Well, I have officially been a resident of Milan for one week, and as much as I wish that I had some interesting adventures to report back to everyone at home, I don’t. This week has mostly been spent acclimating to the city and taking care of business so that I can enjoy my semester here without worrying about getting into legal trouble.
As many of you probably know from my mom’s Facebook posts, I left for Milan last Wednesday. It took three flights to get here, the longest being from Philly to London. I had never been on an international flight before, but they are pretty awesome! My flight was operated by British Airways, so the captains and flight attendants all spoke in accents, which you could say counts as my first taste of a different culture. The in-flight accommodations were amazing, as well. All passengers had access to several newly released movies, TV shows, CD albums, and radio stations. I opted to watch the new Cinderella movie as well as the new Fast & Furious (you could say that I have an eclectic taste in entertainment). On top of that, we were fed SO much food! We were given drinks and a bag of pretzels at the beginning of the flight, and then the flight attendants began serving dinner. You could choose between chicken and rice or vegetarian lasagna, and both came with like five sides. After dinner we were given coffee or tea, and then about an hour later they served breakfast, which I couldn’t even stomach because I was so full. Oh, and did I mention that they served free wine in flight? Yeah, free. My only complaint was that the seating was horribly uncomfortable. I wasn’t lucky enough to get a window seat, which made sleeping pretty much impossible for me. Let’s just say that a first class seat on my return flight would be a totally acceptable and highly appreciated Christmas present (ahem, parents).
When I finally arrived in Milan, I pretty much spent the whole day sleeping, and I have been recovering from jet lag ever since. My room at the dorm is pretty nice. The rooms are big and there is plenty of storage to house all of the clothes that I over-packed. Each room also has double doors leading out to a balcony, which comes in handy when you need some fresh air, and the view isn’t too bad either.
Overall I’m happy with the accommodations, but I have to admit that there are some disappointing aspects. First and foremost, there is no wifi (sobs). The only way to get internet is to attach an ethernet cable to my laptop, pretty much confining its use to my desk. The towels also suck. I’m tempted to go buy new ones, but I’m cheap so I’m going to try to put up with them for the next four months. For a good visualization of them, just imagine dish towels that have been washed fifty thousand times, and you should be close. These things are so bad that I didn’t even realize that they were towels; I thought they were pillow covers or something.
Anyway, the past week has mostly been spent running errands that I won’t bore you with, but there has been a little bit of play time thrown in. Due to the jet lag I’ve only been averaging one meal a day, but all of the food that I’ve had has been amazing. On my first day here I went to lunch and got pizza, which should not be surprising to anyone. I thought that I played it safe by getting a four cheese pizza, but it turns out that there was goat cheese (or something along those lines) on it which made some bites taste like a farm, but the majority of it was good. I’ve also had two prosciutto and mozzarella sandwiches - can you tell I’m a picky eater? Basically this is an Italian ham and cheese, but the ingredients are so fresh and delicious that you honestly don’t need to dress it up with all different kinds of condiments.
One of my favorite meals so far, which I’m slightly embarrassed about, was a cheeseburger and fries at a local restaurant called Mexicali. I know I’m in Italy and should be enjoying the local cuisine, but sometimes a girl just needs a burger, and this one just happened to be amazing (the margarita that I washed it down with may have attributed to its tastiness). On the flip side, I’m proud to admit that in my eight days here I have tried four different flavors of gelato, and have no intention of slowing down any time soon. Caramel, milk chocolate, strawberry, and coffee are all winners in my book.
When I haven’t been eating, I have been doing a little bit of exploring. I have now been to the Duomo, which is the giant church at Milan’s city center, multiple times. It is definitely Milan’s biggest tourist attraction, so it is generally crowded. You can go into the Duomo for free, or pay to climb to the top, which is on my bucket list while I’m here.
Right next to the Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which I have been referring to as the Galleria for simplicity. Anyway, the Galleria is one of the oldest shopping malls in the world, and is home to luxury stores such as Prada and Versace, in addition to some amazing looking restaurants. I will definitely be taking more pictures of this in the future, as the ornate ceiling deserves endless photos.
I really wish that I had more pictures to share with you all, but I am just awful at remembering to get out my camera. I’m sure as time goes on and I do more interesting things, I will start taking pictures like a fiend.
On a closing note, I have to express how much this experience has already made me SO appreciative of my support system at home. Anyone who knows me knows that I am an extreme homebody, so leaving for four months was a huge leap for me. I’m not going to lie, homesickness has been a major bitch. Leaving behind my parents, who double as my best friends, and a serious relationship has not been easy, but my mom and dad and Joe make it a little bit easier. They have made me feel their love from across the world, and it takes genuinely amazing people to do that. I honestly could not be living my dreams if it weren’t for them.
