Today was such a busy day! We ate breakfast and met at 8:30 to head to the first ever Starbucks in Italy. When we arrived, we noticed that it was not like any other Starbucks we have ever seen. This one had outdoor seating with cool decorations and was in an old building. I was overwhelmed when I walked in because it was huge! At this Starbucks they roast all the specialty coffee in the middle of the store. They also have an amazing selection of pastries, wine, and other unique products to buy. The tour was so cool and we learned a lot about the supply chain and how the coffee gets to the consumer, and we also learned how hard it was for Starbucks to get into such a heard market because coffee and expresso is such an important thing to the Italian people.
After Starbucks we went to see a huge castle that I hadn’t even heard of. It was obvious that they used this castle for some type of military action because it was surrounded by a mote and we saw many tour groups practicing their sword fighting. Then we went to get tickets to go to the top of the Duomo and got lunch.
After this we went on the metro to the Armani museum. It was so cool to see all of the amazing outfits that this designer put together. The tour was so informative, and I was able to learn so much about fashion. Armani is 84 years old and still works so hard on his collection every day. To me that shows how dedicated he is to his work. He never wants to stop.
After this Ellie and I got our first Cannoli in Italy and let me just say WOW. When we ordered them, the person at the counter stuffed the cannoli shells in front of us and dipped the ends in chocolate chips. The cream was so fresh, sweet, and tasty. I think this was the best part of the day. Then we went climbed up what felt like an infinite number of stairs to the top of the Duomo and was able to see most of the city. It was an incredible view, and I so happy that I had the chance to see it. After this we did some shopping and then had more pasta for dinner. I am so tired, and we have a busy day planned tomorrow, so I am off to bed!
