What a trip! I began the long journey to Milan nice and early at 4 am Friday morning. After a short 1 hour drive to the bus station and a 6 hour bus ride to Pittsburgh, I was surprised at how happy I was to be back at school! In my week home post-exams with little to do, I had already come to miss the bustle and proximity of the city.
Once I checked in at the dorm, I found most of my fellow amici in the lounge where we excitedly began planning for our free nights in Milan. At 5 we migrated to the Porch to eat our first group meal. We were served multiple courses of delicious food back to back as we got to know each other better.
The next morning we set off on our trip and flew to Newark from Pittsburgh and then from Newark to Milan. Although the layover at Newark was almost painfully long, we managed to pass the time looking through Italian language books learning basic phrases and scrolling through tourist sites in search of cheap activities to explore in our free time abroad.
Finally we’re in Milan! After a rough landing, we passed through customs and already I saw all the signs in Italian first, which I found exciting. Driving through the city to the hotel was incredible since we could observe the unique architecture of the buildings we passed. I was particularly impressed by the verdant and vibrant vegetation growing up glass buildings and protruding from tiny balconies. On the outskirts of the city we even saw the classic Southern European red brick roofs like the ones I see in Spain and Portugal.
Unfortunately, with wind and rain, the weather was not ideal for a walking tour after we arrived at the hotel, so our friendly guide, Luca, took us for a shortened version on our way to the Delicatessen for our Welcome Lunch. We learned on the walk that Milan is traditionally known for its Risotto, although nowadays the specialties of the different regions in Italy have bled into each other so that Milan is also known for its Pizza and other classic Italian foods.
We were welcomed to the restaurant with a beautiful menu introducing us to the courses we would expect in our meal. It seems to be a cultural norm here that bread and antipasto are served together as an (potentially very filling) appetizer before any main course. As you can see in the pictures, the things they brought out were similar to tasters in the States and were varied so that someone like me, who has to try everything, gets properly stuffed. They were also very accommodating and provided me with a separate cheese plate covered in deliciously smelly, flavorful new cheeses to replace the meat dish in the picture since I’m vegetariano. Unfortunately I couldn’t snatch a picture of that dish in time.
Once we had all stuffed ourselves with heavy foods we got to eat some silky smooth sorbet. The classic dessert was a perfectly fresh, light conclusion to our meal.
After an orientation informing us of how to stay safe on the streets, we were let loose to explore the city on our own. I wandered with some new friends around the commercial district. We were surprised to find a festival and plenty of cheap but delicious food there.
I decided to try out the famous risotto and was not disappointed by the creamy rice. Although the waiter noticed our accent and immediately spoke to us in English, I did try my best to communicate in Italian and hope that it will improve over the course of my stay. I can barely wait until a sunnier, full day tomorrow! But first I have to rest.
Buona notte! Have a good night!
Lia