Our first trip to Italy was a success! Even though it was a little last minute and not fully planned, we had a great time. It is crazy to think that only a little over a month ago, I had never been to Europe, and one month later I've visited 5 cities! Feeling very blessed that we have this opportunity for so much traveling!
We started in Milan, made a quick side trip to Verona, then onto Florence, and finally Venice. Busy but so worth it! :)
Milan
Oh, Milan. This was probably one of the most memorable locations we visited, but probably not for a good reason! You have to keep reading to figure out why...I'm not giving it to you that easily! :) See more
Milan pictures here.
After arriving at different Milan airports and rendez-vousing (that's called Franglish) at our hotel, we spent the night exploring the town square and eating dinner. The Duomo in Milan is especially beautiful and ornate. It's crazy to think how long it must have taken to build it.
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| Inside the church |
The second day, Nick had to work, so I was was on my own to explore the city. I started the day with reservations to see the Last Supper painting by DaVinci. Sadly, no pictures were allowed inside, so all I have are the inside of the church, which was pretty too. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting the painting to be like, but it wasn't as big as I thought. It was good to see it, but the 15 minutes I was allowed in the room was plenty for me.
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| Sforza Castle |
Next, I wandered the streets to the Sforza Castle, which was quite pretty. I'm sure there's quite a bit of history behind this castle, but I couldn't tell you what! You will find that I'm not really a big museum or history person, so I just wandered and snapped photos.
I visited the Duomo again and was inundated with scammers and people trying to sell stuff. It's a tourist area, but come on! You'd tell them no and they'd keep shoving bracelets, roses, bird seed, anything in your face. Even at the Eiffel Tower, if you tell them no to something, they walk away to find a new tourist. But here, it was like telling them no made them try harder to get you to buy something! I have to say, I much prefer how Parisians tend to keep themselves! This was part of the reason I decided to climb to the roof of the Duomo. For those of you who know me, you know this is quite an accomplishment, especially alone. Melissa and Troy, I will be forever indebted to you for my go-to self pep talk for dealing with my fear of heights: "You scaled a 13,000+ ft. mountain this summer, get over it." I did and was rewarded with some pretty awesome views.
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| How can you go wrong with Nutella? |
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| Fried mini calzone |
All this sight-seeing worked up quite an appetite, so I treated myself to a well-rounded Italian lunch: Nutella gelato (amazing!) and Panzerotti from Luini (also delicious). And I'm sure equally as healthy! ;)
Ok, ok, now to the story you really want to hear. This actually was the very first thing that happened in Milan, but I had to keep you waiting for a little bit! It's the first night and we go to the beautiful central station to buy metro tickets to go to the Duomo square. We are using the machines and push "English" (which was probably our first mistake). As we are deciding what type of ticket we should buy, a man comes up and starts helping us, explaining the different options of tickets. We probably should've known at this point that this isn't normal, but he seemed so nice and was dressed very nicely as well. After purchasing our 2 tickets, we are waiting for the tickets and 2 euros change to come out the machine. The guy is still "helping" us, handing us each ticket as it prints (again, we should have had bells going off, but we're just thinking he works for the metro since the machine is right next to the ticket window). Well, the 2 euro coin finally comes out and the guy takes it asking "please, please" for the help he gave us. Nick tells him no, no, give it back. This is where the story gets really good....wait for it...the guy proceeds to put the coin IN HIS MOUTH!! Most people would probably walk off at this point, but Nick gets very angry that this guy took advantage of us so he starts yelling at him to give it back. In the meantime, another guy comes out of nowhere and starts pushing Nick and telling him to get away. Luckily, I didn't have to break up any fist-fights (although it was close), and once the commotion starting getting loud, the first guy finally spit out the coin and gave it back to Nick. Not that we really wanted the coin at that point, but Nick kept it till we got to a bathroom just to prove his point! Oh man, what a story!
Summary: Milan was perfect for 1 day. It's a pretty commercial city and doesn't "feel" like traditional Italy. I wouldn't necessarily suggest going out of your way to visit here, but if you happen to find yourself there, be sure to go to the Duomo, eat gelato and panzerotti, and look out for pick pockets!
Verona
Early Thursday morning we caught a train to Verona. And I mean literally caught, we ran and jumped on at just the last second! This is a very quaint, small town that we really enjoyed! We spent a few hours doing a Rick Steves' walking tour, which was awesome minus the fact that we had a rolling suitcase along with us--do not bring roller bags on European vacations unless you know you have somewhere to store it! I'm sure everyone could hear "those American tourists" blocks away from the wheels on the cobblestone streets.
Below are some highlights from the walking tour. See more
Verona pictures here.
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| Roman stadium |
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| Juliet's balcony |
Verona is said to be the location of the balcony of Romeo and Juliet. There is no evidence to prove this, but tourists still flock to it as if it's the real thing. Of course, we had to also! :)
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| Beautiful river views |
We finished off with lunch at a quiet, authentic Italian restaurant. Some delicious food and wine and great ambiance. Jason and Alicia met us in Verona for the drive to Florence.
Summary: Verona is a very romantic and quaint city. I'd love to stay here for a long weekend and enjoy the peacefulness and quietness of the city. If you're ever in this area of Italy, I'd definitely recommend at least stopping for a few hours!
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