Milan

Safe and sound!

Thursday Night:
Micah and I left the apartment at 645 to catch a bus with Phil and Rob for our 915 flight. Micah misread the Ryanair site thinking that 30 KG was allowed, when in fact the limit is 15 KG. When we checked in, our weight was 26 KG. Every KG over 15 KG is 20 Euros. So we were 220 Euros over. Wow. So basically we then had to stuff our carry-ons and wear tons of clothes. I put on 5 shirts and put sweat pants over my jeans. Whew. We made it.
We landed basically on time and were able to find a great place to spend the night. We actually ran into Mike from UPO and he is also spending the night in Girona. It’s now 11:40 so I’m going to try and relax and get some rest before our 6 AM flight.

Friday
So I was actually able to sleep for about 3 hours in the airport on the benches until I woke up at 4 with my chest hurting from laying on a bar, freezing cold, and it was a cop that woke me up. He wakes everyone up at about 4ish. Prank: We told Rob before landing in Barca that there are sleep cops that prevent anyone from falling asleep because of theft problems while people sleep. It was really fun. Ryanair flights are fun, chaotic, and always on time. You get to pick your seats on the flights. Everyone likes to line up early so they can sit with their friends and get windows etc. I have always gotten an aisle or window and always been by friends and we just wait until the line is empty to check in. So we play a game – you see who will have to check their luggage and who will carry it on. Ryanair is very strict on 1 carryon of a certain small size. Almost everyone bends the rules so we try and predict who will and who will not check their bags. If its close the staff makes you put it in a metal bin to prove it fits. So naturally, the big ones get stuck and that creates a second mess. It’s fun to watch.

I slept through my flight to Milan and we made it to our hostel by about 12. I was being a downer when we couldn’t find the hostel and was called out on it by Phil. It was needed. I think I just really value my own opinion and want things a certain way, am very frugal and need to be on time or productive. Anyways, I’m glad Phil was a good friend and talked to me about it. Lesson learned. Checking in was very slow. This hostel has no breakfast (first time for me), instead of copying your passport he simply wrote out all of my information along with the other 3 guys (inefficient??) and our “4 bed private room” is two twin beds and one queen haha. Rob and I are sharing.

Today we bought a two day metro pass and went into the main city center. We first went to Duoma, the fourth largest cathedral in the world. We were actually able to get in for free which was awesome. I continually pray to be a magnet for Christ and Micah, myself and Rob have been having great spiritual conversations. They’re both great listeners yet get their opinions voiced. The cathedral was beautiful, particularly from the outside. The city square is beautiful too, although with popular areas like this people are haggling you for money. I have a lot of sympathy for the Senagese population. They leave a rough life back home and come here and try to coax you into taking a “free” bracelet and then try to make you pay. It’s all they can do. I don’t think many companies hire them or give them any opportunity. There’s also a guy that gives you bird seeds and when the pigeons flock all over you he takes a photo. There’s an umbrella woman.

Right next to Douma is the first shopping mall in the world. It’s gorgeous. Louis Voutton, Prada and other nice stores are there. Of course, McDonald’s is too… We then went over to the largest opera house in the world for a tour. We almost bought 12 euro tickets but found out there would be good odds that we wouldn’t be able to see anything. Also, its 4.5 hours long. The tour was alright, although no photos are allowed. We snuck some photos in. Rob fell asleep on a chair while we were all walking around, it was very funny. We were able to see the rehearsal of tonight’s performance which was really entertaining. We then got some authentic pizza and bread on our way back to the hostel for a nap. Tonight we will try to catch a symphony orchestra for about 20 Euros.

Yeah… no symphony. We slept from 6 to 10. We then joined Micah’s friend from George Washington University at his apartment on the other side of the city. He was having some friends over for some beer pong before heading out to a night club. Ha, my kind of night… not. I actually had a lot of fun talking to some Italians over at the apartment. We were able to learn about their culture and actually find out about their faith and beliefs and the differences between Christianity in the US vs Italy. I also met with Kendall and another girl that are in Carlson! It was super random. Anyways, Rob and I took a taxi back at about 1:30 in the morning and have been discussing our methods for talking to non-Christians about our faith.

Milan Day 1: C+ (Beautiful but cold and rainy, hard to find hostel, hostel isn’t great, tired, enjoyed talking to Italians) Don't worry, I loved it. But I'm trying to achieve a C average in ranking my days here :)

Saturday
We got up and left the hostel at about 1045 this morning. We were able to stop by Carrefour, the national supermarket chain, to get some food and water for the day. Luckily, for the two days we are here, and only these two days, they have been giving away lots of free food. We then went to great little niche café to grab some café con leche and plan out our day. We first went to Milan’s famous cemetery, where monuments of rich deceased cover the landscape. Monuments get as high as about 75-100 feet in remembrance of who died. It was pretty incredible. We then went to a huge park and castle area to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and warm temperature. Afterwards we took the metro to the church where the painting The Last Supper is held. However, you need to book a visit months in advance to see it. So we didn’t see it. We considered sneaking in with an Italian tourist group but it wouldn’t have worked out. The church was beautiful, as all European churches are. After the church, the guys and I ate gelato at the “best gelato place in Milan” according to some of our friends and citizens of Italy. It's called Chocolat and I ordered the large which I got dark chocolate, white chocolate and a cookies and cream of sorts.

A few failed visits followed these great experiences. We went to check out supposedly a cool canal area on the other side of the city, which was completely dried up and really contained nothing interesting. Next, we went to see supposedly a horse statue/race track but were unable to enter the stadium or see the famous statue. It’s now 7:30, we’re heading to an internet café where I can post this, and then we will go to, in Phil’s friend’s opinion, the best pizza place in Milan. I may be capping off the night with jazz and dance or by heading to bed. I’m exhausted but having a blast :)

Day two grade: B-

Impressions of Italians:
1. I really enjoy listening to Italians. Its a beautiful language and they really stress the syllables.
2. Italian men are just like I imagined them: dark short and gelled hair with tighter dark clothes.
3. They seem colder to Americans than Spaniards have been.