Hey everyone!

I’m happy to say I’m writing this blog in Milan, Italy. Today is our first day. We arrived in Italy around 9am in their time, but for us it would have been about three in the morning. I didn’t realize how far away Italy actually was until we flew here. Safe to say I was exhausted, not only from my body clock being thrown off, but a full day of traveling including a five hour layover and a nine hour flight. We’re lucky though, we have two days until our first company visit to adjust to the time difference and Italy itself.

From what I’ve seen so far, Italy is so beautiful, and I can’t wait to see the rest. Today we took a short walk around Hotel Sempione, the hotel we’re staying at, to get a taste of the neighborhood. The colors and styles of the buildings and the lush green balconies are so unique and incredible. It’s definitely a nice change of scenery from Pittsburgh. After looking around for a little, we were taken to a restaurant for a traditional Italian lunch. I ate an insane amount of bread and pasta, and I fear the freshman fifteen will continue on this trip.. fingers crossed it doesn’t. After lunch we were set on our own for the evening and a few of us adventured into Milan. We ate dinner at a pizzeria that Luca recommended earlier. One thing I’ve learned quickly, is that Italians take their food seriously, and pizza and pasta in Italy live up to the hype. 

Everything has been so different from what I’m used to in Pennsylvania. The only similarity I saw was the cold and rainy weather. We must have brought Pittsburgh weather with us, because as soon as we arrived Luca, our WorldStride guide, told us this type of weather was not typical of Italy this time of year. I didn’t pack for Pittsburgh weather either, so I’m hoping the weather clears up and gets warmer through these next two weeks. 

One day down, twelve more to go!