Lago di Lugano

Though I know it was slightly ambitious to try and visit two countries in just one weekend, I couldn't not visit my friend Marina in Lugano, Switzerland where she attends university. So early on Saturday morning, Shalina was nice enough to wake up early with me and take me to the Milano Centrale train station. The station was very old, very ornate, very beautiful, and very large. I bid Shalina goodbye and thanked her again for such a wonderful day yesterday. I really did have a lot of fun seeing Milan and getting to know her even more. Today, I was bound for the little city of Lugano, situated on the Swiss and Italian border!

My train, though being delayed 45 minutes due to technical difficulties (I understood the conductor saying that in Italian!), took me through the most beautiful Italian scenery. I even got a glimpse of Lake Como, as well as many other little Italian towns nestled between towering mountains and glassy lakes. Northern Italy is truly a spectacular place!

Lugano

Waiting for me at the train station was Zaynee's high school classmate and our family friend, Marina. It was so cool getting to see her again, and in Switzerland! We immediately went into the town of Lugano to look around and pick up some groceries for her dorm. The downtown area was very quaint and the lake was pristine, surrounded with green mountains strung with low clouds. Everyone was speaking Italian and being so friendly in the cloudy morning air around the main square.

In Downtown Lugano

Once we had bought groceries, Marina took me up one of the mountains to her dorm room. I can't say it was the most majestic dorm, but she was on a mountain! In Switzerland! So we had lunch there and rested a bit before going up even further to take in the views of Lugano. It was a shame it was so foggy, but I could still see how beautiful the area was. I can't even imagine how lovely it is on a sunny day!

Similar to the first picture, but higher up! It was so pretty and the air was so crisp and fresh!

We wandered along the sleepy streets on the mountain, chatting, and she showed me her university, Franklin. Its hard to believe that this was the college experience she was getting; it was so different from mine! It was right in the middle of a neighborhood that looked so very Italian, sprawled across the hilly terrain.

Houses on the mountain

Walking through the quiet neighborhood

After a short break at her apartment, we got ready for our dinner out on the town! In the fading light, we made our way down the mountain It took about 20 minutes and then we made it to the town. 

Leaving the dorm and ready for dinner!

Side street in downtown Lugano (no cars were in the heart of downtown)

Our first stop was to Manor, a 5 floor department store. We had passed a very elegant chocolate shop in town and I remembered that I had promised Hanaa to get her a bunch of amazing Swiss chocolate. Instead of blowing tons of cash at the luxurious sweet shop, Marina took me to another place to buy Hanaa's gifts. Four Ragusa bars and two Mousse bars later, and 10 Euro poorer, we left and walked down by the pitch black lake. It was like a dark abyss, sucking you in. But in the distance, you could faintly make out the outlines of the mountains and see all the spots of light along them.

Lago di Lugano

Marina and I walked around part of the lake, and then turned back to the downtown, which had become a lot quieter than when we were there before. It was only 6:45 but we were ready to eat!

Marina and I by Lago di Lugano

Marina took me to a very nice Swiss restaurant and we both ordered fantastic steaks. Since neither of us have been on a date in quite a while (it's hard when the boyfriends are in a different country!), Marina wanted to make this a date. So we had lovely food, dessert, and sat in the warm and elegant Swiss restaurant for a few hours, chatting. It was the perfect way to end a day in the beautiful town.

Our fantastic steak dinner

I'm so glad I managed to visit Marina in Switzerland. I loved seeing what her college life was like, because it's completely different from mine. She's very lucky to be able to enjoy the European and Italian lifestyle and immerse herself in the culture for four years. I only got a small taste of it on the day I visited, but it was a wonderful visit.

Misty morning in Lugano

Buongiorno, Milano!

I had forgotten how incredible Italy was. Or maybe I remembered, I just forced myself not to think about it for so long because I missed being there. Early on Friday morning, the day after Halloween, I woke up in pitch darkness at Aneyn's apartment and shouldered my backpack, making my solitary way to the airport at 4:30am. I had a flight to Milan to catch. It was time for me to start thinking about Italy again!

Santa Maria della Grazie exterior

I landed in Milan at 8:30am, completely exhausted from my night of no sleep but thoroughly excited to be in Italy again! It had been quite a number of years since I had eaten authentic Italian food, and I was so ready for that again. I caught the train from Malpensa airport to the main city where my friend from Theta at Emory, Shalina, was awaiting my arrival! It was so good to see her again and we immediately set off for her apartment. She's also doing an IES program in Milan and her housing was in the heart of the city...it looked so authentically Italian!