Until my next post (which will hopefully be in a week, if all goes to schedule),
Hayli
As many of you probably know from my mom’s Facebook posts, I left for Milan last Wednesday. It took three flights to get here, the longest being from Philly to London. I had never been on an international flight before, but they are pretty awesome! My flight was operated by British Airways, so the captains and flight attendants all spoke in accents, which you could say counts as my first taste of a different culture. The in-flight accommodations were amazing, as well. All passengers had access to several newly released movies, TV shows, CD albums, and radio stations. I opted to watch the new Cinderella movie as well as the new Fast & Furious (you could say that I have an eclectic taste in entertainment). On top of that, we were fed SO much food! We were given drinks and a bag of pretzels at the beginning of the flight, and then the flight attendants began serving dinner. You could choose between chicken and rice or vegetarian lasagna, and both came with like five sides. After dinner we were given coffee or tea, and then about an hour later they served breakfast, which I couldn’t even stomach because I was so full. Oh, and did I mention that they served free wine in flight? Yeah, free. My only complaint was that the seating was horribly uncomfortable. I wasn’t lucky enough to get a window seat, which made sleeping pretty much impossible for me. Let’s just say that a first class seat on my return flight would be a totally acceptable and highly appreciated Christmas present (ahem, parents).
When I finally arrived in Milan, I pretty much spent the whole day sleeping, and I have been recovering from jet lag ever since. My room at the dorm is pretty nice. The rooms are big and there is plenty of storage to house all of the clothes that I over-packed. Each room also has double doors leading out to a balcony, which comes in handy when you need some fresh air, and the view isn’t too bad either.
Overall I’m happy with the accommodations, but I have to admit that there are some disappointing aspects. First and foremost, there is no wifi (sobs). The only way to get internet is to attach an ethernet cable to my laptop, pretty much confining its use to my desk. The towels also suck. I’m tempted to go buy new ones, but I’m cheap so I’m going to try to put up with them for the next four months. For a good visualization of them, just imagine dish towels that have been washed fifty thousand times, and you should be close. These things are so bad that I didn’t even realize that they were towels; I thought they were pillow covers or something.
Anyway, the past week has mostly been spent running errands that I won’t bore you with, but there has been a little bit of play time thrown in. Due to the jet lag I’ve only been averaging one meal a day, but all of the food that I’ve had has been amazing. On my first day here I went to lunch and got pizza, which should not be surprising to anyone. I thought that I played it safe by getting a four cheese pizza, but it turns out that there was goat cheese (or something along those lines) on it which made some bites taste like a farm, but the majority of it was good. I’ve also had two prosciutto and mozzarella sandwiches - can you tell I’m a picky eater? Basically this is an Italian ham and cheese, but the ingredients are so fresh and delicious that you honestly don’t need to dress it up with all different kinds of condiments.
One of my favorite meals so far, which I’m slightly embarrassed about, was a cheeseburger and fries at a local restaurant called Mexicali. I know I’m in Italy and should be enjoying the local cuisine, but sometimes a girl just needs a burger, and this one just happened to be amazing (the margarita that I washed it down with may have attributed to its tastiness). On the flip side, I’m proud to admit that in my eight days here I have tried four different flavors of gelato, and have no intention of slowing down any time soon. Caramel, milk chocolate, strawberry, and coffee are all winners in my book.
When I haven’t been eating, I have been doing a little bit of exploring. I have now been to the Duomo, which is the giant church at Milan’s city center, multiple times. It is definitely Milan’s biggest tourist attraction, so it is generally crowded. You can go into the Duomo for free, or pay to climb to the top, which is on my bucket list while I’m here.
Right next to the Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which I have been referring to as the Galleria for simplicity. Anyway, the Galleria is one of the oldest shopping malls in the world, and is home to luxury stores such as Prada and Versace, in addition to some amazing looking restaurants. I will definitely be taking more pictures of this in the future, as the ornate ceiling deserves endless photos.
I really wish that I had more pictures to share with you all, but I am just awful at remembering to get out my camera. I’m sure as time goes on and I do more interesting things, I will start taking pictures like a fiend.
On a closing note, I have to express how much this experience has already made me SO appreciative of my support system at home. Anyone who knows me knows that I am an extreme homebody, so leaving for four months was a huge leap for me. I’m not going to lie, homesickness has been a major bitch. Leaving behind my parents, who double as my best friends, and a serious relationship has not been easy, but my mom and dad and Joe make it a little bit easier. They have made me feel their love from across the world, and it takes genuinely amazing people to do that. I honestly could not be living my dreams if it weren’t for them.
Until my next post (which will hopefully be in a week, if all goes to schedule),
Hayli