So I went to ITALY!

(I will post my link to all the photos soon, just after this post!)


Well I’m back in Paris after a 6 day trip! I actually am already working again to my surprise (miscommunication = surprise work!). I left for Italy last Wednesday bright and early. I flew out of a smaller airport outside Paris and flew into Milan. The plane flew over the Alps just before arriving. It was REALLY amazing to fly over the massive mountains, some with snow. We had turbulence just for a few minutes…but obviously I couldn’t help of thinking of “Alive” or something like that…haha. I caught a train just after I arrived at the train station, so the first day was basically just traveling. The train ride was about 2 hours and I saw the countryside of Italy. The Alps were in the background the entire way and very gorgeous. Fall in Italy is very pretty…lots of green and orange and yellow. There were vineyards along the way, some small villages, and big open areas with random mansions tucked into the hills. The train took me to Torino, where Stacey lives and is studying this semester. She met me at the station after her class and we took a bus to her apartment. She lives with 5 other American girls, so it was fun to visit with them. It definitely reminded me of living in the sorority or dorm with college girls. Torino was a very typical Italian city, and fairly big. We stopped at one of her favorite pubs owned by a man named “Pepe”. I had my first Jack ‘n Coke since being in Europe…mmm! The soccer game was on the t.v. and we just hung out there. One night I had a really good pasta dish there as well. Pink Floyd was playing in the background of the pub..my favorite album, “Division Bell”. So that was kind of funny. Thursday we walked around Torino and saw the markets, had a delicious cappuccino and brioche, took pictures of great old buildings. The architecture was similar to Paris. One of her Italian friends showed us around the city a little bit. The Po river flows through Torino…so the view of that from the bridges with the pretty scenery and chateaus, cathedrals allowed for an amazing view of the city. We had great weather as well….including gorgeous sunsets! I unfortunately was under the weather for an entire 24 hours, so we didn’t do much “wining and dining” or partying, and just had a relaxing Friday….but thankfully I felt better in time for Venice and Milan!

Saturday morning we caught an early train to Venice, and decided to skip on Verona, to make the best of our time in Venice. The train did however stop in Verona, and we got a great view, including some chateaus that COULD have been Juliette’s! J The scenery was again wonderful…the Alps are so pretty, and the wine vineyards and big houses are extraordinary. We arrived in Venice after a long train ride. Actually, we first went to our ‘hostel’ which was outside Venice about 20 minutes. We checked in, dropped off our bags and took the bus into Venice Saturday afternoon. WOW words and pictures can NOT describe Venice or do it justice. I did not realize how much of a tourist city it was…and JUST tourist, really. I mean, the city consists just of shops and restaurants. The canals are so great, and the tiny narrow streets or “alleys” between all the buildings are so adorable. There are little bridges everywhere to cross over the small canals. The colors in Venice are so great. All the buildings are so colorful and I can tell they get painted often. There are flower pots hanging from all the windows and little balconies. Shops consist of the “masquerade ball” masks and blown glass. It is EVERYWHERE. I purchased a tiny porcelain mask as a souvenir, as well as a few small gifts. The gondolas are everywhere as well, including the gorgeous men that work them! There are young guys and older guys wearing the black and white striped sweaters and black pants. Oh la la…so great! The grand canal is so pretty too. The “bridge of sighs” and Rialta offer great views. The palace and other famous structures are sooo pretty. Once again, I LOVE the European architecture, especially knowing how old it is. We had amazing weather. It was about 65 degrees and clear sunny skies. At night we had a sunset to die for…orange and purple. Trust me, I took lots of pictures. That day I was feeling a little better so I even had gelato (the famous ice cream that is EVERYWHERE in Italy).

Sunday we took another train to Milan. I checked into my hotel and then we walked around Piazza Duomo, another famous, gorgeous cathedral. Shops surrounded it, including street vendors and entertainers. Music was playing everywhere and I LOVED IT. Once again, more pictures! The weather was perfect again. I only had a few hours in Milan to get a quick taste of the city. But it was definitely a cool place and I’d return in a second.

Some of my favorite things/Observations on Italy

*smoking is just as prevalent as in France
*dress and style is the same
*cappuccino is a must before 11 a.m., after 11 it is strictly espresso!


*"gondola guy" was so gorgeous, pretty eyes, winked and smiled at me for my camera...I wanted to jump off the little bridge and into his gondola


*really gorgeous Italian guy working in a bar in Italy...and they all wear white and black FORMAL uniforms...ahhh


*Milan had lots of musicians performing in the streets...and my favorite was an Italian with dark hair, kind of scrubby looking, but he played the saxophone and sang my FAVORITE love song, "Fields of Gold" by STING! i was so excited


*drinking chocolate (we would think of it as 'hot chocoloate') but NOPE....it's a mug of pure chocolate, only slightly liquidy but mostly tastes and feels like drinking chocolate syrup we'd put on ice cream!


*mostly all restaurants and cafes, food shops do NOT have food you can 'take out'...like barely even sandwiches wrapped in Seran....pretty much have to eat food in the cafe, which is fine except when you're feeling kind of ill and just want to walk around with a snack


*I saw the Olympic Stadium in Torino, home of the 2006 Winter Olympics! It is nice, with nice landscaping but otherwise looks just like a regular stadium, except for the TALL thing that the torch was held up on


*gorgeous dogs are EVERYWHERE, just like France!