After freshening up a bit, we left her place and walked down Via Caradosso in the overcast, but warm weather. Our first stop was just at the end of her street: Santa Maria della Grazie Church. Inside this church is Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, The Last Supper. I really wanted to see it, but hadn't realized that you needed to buy tickets in advance to reserve your 15 minute tour slot. Unfortunately, it was full and we couldn't go in, but the outside of the church was pretty! We moved on to buy Crescentes Cioccolato (chocolate croissant!) for breakfast.

After a lengthy conversation of catching up over our pastries, Shalina led me to the metro so we could go visit Milan's most famous areas: Piazza del Duomo! The first thing we saw there were hundreds of shops and even more people, and at the far end of the pedestrian street was a sliver of the Duomo di Milano, visible to us over the heads of civilians. It was so busy, even at 11:30am!

The Duomo di Milano is in the distance!

Shalina and I wandered in and out of interesting shops (Milan is the fashion capital of the world! I couldn't NOT go into any stores!) and I became obsessed with a store called Oysho. I ended up leaving with a white knit infinity scarf and its a good thing I didn't have any space in my backpack otherwise I would have come home to Vienna with about ten of their cuddly sweaters and various pairs of warm, patterned socks, as well. I'm quite sad Austria, and even England, doesn't have a store! I'll just have to come back to get that soft penguin jumper...

We went into a few department stores, and kept our eyes peeled for a good restaurant to eat at, and ruefully walked by the luxurious designer stores in the Galleria Vittorio that we couldn't afford. Everything was just so beautiful and so fashionable. Milan is the epitome of a fashion crystal ball. If you looked hard enough through the tourists, you could make out the fashionistas in their towering heels, pencil thin legs, and overlarge sunglasses, clutching various Prada, Gucci, and Armani bags as they deftly wove in and out of the glittering stores.

Chocolate high heeled shoes at a fancy department store!

The oldest shopping mall in the world: The Galleria Vittorio

Where all the luxury designer stores are

I thought the floor and glass ceiling were beautiful in the Galleria Vittorio!

Shalina showed me some cute side streets, as well as the most expensive, luxurious street in all of Milan, if not all the world: Via Montenapoleone. I think every designer store in history is nestled on this adorable Italian street. It was much calmer than the bustling Galleria Vittorio, probably because all the price tags had numbers in the heavens and made people nauseous to look at...or maybe that's just me.

Via Montenapoleone

I found Leonardo da Vinci on a side street!

The Scala Opera House...the Viennese Staatsoper definitely wins the beauty contest. Though Shalina did say that the inside was quite impressive.

We found our way to a lovely Italian restaurant near the Piazza del Duomo called Fresco E Cimmino where I finally broke my no-carb rule and ordered a plate of spaghetti. This was Italy, so I absolutely had to! And it was beyond delicious, as was the bread that came with it! It's probably a really good thing I didn't study abroad here, otherwise it would have been pasta, pizza, and bread all semester!

The most perfect spaghetti pomodoro e basilico

We took our time with lunch, which was very relaxing. It was so nice to chat and catch up with each other. Shalina and I also came to the realization that we would be dealing with severe culture shock when we had to return to America. And neither of us are too keen on returning (sorry Mum and Dad). Going from the independent lifestyle in Europe to a college campus is going to be remarkably tough and we both are dreading it a little bit. But instead of dwelling on how weird it's going to be to be back in Atlanta, we got up and went to see the front side of Milan's magnificent cathedral!

The Duomo di Milano!

Shalina and I in front of the Duomo!

Not only was the front gorgeous, but the roof was too! After exploring the inside of the Duomo for about five minutes (it wasn't very impressive, for having such an amazing exterior!), Shalina and I took the 250 stairs to the top of the Duomo. It was incredible seeing the immense detail of the gothic architecture up close. I can't believe this cathedral was built in 1386 with such precise details! We walked around the roof and saw some wonderful views of the city. It was interesting seeing so many modern buildings interspersed with old churches and monuments. It was a varied skyline. 

Atop the Duomo!

The gorgeous Gothic architecture 

Above the streets of Milan! 

Piazza del Duomo from above

So many people below us!

After sneakily getting the elevator down to street level again instead of climbing down the stairs, Shalina and I visited the Musei Civici di Milano right next to the Duomo. It was a free art museum for those under 26 and since we fit the category, we decided to have a quick look around. It was contemporary art and there were some very interesting displays. I especially liked this piece of artwork (mostly because I love maps and colors!).

By the time we came out of the museum, it was only 5pm and already really dark! But it made the Duomo look lovely against the blue sky.

