The Lost Phone & Bergamo

On the train ride back from Venice, my friend Erica somehow dropped her phone and left it on the train. She was crazy worried, and thought she would have to spend a lot of money to get a new one. We all tried to call it and text it and see if anyone could find it. We got back really late so we couldn't even get back to the train station. I finally got a hold of the police and they said that the trains would be cleaned and anything found would be left at Milano Centrale Train Station in the morning. So we were like OK, we will go in the morning and hopefully your phone will be there. As it turned out, it was not, i got a text in the morning from her phone saying that somebody found the phone and they would be leaving it at the Bergamo train station (Which is like an hour away from Milan). So i decided to go with Erica to help her get her phone back. When we got to Bergamo we found the police office, went inside, and they had it! We were so happy, and we decided since we were here we might as well go look around Bergamo. Fortunately for us, Bergamo was awesome! It is kind of a small city, right next to an airport. However, it is right by the mountains, and the original city, Citta Alta, was built on a hill, so there is part of the city on flat land, and part of the city on raised. We took a bus up to the top of Citta Alta, and the view was so beautiful. We went to Piazza Vecchia, which is the main square of the Citta, and had a really nice lunch, where i had the Bergamo specialty ravioli, which was molto buono! (Very good, for you non-Italians out there) After we walked along the edge of the Citta Alta, and just took in the amazing views. We both had class at 6 so unfortunately we had to leave, so we took the bus back to the train station and made our way back to lovely Milano. It was honestly a great surprise for me, i thought we would just go and get the phone and be like ok Bergamo is cool, lets go. That was not the case however. Bergamo was really nice, and i would really recommend it to people for a day trip. There really isn't much to do but it is a really nice Italian style town with amazing views. It was a really good day, and I'm glad everything turned out the way it did. I'm so glad she lost her phone! haha i told her she should definitely "accidentally" leave her phone on another train so we would be "forced" to go to some other amazing place just waiting to be found, and have another story we would remember for a very long time. =)

Venice

Venice, a city unlike any other, where the streets are water, and romance is everywhere. =) My friends and I decided to take a day trip to Venice, so we hopped on a train in the early morning and got there 3 hours later. You always hear about Venice, and see pictures, but until you actually see the city, you really have no idea what it's like. It is unlike any other city i have every been to. There are boats everywhere, not really many cars, and instead of taxis, they have water taxis. The houses, and even hotels have docks and doors right on the canals. There are gondolas going everywhere, happy couples, and millions of tourists. If there was one fault about Venice it would be how many people were there, it just took away from some of the greatness. However, we still had an unbelievably amazing time. When we first arrived we began walking through the streets. Some people choose to take water taxis everywhere but i think the greatest thing to do in Venice is to get lost. So we got lost, and were just walking around, in and out of streets, right by the water and the canals. Then we saw a gondola man, and we decided it was time for us to take the ride. It was a 45 minute ride through the canal, and it was soooo cool. Going through all the little canals and then out into the main river was such an amazing feeling. Our gondolier spoke 5 languages and was from just outside of Venice, and gave us a lot of cool information. After the Gondola ride we had some lunch at a random restaurant and then continued walking. We finally got to San Marco's Piazza, which is pretty much the most famous place to be in Venice besides the canals. We saw the giant duomo there and there is just a huge square and hundreds of people. It was a really cool place to see, and of course, it was right on the water so it was beautiful. After we went to a more local part of Venice and had a nice dinner and then we got back on the train back to Milano. Venice was such a cool place, you really don't need more than a day to do Venice, but you definitely need to go to Venice. It is a city really unlike anywhere in the world, and it is so amazing to walk through those little side streets, or right along a canal and really feel like you are in Italy. Venice was probably the place where i felt most in the Classical Italian feel where you see in pictures and everything. It was a really good experience and one everyone should do at least once. Go Venice!

