Milan Weekend

So Kate is here on Spring Break and we spend her first few days in Milan.  We are in Florence right now but I am trying to catch everyone up for now.  I met her at the airport super early in the morning, then we went back to my apartment, ate, napped, and then went out for some sight seeing.

This is us having lunch on the Piazza del Duomo.

The next day we went to the Castello Sforzesco Museums.  There are also pictures of the outside.  The Sforzesco Museums has a room that was designed and painted by da Vinci, my life obsession.  It also has the last and unfinished sculpture by Michealangelo as well as a million other amazing historical pieces.

The final and unfinished work by Michealangelo, a Pieta.

An iron cast of Michaelangelo's head!

Room within the castello that Leonardo da Vinci designed and painted.

Da Vinci's signature on the back of a painting.

Painting inside the room that Leonardo da Vinci designed and painted.  I don't think this is actually a da Vinci painting but it is dedicated to him.

Interesting looking plaque on the wall.

Inside the Duomo, its the 3rd largest cathedral in the world.  There will be more pictures to come of this when I have the chance to go during the day time.  Most of the pictures were not too great.

Duomo by late evening.

There are many many more pictures to come.  We are now in Florence, we have spend the last two days in Rome.  I took over 700 pictures!  I will not make you look at all of them, just the best of the bunch.  We had dinner with our friend Megan last night who is studying here in Florence.  She will be one of our housemates next year.  Today we shop and eat!

Ciao Ciao!

Vent Time

I'm going to start this out by venting about a few Italian things that have been bothering me.  First of all stores don't stay open as long as they say they will, I am saying this in reference to the Gelateria the girls and I have gone to twice now and it has been closed before it said it would.  

Second, big buildings always have lots of double doors to choose from when entering yet they only choose one, randomly, to leave unlocked.  So as you go down the line trying to get in the building you look like a fool.  

Third, you can never tell if the doors are push or pull.  Also makes you look a fool.  

Fourth, the residency packet is in Italian, yes the residency packet for foreign people trying to stay in the country temporarily.  Italy is the only country that speaks Italian, why would they put a packet for foreigners in Italian?  

Fifth, the residency packet is ridiculous.  10 pages long.  I had my roommates help me translate it and even they had trouble.  I had to find a place to photocopy my passport, get more passport photos taken, and get this stamp thing that cost 14 euro.  Once I got there, waited a half hour in line, the woman said I needed copies of every single page in my passport.  So at that point I was in a different part of the city, no idea where to get things copied there.  I finally found a place, got the copies made, went back and I was 8 euro short of the 58 euros needed just to live in the country for a few months.  So I had to leave again, find an atm, and go back for the final time and pay.  

Six, These banks are ridiculous.  I went to 4 different banks to cash travelers cheques and none of them would do it.  I ended up having to go to the exchange office near the Duomo in the city center and only get 80% of what the cheque said.  Lame.

Ok enough venting.  Good news now!  Everything else in Italy is fantastic.  Kate arrives on Saturday morning and we are spending 3 days in Rome and 2 days in Florence.  Her aunt was able to contact their family friend who is a Cardinal in Rome and we have an audience with the Pope on Ash Wednesday next week!!!  We also are having mass there too. Amazing!!!  I'm excited to see the parts of Italy that I've always wanted to see.  Milan is nice but it doesn't have the same charm that the rest of Italy has.  I'll be sure to post pictures.

Trying to keep busy

Well lately I've been trying to get over the adjustment period.  ie.  Time change, language barrier, culture shock.  I'm feeling a lot better now.  I finally got to meet with the people at my school today.  I'm officially enrolled as a student but my registration doesn't get to go through until I go to the classes in about two weeks and get the professors' approval.  I was told that I could take any level of the classes including the masters level which are in English!!! 

A view of my school from the street, it was all gated in on Sunday.

School seal above the gate.  The buildings are really modern and look new.  Lots of color too.

Also on Sunday I took a trip to Pinacoteca di Brera.  A very famous art museum in Milan known for housing lots of Renaissance art.  I couldn't even count how many Madonna con Bambino paintings there were.  (Madonna with child).  They had a specially Caravaggio exhibit going on.  It consisted of 4 paintings and you were only aloud in for 10  minutes.  His "L'ultima Cena" (Last Supper) is very unique, much different than da Vinci's.  I liked it a lot.  Anyways, these were taken before I saw the "non foto" sign.  I really would have liked to show you the restoration room they had set up, it looked like a hyperbaric chamber.  Lots of tools and paint and big fancy things.  

Below are pictures from Colonne di San Lorenzo which is located in the historical district of the city.  Has a row of ancient Roman columns and a large Basilica.  A very pretty area.  I met Marta there today for lunch at a nice little restaurant.  Molto Buono (very good).

This is another church I saw while walking downtown.  I can't remember the name though.

This is Constantine looked high and mighty.

The rest of the day consisted of errand running that took a long long long time.  First I went to Vodafone, the popular Italian cell phone company.  Anita, one of my room mates, is allowing me to borrow her old phone so I had to get a sim card so it would work and I would have a phone number.  After that I took a trip to the Tourist office because this city is not very tourist friendly, especially in the transportation department.  You'd think they could at least label each Tram stop or something right?  So I got a bunch of maps and booklets.  It was nice to speak to an English person!  

