Il Giorno Secondo in Milano was just as fantastic as day one, perhaps even better, as I experienced many more first-time experiences and made many new friends!
To start, today I had my first espresso in Italy! Not being a big coffee guy, I was very unaccustomed to not only the great taste, but additionally the hours of high energy gained from the drink! This allowed me to better understand why it is an unofficial rule in Italy to not order an espresso after eleven in the morning.
Practicing and polishing my Italian during our language crash course with instructor Mirella was yet another bel momento. While I learned a great deal in my Italian language courses at Pitt, hearing more about the nonverbal communication side was very beneficial and fun, as a better understanding of common hand gestures allows one to think and feel more from an Italian perspective than an American one.
Despite still being rather full from all of the food from yesterday, I was able to tackle yet another delicious pizza napoletana for pranzo. Lunch was followed by a wonderful walking tour from our hotel to Il Duomo. Along the way, we were able to see i grattacieli, or the skyscrapers, in Milano that not only gave the city a modern feel, but were also very unique in their own accord. Each one was designed by a different architect, and a few had plants and trees growing from their balconies. Also along the way, we stopped for our first gelato in Italy, which was molto buono! I also learned a few interesting facts and stories regarding Il Duomo, including how the Statue of Liberty was inspired by two statues on the facade and how Italians worked around the rule that there could not be any buildings taller than the Madonnina statue atop the cathedral (they simply built their own miniature Madonnina, had it blessed, and then placed in the top of their own building). The Madonnina story is yet another fascinating example of how furbo, or clever, Italians can be.
After seeing Il Duomo, we were able to walk through the Galleria and stop at shops of such brands as Prada, Ferrari, Armani, and Versace. Versace was my favorite to walk through, as we were given a personal tour of the store by one of the workers there. Not only did he describe each article of fashion on display with many details in regards to the history and styles of the collection, but he also explained his passion and love for the Versace brand itself, together with how Versace’s style allows for one to add more color and happiness to one’s life.
To finish off the day, I was able to attend a soccer (calcio) match between A.C. Milan and Bologna. The atmosphere of the match was out of this world! The energy and enthusiasm of the fans seated around me cannot be explained in words; every movement and call on the pitch was greeted with expressive responses from the natives. I made an additional friend with the gentleman from Roma seated next to me, who was very excited to learn that my friends and I were from Pittsburgh.
To conclude, this was an exciting and adventurous day, di nuovo, and I am really looking forward to day 3 domani! Ci vediamo!