Southern Italy Part 3: Pompeii

Pompeii. There are really no words to describe the feeling of walking through the streets of this ruined city. No emotions to describe the feeling of walking into a house, a hut, that housed a family thousands of years ago. No words can describe how i felt walking through a city that was destroyed in an instant by mother nature. As you all know, Pompeii, in 79 AD was destroyed by a volcanic eruption by Mt. Vesuvius. The whole city was covered in ash and thousands of people, unsuspecting people were buried under pounds and pounds of volcanic ash. The city, because of that catastrophic event, was amazingly preserved. Whole structures still stand, houses, foundations, fountains, fields, marketplaces, villas, and much more. There is even a sign that says "cave Canem" Beware of Dog, that was preserved. When i first entered the city, i was speechless. Knowing about all of the history and actually being here, and imagining all the people and families that once called this their home. Knowing about the tragic fate of all of them and walking the same paths that they would of walked. When we first walked in we saw a huge courtyard that had an amazing view of the deadly mountain. It was incredible. We then went to the theater area, where seats were still there with inscriptions and drawings on the stage from thousands of years ago. After the theater we walked down the main road of the city. All the foundations of houses were still there, some houses even had roofs. You could walk in and feel like you were in a home. There were kitchens with hearths, rooms, holes for fire pits, baths, fountains and everything, all preserved! It was unlike anything i could ever imagine! It honestly felt like a dream. Also, the views from the city were incredible. Mountains all around, greenery, and clouds and the sea, it honestly was unreal. We then walked through a reconstructed garden, and really felt like we were in a quiet part of a real living city. The further on you go you see marketplaces, go into actual shops, see vases that were used back then, even the numbers of the houses and shops were maintained. There is also a place that was were they would of held festivals and games, it was just a giant field area with all these courts and pillars and everything. We were walking along and then we came to a outdoor museum of sorts. Inside they had the models of actual people and how they died. Since the ash covered all these unsuspecting people and buried them alive, their bodies left indents, when you fill the area with clay, you get a perfect reconstruction of the exact position that the man or woman was in the moment they died. It was one of the most humbling moments of my life. It really puts things in perspective when you think how quickly these men, women and children's lives were ended, without any warning. After we walked around a little more, we went back to the station and got back on the train to Milano. Pompeii was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It's so hard to describe the feelings i felt walking through that city, knowing so much about it and what happened. It's also amazing how well preserved everything is. It was one of my dreams come true, this was close to the top of the list of places i needed to see, and i was able to see it. I feel so lucky to be able to do all these things, and it's so great that i have such great people in my life to enable me to do these incredible things. I love you guys so much and thank you for everything, and miss you. Southern Italy was amazing, it was such a great weekend. Next entry, Venice!! Ciao!

Southern Italy Part 2: Sorrento and Capri

At around 5 pm we took the train from Naples to Sorrento, and it took around an hour. Sorrento is such a great place. It feels a little like Florida and has a very safe, friendly feel about it. We stayed at a hostel about 20 minutes away from the train station. When we got there we all showered and got ready then went to a really nice place for dinner. We has an awesome time then went back and hung around in the bar in our hostel and met some cool people from London and Manchester. We stayed out pretty late then went to bed. The Next day we walked around Sorrento, and it was soooooo beautiful. Again, it was right on the coast and there were mountains and you could see Mt. Vesuvius in the distance, it was so great. We had a nice lunch and then took a ferry over to the island of Capri. Capri was even nicer the Sorrento. It kind of looked the same, but it was a little greener and the mountains were amazing. We did a whole walk around of the city, and hiked to the top part of Capri where all the designer stores are. There were so many rich stores it was crazy. We went to a lookout point and had a view of Capri and the sea that was breathtaking. After we hiked back down and went back to Sorrento, where we again had a good dinner and then hung around at a bar and just had a really great time together.

Southern Italy Part 1: Train Ride and Napoli

After the last day of my Italian Language Course, my friends and i decided to take the journey down to Southern Italy. We were going to first go to Naples, then to Sorrento, then Capri, and finally, Pompeii. I was so excited, Pompeii was one of the places that i needed to go while i was here and i was so excited to actually know that in a few days i would be there. We all got on the train at 11 pm, it was an overnight train that got us there at around 9 the next morning. 10 hours! It was crazy long. I sat with my friend Erica, because all of us were split up because we got tickets too late. Even though it was really long, we had a really good time and i really got to know her. When we finally made it to Naples we were all so excited, the train felt like a million years. Naples was pretty cool, it wasn't my favorite but it was still really nice. It is right on the coast and there is an amazing plaza where Mussolini made a lot of speeches. We got there in the morning and began walking around. We walked by the ports and through the city. We came to a castle and walked by it but couldn't go in because it was closed. Then this guy came up to us and was trying to sell us iPhones. Two of my friends were trying to bargain with him and finally got it down to 50 euro. It seemed like a good deal and they tested them out and everything. We were all unsure and didn't really think they should buy it, but they did anyway. As it turned out, while they handed him the money he gave them the iphones in a case, but after he drove away they looked in the case and there was just a brick in there! It was pretty bad, they were pretty mad, but it was pretty funny and they laugh about it and say it was a good story and an even better con. We then had lunch, and then it started pouring. It was cold and we just walked around the city some more. Then out of nowhere we find this old guy named Hal (Guy in the middle of the last picture). He tells us to go to a little cafe that's really good and he will give us some nice wine and food and stuff. So we follow him and sit down at this nice place and he begins talking to us. Apparently, this guy was in the mafia and knew everyone. He kept getting up, going down the street and coming back with more food and things for us to try. He was an awesome guy, and we really got a cool experience out of it. After we left, we decided it was time to head over to Sorrento, so we caught the train and headed to our next destination.

