Buongiorno! I am pleased to say that we have finally made it to Milan, Italy! Our first flight from Pittsburgh to Newark left us with a long layover that seemed to drag on for forever in excited anticipation of our arrival to Italy. Although our second flight from Newark to Milan took us to a city that was experiencing some extraordinarily cold and rainy May weather, Milan has given me some very good first impressions.
It was extremely interesting to see all of the diverse architecture throughout the city as we were driving from the airport to the hotel. One minute I was looking at two large buildings covered in trees and moss (which I now know are called the Bosco Verticale or “Vertical Forest”), and the next minute I was looking at an extremely modern building composed almost entirely of glass. It’s amazing how these buildings coexist with all of the more traditional European style buildings that I saw and the small Italian streets that I had envisioned.
As an environmental engineer, I am always interested in the way that each different city manages their ecological problems. Although I did not receive too much information today because I have just arrived, I noticed that this city has more trees and greenspace than any other major city I have ever been to! I was astounded to see several parks and city streets covered with grass and trees as well as highways with walls of vertically stacked flower beds instead of concrete barriers. The Bosco Verticale was a structure in particular that captured my attention because it is an extremely efficient way to incorporate aesthetics and improved air quality in a metropolitan area. It was very different from the United States with regards to incorporating lots of green space into very large cities. For example, although New York City has Central Park, the whole rest of the city is pretty devoid of nature. Milan, on the other hand, has seamlessly incorporated nature into their city streets. In this sense, even in the miserable cold and rainy weather, Milan is an incredibly gorgeous city.
After getting this first glimpse at Milan, I was fortunate enough to receive my first truly Italian meal at Delicatessen, and it was a gustatory experience to be remembered! I have never tasted any bread so flavorful in my life. The servers kept tempting us with a very wide variety of fresh out of the oven rolls that none of us could resist, and I learned that this is a common practice in Italian culture. We also enjoyed a nice antipasto of various cold cuts, a main meal of lasagna, and a light dessert of lemon sorbet. It was a really excellent way to be initiated into Italian food culture and further get to know our lovely yet extremely overtired trip-mates.
After some intense napping to make up for lost sleep, my friends and I went to dinner at an Italian restaurant for some mouthwatering pizza and risotto. This was our first opportunity to really experience Milan without all of the rain hindering us, and I was quite impressed. There were so many gorgeous little side streets, some with small festivals going on. It seemed very lively and energetic even on a Sunday night, which makes me curious to see whether the other cities we visit will have similar characteristics. Essentially, it was the perfect conclusion to a very tiring but unforgettable and amazing day!