Fall Break: Milan

The first section of my break! So much to talk about!

 The week before fall break we all had midterms! Yay! But I was different and special, because I was the only student that also had a 4 hour standardized test the following Saturday. It was a real pleasure to be studying so much and writing three papers as well! Early Friday morning I took a bus headed for Milan. There is something about traveling through Tuscany in the early morning that struck me as breathtaking. Perhaps it was the low lying fog that clung to the rolling hills of the vineyards. Or maybe it was the sunrise over Lake Trasimeno that painted the still water shades of orange, purple, and red.( Trying to paint word pictures as I lack real pictures of this morning)

 I arrived in Milan after hours of travel and had quite some trouble finding the apartment I was staying in for the night. Eventually I arrived and the lovely lady who rents it out gave me the keys and bade me a good nights rest before my test ( Lovely woman, the apartment was great and only 30 Euro!) The day was far from being over so I thought that I would try and see some sights before studying and getting to sleep. I took the metro to the Duomo station and walked out of the subway with my mouth agape. The Duomo of Milan was absolutely breathtaking. Fortunately I chose the walkway from the underground station whose stairs faced the front of the church. I walked slowly up the steps as the Duomo revealed itself to me one step at a time. The Piazza del Duomo is a shockingly large square, filled with people and surrounded by building. On one side was the Duomo, and the other side was the entrance to the Gallery of Victor Emanuelle II. I chose to enter the Duomo first as all my feet could do was gravitate toward it. The interior is surprisingly plain however the walls are covered in large stain-glassed windows, pieces of art that have a special place in my heart. After walking around the church I entered the Gallery of Victor Emanuelle II, a large structure with a glass-domed ceiling that housed rows of expensive shops and restaurants. I finished my walk with a well deserved dinner from a place raved about on Yelp, a small joint called Luini's that served tiny fried calzones (Panzerotti's... yummm). I returned to the apartment, cracked my study book, and tried to smash tiny piece of information into my brain before it was too late.

 The next morning I took a taxi to the testing center ( a small American K-12 just outside of Milan) and took the dreaded test. It was hard (in the words of Forrest Gump, and that's all I wanna say about that). I walked out of the testing center, in search of someone to split a cab with. I found the only other two students taking the Biochemistry test, one American and one Italian, talking about some questions. I asked them if either wanted to split a cab to the train station, instead I got an invitation for a free ride to the train station which eventually turned into a tour of the Milan by a local (the Italian girl who took the test)! Unfortunately I did not have my camera because I did not think to bring it with me to the testing center. The three of us scientists walked through the fashion district, the Duomo, an old famous castle called Castello Sforzeco, and the massive park behind the castle. It was a great way to cool off from the test and see more of the city. I said farewell and good luck to my fellow biochemists and returned to my apartment. I gathered up my things, gave back the keys, grabbed a bus from the train station, and headed to one of the Milan airports. I made it through security easy enough ( if only they knew what I was smuggling) (nothing but happiness, duh) and boarded my plane headed for Sicily!!