La Mia Avventura Italiana

That's right, Italy. It's one of the places I've always wanted to visit. Ever since Lizzie McGuire became a pop star in Rome, ever since Frances found herself again under the Tuscan sun, ever since Audrey Hepburn took a Roman holiday, I have wanted to visit this magical place. And now I finally have.

Of course, real life almost never matches up to Hollywood films, and our trip certainly didn't start out that way. We were flying from Brussels to Milan, which meant that we needed to take a train to Belgium, but our flight was too early so we had to take a bus instead. At 5 am. Before the metros start running. Which, as a result, meant we needed to take a cab to the station to get our bus.

In any normal universe, this wouldn't be a problem. But this isn't a normal universe. This is France, and for some reason (despite my giving him the exact address) the taxi driver simply could not find our residence. We found ourselves wandering around my neighborhood at 4 am trying to explain exactly where we were in French over the phone. We finally to decided to meet him at the nearest metro station, but our relief at finding the taxi dissipated quickly when we got in and noticed that the meter was already running. And that there were already 25 euros on it from the driver wandering around trying to find us.

Now, one of us should have said something. We should have been assertive and said "Hey dude. This isn't cool" (however you would say that in French with the same connotation). But at 4 am, after we'd each slept for about three hours, and had been wandering around for a good 15 minutes trying to find this guy, neither of us had the energy to put in that much effort. So we didn't. And we unfortunately paid 50 euros for a cab because of it (plus I came to find out that I left my French phone in it, so once we got back I had to ride the metro across town to retrieve it from him. What luck).

Yet, despite our rocky start, the rest of our travels went relatively smoothly and we arrived in Milan around 10:30 that day. Once we arrived we rode a shuttle into the city, grabbed a quick lunch and got settled into our hostel before venturing out to see what was to be seen.

We spent most of the day at the Piazza del Duomo, which houses the Duomo di Milano, the famous cathedral of Milan, and is surrounded by department stores, boutiques, and restaurants. We marveled at the inside and outside of the Duomo, and decided to pay for a trip to the top to see the architecture up close.

It's probably the most intricate building I've ever seen in  my life. Each spire holds thousands of details, even miniature statues, and it seemed that each one was more detailed than the last.

The views of the city from the top were also incredible, and I even managed to stand near the railing despite my fear of heights. We spent about an hour at the top before descending to get some gelato and eat on the steps.

We then headed over to La Rinascente, a department store much like Saks or Harrod's. The store has a dining level on the top floor which overlooks the Piazza and the Duomo, which includes multiple restaurants and bars. After perusing through the store for a bit, we decided to head up to the top for aperitivo, the Italian version of happy hour. During aperitivo every drink purchase comes with free appetizers, sometimes enough to constitute a whole meal by our standards. We enjoyed cocktails and appetizers with a spectacular view of the Duomo. Our first night ended with dinner near the Duomo, where Ginny and I both had pasta for dinner and pizza for dessert (we may have gotten a few looks but we didn't care).

The next day we got up (somewhat) early to take a train to Lake Como, about 30 minutes north of Milan. It's said to be one of the most beautiful lakes in Europe and is a destination for lots of celebrities (like George Clooney, apparently. When you search Lake Como there are tons of Google Images of him there).

Unfortunately, the day we were there was a bit foggy and somewhat cold, so the Alps couldn't really be seen behind the lake, but it was still a beautiful sight. After arriving we took some time to snap a few pictures and take in the scenery, and then ate lunch in the small town of Como (pizza again. Are you surprised?). After lunch we decided to take the 'funiculare,' which is like a tram, up the mountain to see the views from the top.

We spent some time at the top taking a few pictures before we went back down to enjoy the bit of sunshine that had appeared. We wandered through the little town a bit more, grabbed one more gelato and headed back to Milan on the train in the early afternoon.

That night in Milan we returned to the Piazza del Duomo for dinner, and found ourselves once again at the terrace on the top level of La Rinascente. Ginny had (and I quote) "the best pizza she's ever had in her life" and I had some divine ravioli. Tired out from our long day, after dinner we headed back to the hostel for an early night.

Our last day in Milan began with a visit to the Castello Sforzesco, a medieval castle which also houses several museums.  The castle is also surrounded by a lovely park, and one of the museums houses Michelangelo's last unfinished work, the Rondanini Pieta. Ginny and I spent a few hours exploring the castle and its museums before heading to lunch nearby, where my last Italian meal consisted of Spaghetti Carbonara and a coke.

During our last few hours we perused the shops, looked for some gifts for friends and took in the beauty of the Duomo one more time. Then, as our last act before boarding the bus to head back to the airport, we headed to Cioccolati Italiani, a dessert bar in Milan. Ginny had one last gelato and I had some delicious flourless chocolate cake to end our stay in Italy.

After returning to Lille, we ended our weeklong break on a high note with a Halloween party at our friend Marie's house. Halloween in France is certainly different - it's mostly only popular for small children, and even then it's not celebrated by everyone. We were happy to have the opportunity to celebrate (since it's one of our favorite holidays in the US) but it was a bit odd getting strange looks from people when walking through the metro station in costume. To be fair, some of them were probably just trying to figure out what I was supposed to be. I was a panda. Regardless of public opinion, though, it was a perfect end to our break.