Classes

Even with all these crazy adventures, unfortunately I'm still in school. =) I am taking four classes, International Business and Management, Business Strategy, Economics of Globalization, and International Project Finance. The classes here are so different from back at home. At home we have thousands of homeworks and quizzes and tests and everything, but here, not so much. In 3 of my 4 classes my whole grade is based on the final. The whole grade! There are no homeworks, assignments, quizzes or anything. It is kind of ridiculous. It's nice because it gives us plenty of time to travel and see all we can, i just have no idea what to expect. So i just keep reading, reading and reading. I only have class Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, so traveling is a lot of fun. Most Tuesdays i travel with my friend Erica to some new amazing place because she doesn't have class Tuesday either. So classes are good, they are pretty interesting and the professors are good. It is just so hard to focus when you are in Italy! I'm sure I'll be fine though, everyone says it's not so bad and if you study you will be fine. Well, now that I've got boring classes out of the way back to the trips, with my next one being Southern Italy!!!! Ciao!

From Cinque Terre Back Home

So as it turned out, The train strike still continued and the only way to get back to Milan was to catch a train back to genova at 10:30 at night, and not leave for Milan until 5:30 in the morning! We were so excited! lol We all just thought that we wanted to have the full day in Cinque Terre and did not want to be rushed so we decided to take our chances and do the crazy night, cause who knows, adventures like that are how the best stories are made! So anyway we got to Genova and there were a lot of people there because of the strike just standing around not knowing what to do. We didn't have anything to do so we wanted to walk around, maybe find a bar or restaurant or something to do while we waited until 5. We found a Pizza bar and shared some pizzas and stuff and just hung out until about 1:00 and then they kicked us out. Ok, we thought, we will find something else! As it turns out everything closed at 1! We walked around and nothing was open, and it was the craziest thing because of all the people who were stuck here because of the train were also walking around but with no where to go. It looked like an end of the world movie with people walking aimlessly around a dead city haha. So we just decided to go back and wait in the train station. This train station was the hangout place for some of the weirdest people i have ever seen in my life. All the drunks, and druggies and people for some reason feel that the train station is the coolest place in the world and come and hang out. So there we were in the middle of the night surrounded by all these crazy people lol. Everyone was pretty tired so they all went to bed and Alyssa and me stayed up to watch over them so no one would do anything. We saw the craziest people, and our favorite was One-Shoe Sally. It was this lady who must have been so drunk and on drugs and she had only one shoe on and had the most druggy look on her face ever. We hoped she didn't do anything, luckily she didn't and left, but then came back later and had changed, and had 2 shoes, but had peed her pants! It was a pretty interesting night, let me tell you haha. So we finally got on the train and got home, and even though the night was a little crazy it was one of the best trips i had ever taken, and had no regrets. It was amazing and something i will remember for the rest of my life. Go Cinque Terre! Until next time, miss you guys and love you!

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is one of, if not the most amazing place i have ever been to. Cinque Terre is a group of 5 villages on the coast and each village is literally right on the edge of cliffs. It is about 3 hours away from Milan. We left Friday morning and were just planning on going for the day. I went with my friends (left to right in the picture) Antonio, Emily, Erica, Marica, Alyssa and Garwin. Little did we know that there would be a train strike. Italy is super inefficient when it comes to doing a lot of things we take for granted and sometimes it really sucks haha! So anyway, we got on the train and halfway through the conductor comes by and says that all trains in the Tuscany region (which is where we were) are on strike. Awesome, we thought, but whatever, so we stopped in genova and it was actually a lot of fun, we stopped at a cafe and walked around the city a little bit, it was actually a nice stop. Then we got back on another train an hour later and finally got to Cinque Terre. When we got there we were all at a loss of words. It was unlike anything any of us have seen before. All these villages where literally on the cliffs in front of the sea surrounded by mountains and it was so amazing. We started our hike, which was a 5 hour hike that would take us to all the 5 villages; Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare. The hike was so amazing. We had the most amazing views ever and it was a really good workout because a lot of the trails were up hill and it was just such an amazing day. You all know me and how i love to find little secret areas and i found a path that led down to a beach and we all went and went into the ocean a little and found just all these cool little areas. I wish you guys could see this place because it is honestly unreal. You can't feel anything but happiness when you look at these views, it was so amazing, and i would go back over and over again. When we finally got to the last town we all felt so accomplished and had a really nice dinner and just had the best time ever. Then we got onto the train back home and had another crazy adventure on our way home because of the oh so lovely train strikes of Italy.

