crust pizzas. Then I stopped by a grocery store to buy my own shampoo and things. Learned the word for conditioner in Italian, lol. Then we got ready and went to Quidditch! It happens in Parco Lambro not tooooo far from Alisa's house. We took the bus to the subway then got off after 2 stops. We then walked and found the entrance to the park but couldn't find the rugby fields. We found a bar (which in italian is often coffee and snacks, so more of a "snack bar" but they're just called bars) in the park and the owner gladly gave us directions from there. Alisa was going to stay and watch for a bit because she has never seen it but the MOSQUITOES. holy ****. I didn't know I could hate anything so much. You thought the mosquitoes were bad in North Carolina? think again. I only seem to have one bite though so perhaps they were more like gnats or either weren't hungry. However, I wore my sunglasses for the entire practice so I didn't end up with any in my eyes and I definitely ate a few. When you stopped moving your arm had to continuously be waving around your face and body to keep them off. It makes playing quidditch extra difficult. Anyway, I was introduced as a player from the States and I don't know what else was said because it was definitely in Italian. Most of the team knows at least a little bit of English. We had a lot of fun doing drills, scrimmaging, and then playing ultimate quidditch (like ultimate frisbee, but with brooms and a quaffle instead of a frisbee). I learned all the terms in Italian for Quidditch and tried to help. I did keep mixing up everyone's names. Francesca was super nice and told me that she wasn't Clara...which is why she had never answered me when I was shouting for her when we were beating together. lol. I didn't feel like wearing my tall socks and wore normal socks with my cleats which was a mistake I won't be making again. I now have blisters because my socks were too thin. After practice we were going to go to an aperetivo but it was too late (aperetivo = buy a drink for like 8 or 9 euros and get loads of snacks/food to eat). We ended up going to a pizza place near Michele's apartment (where all the quidditch stuff was stored) where I tried gnocchi. I think either the gnocchi was not so good or either I don't like it. The pizza looked quite good. After pizza half of us went back to Michele's (where he stayed because he's old and pulled a muscle or something) to pick up our things and have some limoncello. Valeria and Gianluca helped me find my way back to Alisa's apartment and I slept for ages. Don't worry Mom & Dad, just because I'm in Italy doesn't mean I don't sleep in and watch video games :] Not sure what the plan is for the next few days yet but I'll post about it to be sure.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Ciao!
Thursday September 25, 2014:
I have made it to Milan!
I left Charlotte airport at 1:20pm to JFK where I had a lovely 3 hour wait until the next flight. I didn't feel like carrying my (heavy) carry on bags around the airport so I walked to the first place I found which happened to be a convenience store and Baskin Robbins/Dunkin Donuts combined. So, I had chocolate icecream for dinner. I ended up with a window seat on the plane which was great but the only TV screens were in the middle aisle hanging from the ceiling so that was a bit unfortunate. On the way to JFK I had a window seat too and nobody was sitting in the middle seat :D We took off about 20 minutes late because there was an overhead compartment a few rows ahead of me that wouldn't stay closed so maintenance had to come fix it before we could leave. The flight food was decent; I had chicken and potatoes and then talked to the nice lady next to me for quite some time because she accepted my salad gladly. She was a huge Harry Potter fan and enjoyed hearing about Quidditch. Rio2 was played on the TV but I tried to sleep. It sort of worked. We landed and the customs line was surprisingly quick. I was interrogated upon arriving at London & Helsinki: "Where are you going? What are you doing? How long are you staying? How did you meet this friend?" etc. The Italian officials looked at my passport, stamped it, and handed it back. Easy as that. Alisa was waiting for me with my name on a sign (I felt important haha) and thankfully watched my luggage so I could use the bathroom before the trek to the city. I couldn't figure out how to work the hand dryers and neither could anyone else in the ladies restroom so we gave up. Sadly, a precious hand sanitizer (the glittery one too!) leaked during my flight. Oh, and my medical bracelet snapped too. Gonna have to get a decent one instead of the one from CVS I suppose.
To Milan! We took a bus (more like a charter bus/coach) to the main train station in Milan from the airport where we then caught a city bus to Alisa's apartment. Thankfully she had bought tickets and led the way! Her apartment is absolutely lovely (I have 2 beds, heheh) with many flags of all the countries she has been to and cute furniture. The bathroom is different, the toilet flushes weird. It's like a handle to flush that is a shower handle but instead of controlling temperature it controls how much water is used. I got on facebook, checked some emails, sent some texts (yo, I don't get charged for texts or data usage so feel free to keep in touch! calls are 20 cents a minute but that's what we have skype for, right?) then we went to a pizza place right around the corner.
I ate pizza with a fork and knife. This might be one thing where I have to say screw it, this is easier to eat by hand! The pizza was delicious though! I had plain cheese (: We got back to the apartment and bought train tickets to Florence for tomorrow morning. We are off to visit Marina (she taught my Italian 101 class). I then took a much needed nap and tried to watch Cloud 9 on twitch but the internet was going in and out so I gave up and slept. Thankfully they won both of their games :] I chatted with Alisa a bit and then with people back home because they were up and moving finally :p I now know where and when Quidditch practice is on Saturday and Michele and Valeria offered to meet up tonight. Michele came by and picked me up since I didn't want to walk alone in the dark in an unfamiliar place and we met Valeria at a pizza place (I'll have to get the names of these places eventually) that ONLY serves margherita pizza (plain cheese) and drinks. You know the pizza is gonna be good when the line is out the door and it's all for some cheese pizza! Michele ordered for me, the only options were small or large (he ordered large and I definitely couldn't eat all of it). It was thick crust unlike the thin I had at lunch and super cheesy and amazing. The fork and knife worked much better with the thick crust but I still think hands are best. We then went to an awesome gelato shop and it took a long time to make a decision of what flavors to try. I tried dark chocolate and bacio (milk chocolate with hazelnuts, baci are a type of italian chocolates that are amazing, Martina brought them to my Italian 102 class to share). Valeria had bacio and mint while Michele had mixed fruit and lemon. Everyone is super friendly and keeps paying for things for me (though I tried to pay). I didn't know how to order at the gelato place. I'm definitely going back because there were plenty other flavors I want to try!
