Milan/ Lake Como 2/8

We took our first weekend trip up to Milan to see the Duomo and do some shopping.  We gave ourselves plenty of time to get to the airport (YES, we are learning).  Once we got there we decided to go get a panini before the 45 min flight. ( a very long flight)  We were doing the italian thing and taking our time making it back to the terminal.  We got to the terminal and realized that no one was there!  Two flight attendants were standing at the gate waving for us to hurry up!  We ran up to the gate with our panini in one hand and our carry on in the other.  We hurried to get out our tickets and slammed the panini down on the counter to free up a hand. (We got some interesting looks from the attendants to say the least)  Little did we know, we had to take a bus to get to the plane so we couldn't arrive 10 min before the flight like we had planned!  Like I said earlier, the things you want to be on time aren't and the things you want to be late are on time!  We can never win!

Once we got to the airport we had to take a 30 min bus ride into the city.  Yasemin, Emily and I were the only three on the bus and had a blast dancing around.  The main central station was our destination and from there we had to take a metro to a bus stop.  Somehow we got on right bus, but it was going the wrong way.  The directions to our hostel just said to take the bus 5 stops so we were 10 stops in the wrong direction.  Of course it was down pouring and 20 degrees cooler in Milan.  We walked around for a while thinking that we could find the place, but gave up after about half hour.  We hopped in a cab ( that started at 7 euro!!) and made it to the hostel 25 euro later.  We decided to get a private room in the hostel so that we could leave our things in the room during the day.  We didn't know that we were getting such a great deal....NOT!!!  As we opened the door, we came to see our beds/cots had US army comforters.  The room didn't have its own bathroom but don't you worry.....we had a bidet!  The bathroom was down the hall so we ventured down to see what we were in for.  There were two bathrooms but only one was in use.  The sign on the door said "Non chiudere la porta"  or Dont close the door.  We were a little confused at this point because that was the only bathroom available.  It turns out that we could shut the door from the inside but it couldn't be opened from the outside.  

Friday morning we woke up early to make sure we had enough time to see all the sights.  Our hostel said that breakfast was included in the price so we ventured downstairs before we headed out.  The desk assistant gave us a glass of orange juice and a prepackaged croissant.  We told ourselves we would get some real food later.  

We made our way to see the Duomo, which is Milan's big Catholic church.  It is the second largest church in the world next to the Vatican.  It is a Gothic style church which means that it was very dark.  All the windows were stained glass which were amazing, but it was freezing inside and gave off a very cold feeling.  They have daily mass and it was going on while we were there.  Below the Duomo was the catacomb of the Cardinal Arch Bishop Bartholomew.  The other side was where St. Augustine was believed to be baptized.  There was also a little museum where old artifacts of the church are.  Everything was beautiful as expected.  

We made our way over to the famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele which was the first known shopping mall.  It is considered outdoors but it has a glass ceiling connecting the buildings.  The Galleria is in between the Duomo and the most famous opera house in the world, La Scala.  We entered into the opera house but pictures weren't allowed so unfortunately I don't have any.  The opera house was very elegant.  It was much smaller than I thought, but I guess that is why the acoustics are so good.

Milan also has Leonardo DaVinci's "The Last Supper".  Unfortunately you have to make an appointment to see it A MONTH IN ADVANCED!!  So we couldn't get into see it.  Milan is much different than the rest of Italy.  They say that Milan is more European than Italian.  The city is very industrialized and very rush rush.  Unlike Rome, there weren't many pizza or gelato places.  Every restaurant was either Chinese, Japanese, Turkish, or some other type of Arabic.  I guess Milan has the largest population of Asians in Europe.  (Random fact)  The style is much different than in Rome.  We didn't really feel like we were in Italy (except for the shopping).

Milan is known as one of the fashion capitals in the world.  It has the highest concentration of shops in Europe.  Which basically means that there are shops everywhere.  And these are not just typical shops.  They are Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, Versace, and Gucci, everywhere.  The shops were also a lot bigger than they are in Rome.  It is more like a outdoor mall than little boutiques.  We shopped the rest of the day on Friday, but only managed to find clothes from H&M which is an American store!  I guess this is ok though because it was probably the only store in our price range.  Some students that go to my school full time, were also in Milan for the weekend so we met up with them for a VERY expensive sushi meal and then they showed us the night life in Milan.  Everything in general is more expensive in Milan, but that is part of the Milanese experience so we accepted it and just had fun.

Saturday morning we got up and headed off to Lake Como, which is the lake that George Clooney has his summer home on.  It was even colder there because we were up in the mountains.  I would love to see this place in the summer.  The lake is down at the bottom of the big hills and the houses are all around the outside and up the hills. Lombardia is the region that Milan and Lake Como are in, but there are also two other large lakes that are in this region. Since Italy gets very hot in the summer, many people have their summer homes on these lakes.  I am very glad that we went and saw Lake Como.  When I come back to Italy I will definitely return to Lake Como.  We were able to get a few pictures but it was pouring and really cold so we only stayed a little over an hour.  We took a trolley up to the top of one hill and there was a little town at the top.  The pictures from up here were the best.  Since it was so cold we stopped at the only caffe open this time of year and got a hot chocolate which is the BEST hot chocolate I have ever had!  I of course forgot my umbrella in the hostel and was too stubborn to buy another one because I have already purchased 3 in Italy thus far!  Yasemin and Emily were also refusing to buy new ones so they had about one umbrella combined.  We are pretty sure that their umbrellas could be considered weapons because there were more points without fabric than with.  I was naturally soaked and ringing out my hair by the end of the trip, but I am glad that I held off buying one because once we got back to Milan I bargained with a man for a really nice golf-sized umbrella for 7 euro.  The three of us shared my nice new purchase the rest of the trip.  We attempted more shopping Saturday after Lake Como, but we were just too cold and wet so we headed back to the hostel.  After a quick nap ( I am getting used to these which is not good) we went out for our last night in Milan.  

Of course when we woke up Sunday morning to catch our flight, there was not a cloud in the sky and it was 8 degrees warmer.  It made for a great 45 min plane ride home but we wished we could have had sunshine for our trip.

I don't know if I will ever go back to Milan but I am happy that we experienced it.  Lake Como is definitely on my list of places to return to though (and maybe Milan for a day of shopping).

This week was my first week of exams at John Cabot.  They definitely not as intense as back home which is good because then I can still see everything I want.  This weekend we are staying in Rome.  I am actually really happy for this because there are still many things I would like to see here.  Hopefully I can get the pictures up on the slideshow soon.  All my roommates are doing great and I am really excited we are all getting along and all want to do/see the same things! 

Thanks again everyone for reading about my adventure!!