A Day FULLLL of Gelato and Pizza

On Friday, October 8th I headed to the airport extremely early (i may have snoozed a bit in the airport) in order to catch my 6 a.m. flight to Milan. When I was looking for a flight to Berlin to meet Kristin it actually turned out to be cheaper for me to fly one day earlier, stay a night in Milan, and then meet Kristin in Germany on Saturday morning. This flight was also my first experience flying RyanAir aka the cheapest airline possible that most abroad students use. They have strict rules though. It costs 15 euros to check a bag- so that wasn't happening. You can only have 1 carry-on and it has to be less than 10 kg (they make you put it in this box and if it doesn't fit you have to pay). Now I would never say I am a very good packer so having to limit my clothing/shoe options to only what could fit into my backpack was pretty difficult. I also needed my peacoat for the chilly weather that was to come in Berlin, so I had to be sure to bring that. I'll give you a mental image of what I looked like waiting in line to board. Clothing: jeans, leather boots, top, sweater, huge yellow scarf, peacoat, awkwardly bulging peacoat pockets...may or may not have been due to the socks and underwear that I shoved inside so that my bag would be small enough. Also, please note that it was 75 degrees in Spain and I was flying to Milan where the weather is just as warm. Basically, I looked ridiculous.

In front of the Duomo in Milan, Italy

So I finally arrive in Milan, oh and everyone on the plane clapped when we landed safely...super reassuring. I then figured out which buses to take to arrive at my hostel in Bergamo, Italy. It was really surprising to me how many people in Italy do not speak english. In Spain I feel like the majority of the people speak both or at least know some english, but in Milan, nothing. How many words of italian do I know? One. Grazie. It could only get me so far. I settled in to my hotel and then went to the train station to catch the next train to Milan. After about 40 minutes, my 4 euros train ticket dropped me off at Milan Central Station. It was about noon at this point so I decided I should probably get something to eat. PIZZA. It was delicious. I know people always brag about New York pizza, but wow Italy really knows what they're doing. Next, I hopped on the metro and went straight to the Duomo where I got a headset and did a 2 hour tour. I was also attacked by the many men standing outside the Duomo holding corn kernels. Before I knew it they shoved some in my hand and I had 5 pigeons on my arm eating out of my hand. They quickly grabbed my camera and started taking photos of me. It was both fun and terrifying and somewhat gross.
After my tour I walked around Milan for several hours, going in and out of stores. I stopped in a gelato shop and after asking the employee what was the best flavor, got a cup of nutella flavored gelato. It was delicious. Next, I went to La Rinascente which is a 10 story building that has every possible designer you could think of. I was in heaven with all the beautiful clothes and bags. They even had a christmas section already set up which made me happy. At around 7 p.m. I bought some pizza for dinner because, I mean, why not indulge? It's amazing and it's vacation! I then headed back to Bergamo on the train. Completely exhausted, but really pleased with my day in Italy.

Barcelona

La Sagrada Familia

My trip to Barcelona was a lot of fun and also extremely exhausting. It was the last trip that my program was taking us on, meaning they created the schedule and we had to stick to it. I believe I clocked in a grand total of 10 hours of sleep for the weekend. It causes me to pop a blood vessel in my eye. Really attractive, I know. We arrived early on Friday morning and went to Monjuic to get a view of the city, did a tour of La Sagrada Familia, went to Villa Olimpica to see the water, hit up Parque Guell to see even more of the crazy art in Barcelona, walked around Barrio Gotico, went inside la Iglesia de Santa Maria del Mar, and finished the day with a guided tour (in spanish of course) of the Picasso Museum. The Sagrada Familia was something else. So bizarre but so impressive. The guide told us that hopefully it will be finished in 20 years...construction began by Gaudi in 1882. I also really enjoyed the Picasso museum. It had works from his entire lifetime and was really neat to see the transformation in his technique and style over the years. The artwork for his teenage years was stunning. I could not get over how talented he was at such a young age. On Saturday, we went to La Casa Batllo and did a tour of La Casa Mila, both creation by Gaudi. It is fascinating to see how he was beyond ahead of his time and made such modern buildings. He was very inventive and really liked to show off his talent. I definitely recommend visiting La Casa Mila if anyone ever goes to Barcelona. Saturday night my program set us free and Jenna, Amanda and I spent the night at Jane's apartment (another Dukie).

Duke kids at IceBarcelona

Now onto the bar scene. Barcelona knows how to party. There is a chain called Espit Chupitos which is a shots bar that sells over 580 different types of shots for 2 euros each. You essentially look at the huge board with all the options and choose the one that sounds good to you. For example, my friends did the Harry Potter shot which entailed the bartender lighting a good portion of the bar on fire and then having it disappear (it was quite magical, as it should be). There were other fun names like Tarzan, Kiss of Death (it had hot sauce in it), Kill Bill, Willy Wonka, Terminator, Teletubbie, and my all time favorite Monica Lewinsky. I witnessed another girl ask for this shot and was somewhat scarred for life. She was blindfolded and then very inappropriate things happened to this poor girl. Her friends video taped it. One of the highlights of the nightlife there was going to IceBarcelona, an ice bar right in the heart of the club arena. It was -8 degrees celsius inside so your body could only last for about 40 minutes before you had to leave. Everyone is given black gloves and huge jackets with fur hoods to keep them warm. Everything inside was made of ice- the bar, the seats, the glasses, the bear statue, even the model of the Sagrada Familia (extremely impressive). We also went to a discoteca called Opium which was huge and, like discotecas in Madrid, had dancers on platforms in minimal clothing.

Overall, this trip made me really happy that I chose to study in Madrid. There were just too many spaniards trying to sell me beers, bracelets, or unknown items from a sketchy plastic bag they were toting. It was overwhelming. Also, within those 3 days I was in Barcelona, 3 Duke kids had their wallets stolen. That would just not be okay. Maybe protecting my bolsa 24/7 is what caused me to pop a blood vessel?