Duomo di Milano

Later in the evening, after we had rested at home for a little while, Shalina and I met up with three of her friends from the IES Milan program and we went for a traditional Italian evening: Aperitivo. In actuality, Aperitivo is a pre-dinner drink, almost like happy hour, but there is often food served as well. So while you order a glass of wine or a cocktail, you're free to peruse the expansive buffet. The place, Noon, we went to was a hit with the four girls, so they took me there to experience an Italian Aperitivo. And I have to agree with their choice: it was absolutely splendid! The buffet had amazing Italian food, like finger foods, and we could eat as much as we liked! It was so fun getting to know the girls and we all talked for more than two hours while enjoying good food, wine, and company. We all discussed how America should adopt the Aperitivo tradition, because it was quite honestly the best idea ever (and not expensive!). It's probably the most perfect first date idea, as we all agreed. You don't have to have a full meal, and you can draw out the Aperitivo as long as you like, or cut it short whenever, depending on how the "date" is going. It's definitely not as much pressure as going to dinner! I really think we were onto something with our point. While discussing, Shalina got a free glass of wine from the waiter. He was obviously very taken with her!

Noon

When in Italy, you just can't skip out on traditional gelato! Despite the fact that we were all incredibly full, we walked to "Schoko," a gelataria and chocolate shop, where we happily ate through our various flavored ice creams. My hazelnut and dark chocolate one was superb. It was nice to just hang out together, even though I was exhausted from my lack of sleep. When we finally said our goodbyes, it was past 11pm and we spent yet another hour hanging out with her roommates and their two friends before going to sleep. It was such an enjoyable day and evening! It was so nice to meet other people, as well. I'm glad I decided to take this weekend trip, even though I would be going alone! I feel quite independent and competent at the moment... I've decided that Milan is definitely my type of city and a place where I would love to come back and work. I don't know why I gave up my dream to be in the fashion industry, because after being in Milan for just one day, I feel the pull towards that career path again. New task: find a way to work in Milan in fashion once graduating. We'll see how that one goes.

Bits and Pieces

It's been a bit of a lengthy hiatus for me, but with midterm exams and my full gym-class schedule (that body workout class keeps me sore for days!), I've been busy getting a feel of life in Vienna! Instead of detailing each day to you, here are an accumulation of snapshots and photographs you can look at instead (they'll have captions so you're not totally nonplussed about what's going on or what the point of each picture is!):

Fall in Vienna, as captured on one of my runs through the 18th Bezirk

My Events Management course got a private tour of the huge Swarovski store on Kartnerstraße

One of my politics classes got to tour the European Union offices in Vienna

We had a captivating lecturer...

Amanda and I were cultural after our German midterm on Friday morning and went to the Albertina Contemporary Art Museum together that afternoon!
 

Collage of some works we saw at the Matisse and Fauves exhibit

Loving the colorful squares

I had no idea the royal Hapsburg state apartments were part of the Albertina Museum! They were beautiful!

After the museum, some grocery shopping, and hitting the gym, Amanda and I went to her place to pack her stuff...she was spending the weekend in District 18's Villa with Elise and I! We spent the evening watching "Pitch Perfect" with Elise when we finally got home at like 9:30 or 10pm.

The next morning, Amanda and I successfully made scrumptious french toast for breakfast before our lazy day of doing nothing (except applying for jobs...)

Saturday evening, Amanda and I went out to Los Mexikas and celebrated our friend, Maggie's, 22nd birthday! After amazing Mexican food, we went out to The Look Bar to celebrate some more.

It's still fall in Vienna! This is Stadtpark one morning after my gym workout

Amanda, Elise, Steph and I went to see "The Marriage of Figaro" the opera, at Volksoper on Sunday afternoon. It was great, though all in German so we didn't understand anything. Even the subtitles were in German

It was quite a long show as well. We decided to leave after Act 2 because we'd already been there over two hours!

Then Midterms happened...and are done now!

Anna, Eddye, and Anna's friend and I met up at Charlie P's bar for HalloWien (get it? hahaha) even though I had to wake up at 4am the next morning to catch my flight to Italy. I couldn't resist looking completely strange on Halloween in my frightful cat mask that Aneyn had let me borrow!

Meow.

So, those have been photos of the odd bits and pieces of my past two weeks in Vienna! It was quite nice staying in the city and having a relaxing weekend over National Austrian Day, though midterms proved to be a bit stressful for me. It's hard to be motivated when nobody else cares about grades...they don't matter for them! Only Emory (and a few other people from different schools) makes grades count towards our GPA. Oh well, at least I feel fulfilled in that I actually did teach myself a lot of politics while revising (aka cramming).