Italian Course and the First Week

We began the Italian course a few days after we arrived and it was 6 hours a day of straight Italian. I enjoyed it because i really love languages and was really interested in learning all i could about the language so i could make this adventure and meaningful as possible. In my class we had about 6 people from turkey, and little did i know that soon they would become some of my best friends here. We learned a lot, and it was also good because after spending 6 hours a day with the same people over and over again, you become pretty close, so we had a really good time. Besides Italian, i continued to meet people and explore Milan, some who would become my best friends here. I met a guy from NYU, Ravi, who happens to live in Jupiter, Florida, like 45 minutes away from my Dad. He is a great guy and we get along great and just joke around and have a good time no matter what we are doing. Also there is a girl from Japan named Saiko and she is one of the most amazing people I've met, she is always so happy and has such a great personality. Another great guy, and one of the funniest i've ever met, is Antonio, from Portugal, whose full name is Antonio Maria de Portugal e Castro Doray Belmar de Costa (How Awesome!) who at first did not have housing and was staying with some of his Portuguese friends. It just goes to show you, the Portuguese did not know each other not a week ago, and already they are willing to let their new friends stay at their place in their room while he solves his problem. It goes to show that there really are good people in this world and when you are open to things you can create amazing friendships. I knew right away that these guys would be my best friends here and only after a few days. We kept exploring the city and going to Italian and did the same thing for about a week trying new places to eat. Wow, the pizza here is sooooooo good. Seeing new things, and just experiencing a new culture. At first it was a little hard to get by, not knowing the language or anything, but if you put your mind to it, and 6 hours a day of class haha, you really begin to grasp and i began to feel like i could get by a little bit. It was a really cool feeling. A few days before the Italian course ended, some of my friends decided where we should take our first trip, Cinque Terre, one of, if not the most amazing place i have ever been to, which you will all hear about very shortly =) Until next time, Ciao!

First Day, Exploring Milan and the First Night

Waking up the next morning and knowing i was about to explore Milan and meet so many new people got me really excited. I went with Kevin and a few others and we started exploring the city, We got on the tram and went to the center of the city which has the duomo which is the 3rd largest cathedral in the world. When i first saw the duomo i was at a complete loss of words. It is so giant and beautiful i can't even begin to explain. It is right in the center of a piazza and there are stores and restaurants and so many people. We went inside the duomo and I'm not going to lie inside was almost as impressive as outside because of all the giant columns holding up the place, and the murals and paintings and everything. It was a humbling moment seeing this amazing building and thinking about how people made this hundreds of years ago without any real technology and it is of an almost unspeakable beauty. After we went to the top of the duomo and got a really good view of Milan and the alps, and it was really amazing getting to experience that. After the duomo we walked around a little more and then went back to Arcobaleno Residence (Which is where i am staying). I finally met up with the other Ohio State people and we all hung out and went to a really nice dinner. That night all the students got together outside and we were all hanging out and meeting each other. A guy from Brazil named Bruno took out his guitar and we all were standing around singing and dancing and even though most of us did not know anyone we felt right at home. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing this is. There are people from all over the world and all kinds of backgrounds and i feel so lucky to be able to meet everyone and have these kind of experiences. In one night i became friends with people from Turkey, Brazil, Japan, China, London, Australia, and so many more amazing places. It is unlike anything i have ever been through before. We all partied in the dorm the whole night just getting to know each other, and in my mind all i could think was, This is about to be the best time of my life, and it was only day 1.

Arriving In Milano

Getting here was pretty cool. When i arrived at Malpensa i was all alone and didn't know what to do so decided to just take a taxi. It cost 90 euro. It was evil haha. Oh well, it was my first like 5 minutes in Italy and didn't want to get completly lost with all my luggage. When i finally got to Arcobaleno i was amazed. The dorm I would be living in was an old hotel! It was so nice. I got into line and met two really cool people right away, Dan and Astrid, we became friends right away and it was nice finally getting to know people. I went up to my room, #430, and began unpacking. After that i met up with my friends and we did all the begginer stuff and registering. Then i just began to try and meet as many people as i could and sort of orient myself with this new city. Milan is a very industrious city with stores and shops everywhere. It is the fashion capital of the world and you could defintly see that by all the stores and even the way people are dressed. I knew right away that even though this city is not classic Italian, i would still love it. Later that day i met my roomate, Kevin, from Boston College. He is a really awesome guy and we get along great. I went to dinner with him and another new friend Maya. After that i went to bed after a long exhausting day. Even though it was only one day i knew that this was about to one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

Welcome To My Blog!

Hey Everyone! I miss you guys so much and hope everything is going so well! I am having the time of my life here and if only you guys were here would it be completely perfect. I have decided to start writing a blog to have it so everyone can keep up with my adventures and maybe see some pictures and stay up to date! Just so everyone knows, obviously i am already well into my trip so i will add them slowly and am starting from the beginning, so make sure to keep checking back! I hope you all enjoy it!