After that, I went to the ATM point which is the public transportation office.  I signed up for a monthly unlimited student travel card so I don't have to keep buying tram tickets.  Only 17 euro a month compared to the 30 for everyone else.  The man was very nice and helpful, he also has a son at Politecnico.  Its funny how I start speaking Italian to people and they automatically start speaking English and kind of laugh at me.  

After that, I went on a scavenger hunt for my Residency packet.  Because I'm staying longer than 3 months I have to establish a residency in the city.  I went to 3 different post office buildings until I found someone who could tell me where to go.  I think I walked into some sort of police station because I saw someone getting interrogated around the corner, the information desk man walked me around the corner to the correct part of the building.  The residency packet is for all foreign people staying in Italy, Italy being the only country that speaks Italian as a national language, but all the forms are in Italian.  Why not choose a more universal language like English?  I might need some help with it.  

After that I hopped on Tram 3 and took a long ride home.  It was a full day to say the least.

Ciao!

First day of Sight Seeing.

I gave all my roomies Michigan t-shirts and a bunch of American candy and goodies.  They like to say "Go Blue!"

Castello

Fontana

Castello

Me and the Castello

Il Duomo, 3rd largest in the world.  I haven't been inside or on top yet.

Many people in front of il Duomo

Me inside Vittorio Emanuel Galleria

Ceiling of the Galleria

Me and Leonardo

Duomo from inside a huge store.

Duomo 

Galleria

Duomo by night.

My trip in picture form.

All three tickets and my passport in it's snazzy case!

Flying from Chicago to London,  sunset over lake michichigan.

Flying into Milan,  the alps in the back ground!

Lunch on the way home.  Two kinds of Bruschetta and Crepes!

Picture of my room that I share with Marta and Anita.  My bed is black and white on the right.

View of Zona Bovisa, the district in Milan that I live, from my bedroom.

2 Flights down, 1 to go!

Well I have made it to London for my second lay over in this ridiculously long travel adventure.  I left my house in Novi at about 10am EST.  Evee, my pup, was not very happy.  She had a sit in on my bed with a milkbone in her mouth.  She barked and barked and barked.  She hates suitcases, especially when they make their way out the door.  Prior to departing the house I had a very frustrating situation with my suitcases.  I hate having to take things out.  It turned out that they weighted 50 and 49.5 pounds a piece.  Lucky me.  I used every available ounce!  My carry on however is a beast to lug around, but they are all essential items.  

I flew American so I got to see the new North Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport.  Its pretty nice, nothing fancy but WAY better than the American Terminal used to be.  I had a coffee, read my book, and flew to Chicago.  In chicago I waited for another 3 hours or so, ate a happy meal, and read more of my book.  

I then boarded my flight to London, 7 and a half hours long.  My legs were aching afterwards from sitting so long.  I was surprised how little the babies cried on the plane.  I also had 2 seats to myself which allowed me to spread out some.  

London Heathrow Airport is very odd.  I got off my plane at one terminal, walked through a million empty hallways to get onto a bus and ride it to Terminal 5 and go through passport check and security again.  A long and tedious process.  I am now in the connections lounge waiting for my gate to be announced.  Strange that it is not pre-planned.  It is about 8:10am in London which means it is 3:10am at home.  I'm really tired.  It may be time for Starbucks!

I will post pictures soon!  I promise!  

Ciao!

Travel Plans!

Ciao Ragazze!

Since my last post, an embarrassing few months ago, I have found a place to live, booked my flight, and gotten my visa.  

I will be living with 4 fabulous Italian girls.  Three of them are students at Politecnico in the same design school as me!  The fourth is a graphic designer in the city and the sister of the girls place that I am taking in the apartment for the semester.  I couldn't have been luckier to find these girls!  It will be so great to be living with Italian girls.  My language skills will sky rocket and I will experience so much of the culture by participating rather than observing as a tourist.  I am now in search of the perfect "American" gift to bring them.  

I leave for Milan on February 10th.  I will see 4 airports in 24 hours.  Yuck!  I fly from Detroit to Chicago to London to Milan.  I leave Detroit at about 1pm Eastern Standard Time and land in Milan at about 11:30am Milano time!  I'm crossing my fingers for my luggage.  

Applying for my visa was quite an experience as well.  I had to go to the Italian Consulate General in downtown Detroit.  It was in a skyscraper that was very reminiscent of the art deco era.  Marble floors and embellished walls.  The office itself on the 18th floor was very small but it was exciting to see the seal of Italy enormously displayed on the wall just outside.  The office had a beautiful view of the river and a Windsor, Canada.  The clerk I talked with was less than thrilled about Milan.  She was born and raised in Venice and felt that Milan lacked the romantic charm that the rest of Italy has.  She wanted to make sure that I travel to the rest of Italy, which, of course, is the plan.  

I promise to be more punctual with my updates.

Arrivederci!