We have finally arrived in Milan! I truly can’t believe the day has come. Everyone on the trip put a great deal of work into the application and pre-departure preparation, so to finally be here seems surreal. The process of traveling from Pittsburgh to Milan was a little grueling, as all long distance travel is. For some reason, the woman who checked me in at the airport upgraded me away from the rest of my group to economy plus for both of our flights. I was a little upset that I couldn’t fly with the rest of the Plus 3 Italy group until our plane landed in Milan. It was a perfectly smooth landing for me in the front of the plane, but apparently the landing was so rough for the back of the plane that a few people became ill. After that incident, I was pretty grateful to the United worker who upgraded me. During the landing, I was immediately struck by the beauty of the Andes Mountains and thousands of little red-roofed houses scattered on the ground. During our hour bus ride from the airport, we passed even more cute houses with red tile roofs. This ride made me wish the architecture of homes in the United States was as beautiful and unique.
When we arrived in Milan, we met our guide, Luca, who escorted us to the bank to get some Euros. I almost never carry cash in the United States, but in our pre-departure classes we learned that Italians usually only use debit cards to pay for large purchases. We then made our way to our welcome lunch. I want to emphasize just how warm a welcome this lunch was. I was starving beforehand and had managed stuff myself solely on the many different types of breads. There was an overwhelming variety of bread to try. This was certainly a change from the United States, where I am used to being served one type of bread before dinner. Following the bread, we had antipasto, where I shared delicious meats and cheeses with my friend Elizabeth. The lasagna came next as our main dish, which certainly did not disappoint. To finish, we had sorbet with fruit. The seemingly endless rounds of food definitely overwhelmed me. Tomorrow, I will try adjust my eating strategy to just trying a little bit of everything rather than devouring each course. Moderation is hard when everything is so good.
After lunch, I rolled into bed for a quick nap before our safety meeting. Luca explained to us how to avoid pickpockets, who often come up with some pretty impressive schemes to take your valuables. I never worried about avoiding crime in Pittsburgh, but being a tourist definitely makes one a target here. My personal highlight of today was our free time after the meeting. A few friends and I went to a cute shopping area downtown. Surprisingly, we all did really well on our first night of shopping. I bought a cute black jean jacket in a store with prices similar to an H&M in the United States. We then went to the restaurant rated #1 on TripAdvisor in all of Milan, Napiz, which just happens to be a few minutes away from our hotel. It was delicious, although the pizza is definitely different from what we are accustomed to eating in the United States. They use minimal cheese, but it is so fresh that one doesn’t need as much. The waiter was curious to get to know us, and we soon found out he has a friend in Pittsburgh with his own restaurant. The more I travel, the more I come to realize that it really is a small world.