Michele and Valeria walked me back to Alisa's apartment and made sure I could get inside before leaving. We took a car part of the way to the pizza place but it was more hassle to find parking. It's kinda like zipcar. Tonight I sleep some more and wake up to get on the train to Florence! I couldn't be more appreciative and thankful to everyone who has helped me get this far (Alisa, Marina, Michele, April, etc). We'll see if I can fall asleep with so much excitement (and caffeine & gelato).
Buonanotte,
Alex
I have made it to Milan!
I left Charlotte airport at 1:20pm to JFK where I had a lovely 3 hour wait until the next flight. I didn't feel like carrying my (heavy) carry on bags around the airport so I walked to the first place I found which happened to be a convenience store and Baskin Robbins/Dunkin Donuts combined. So, I had chocolate icecream for dinner. I ended up with a window seat on the plane which was great but the only TV screens were in the middle aisle hanging from the ceiling so that was a bit unfortunate. On the way to JFK I had a window seat too and nobody was sitting in the middle seat :D We took off about 20 minutes late because there was an overhead compartment a few rows ahead of me that wouldn't stay closed so maintenance had to come fix it before we could leave. The flight food was decent; I had chicken and potatoes and then talked to the nice lady next to me for quite some time because she accepted my salad gladly. She was a huge Harry Potter fan and enjoyed hearing about Quidditch. Rio2 was played on the TV but I tried to sleep. It sort of worked. We landed and the customs line was surprisingly quick. I was interrogated upon arriving at London & Helsinki: "Where are you going? What are you doing? How long are you staying? How did you meet this friend?" etc. The Italian officials looked at my passport, stamped it, and handed it back. Easy as that. Alisa was waiting for me with my name on a sign (I felt important haha) and thankfully watched my luggage so I could use the bathroom before the trek to the city. I couldn't figure out how to work the hand dryers and neither could anyone else in the ladies restroom so we gave up. Sadly, a precious hand sanitizer (the glittery one too!) leaked during my flight. Oh, and my medical bracelet snapped too. Gonna have to get a decent one instead of the one from CVS I suppose.
To Milan! We took a bus (more like a charter bus/coach) to the main train station in Milan from the airport where we then caught a city bus to Alisa's apartment. Thankfully she had bought tickets and led the way! Her apartment is absolutely lovely (I have 2 beds, heheh) with many flags of all the countries she has been to and cute furniture. The bathroom is different, the toilet flushes weird. It's like a handle to flush that is a shower handle but instead of controlling temperature it controls how much water is used. I got on facebook, checked some emails, sent some texts (yo, I don't get charged for texts or data usage so feel free to keep in touch! calls are 20 cents a minute but that's what we have skype for, right?) then we went to a pizza place right around the corner.
I ate pizza with a fork and knife. This might be one thing where I have to say screw it, this is easier to eat by hand! The pizza was delicious though! I had plain cheese (: We got back to the apartment and bought train tickets to Florence for tomorrow morning. We are off to visit Marina (she taught my Italian 101 class). I then took a much needed nap and tried to watch Cloud 9 on twitch but the internet was going in and out so I gave up and slept. Thankfully they won both of their games :] I chatted with Alisa a bit and then with people back home because they were up and moving finally :p I now know where and when Quidditch practice is on Saturday and Michele and Valeria offered to meet up tonight. Michele came by and picked me up since I didn't want to walk alone in the dark in an unfamiliar place and we met Valeria at a pizza place (I'll have to get the names of these places eventually) that ONLY serves margherita pizza (plain cheese) and drinks. You know the pizza is gonna be good when the line is out the door and it's all for some cheese pizza! Michele ordered for me, the only options were small or large (he ordered large and I definitely couldn't eat all of it). It was thick crust unlike the thin I had at lunch and super cheesy and amazing. The fork and knife worked much better with the thick crust but I still think hands are best. We then went to an awesome gelato shop and it took a long time to make a decision of what flavors to try. I tried dark chocolate and bacio (milk chocolate with hazelnuts, baci are a type of italian chocolates that are amazing, Martina brought them to my Italian 102 class to share). Valeria had bacio and mint while Michele had mixed fruit and lemon. Everyone is super friendly and keeps paying for things for me (though I tried to pay). I didn't know how to order at the gelato place. I'm definitely going back because there were plenty other flavors I want to try!
Michele and Valeria walked me back to Alisa's apartment and made sure I could get inside before leaving. We took a car part of the way to the pizza place but it was more hassle to find parking. It's kinda like zipcar. Tonight I sleep some more and wake up to get on the train to Florence! I couldn't be more appreciative and thankful to everyone who has helped me get this far (Alisa, Marina, Michele, April, etc). We'll see if I can fall asleep with so much excitement (and caffeine & gelato).
Buonanotte,
Alex
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