It’s hard to believe that it is already February. I feel like I have finally settled in and now I have to start thinking about what I’ll do when I go back home. But, since I have this awesome job, I also had another 2 weeks off – my 3rd paid vacation.
Originally, Guillaume and I had wanted to go to Amsterdam for a few days. But, the bus and train tickets were way too expensive. We probably would have had better luck if we had planned it a little earlier.
Fortunately, I was able to find roundtrip tickets from Lyon to Milan for 54 euros with Eurolines – the European equivalent to Greyhound (But, don’t worry – Greyhound is still way more ghetto in comparison to Eurolines). I didn’t mind taking an overnight bus and jumped on the deal.
Luckily, Emily is working in Brescia, Italy – an hour away from Milan. We had been emailing each other to plan our trip in May, but after I found the tickets, I asked her what she had planned. She had about a week off so it all worked out. I would leave on Wednesday night of the 10th and get to Milan on Thursday morning. I would then spend the day in Milan and then head to Padova the next day. Emily would get on the same train and then, we would leave our bags in Padova and go to Venice on Friday afternoon. We would then come back to Padova and stay the night at Emily’s friend’s house and then head to Florence the next day. We would spend about a day and a half in Florence with Emily’s friend, Cat, and then spend 2 days in Siena before ending back in Milan.
For the most part, that was exactly how the trip went. Except, Guillaume joined us and accompanied Emily and I around Italy. I told him about what I had planned and asked him if he wanted to come along. Fortunately, it wasn’t too last minute and we were able to find accommodation for all 3 of us – THANKS TO EMILY AND HER AWESOME FRIENDS!!!
So the trip went like this:
Wednesday, the 10th – I went to work only to find out that I would only have one class since the teacher for my first two classes was sick. After work, I went over to the other language assistants’ apartment and had brunch with Sara (Spanish) and Rania (German). After eating, we played card games for about 4 hours before I realized that I should probably go home and finish packing.
Once I was finished, I went to the train station and took the train to Guillaume’s apartment. Luckily, there is a train stop/station right around the corner from his place. I went there since the bus wasn’t scheduled to leave until midnight. While he packed, I skyped Emily and talked about the final details of the trip. Around 11pm, we left his apartment and took the tram over to Perrache, checked in with the driver and got on the bus to Milan.
Thursday, the 11th – Felt like the longest day ever! I mean, besides not having slept very much on the bus, I was able to see all the snow that was falling on the way. The bus made several stops. We stopped in Grenoble, Parma, Torino and finally, in Milan.
We got to Milan around 8am and set off to find the hostel in Milan. We got to the hostel and left our bags since we could not check in until 2pm. We stopped at a small café called The Hemingway and had our first Italian caffe lattes of the trip. This place would be our favorite since we came back to this café 3 times in 24 hours.
The weather in Milan wasn’t that great. It was raining and snowing at the same time. Everything was wet and the day was gloomy. It reminded me of the first time I went to Milan – same kind of weather. I guess maybe it’s just a curse. At least this time, the Duomo wasn’t under renovation. I was able to take a picture and see what it really looks like. Guillaume and I went inside and admired the art and architecture. The Duomo in Milan is very dark and gothic but beautiful nonetheless. After going around and taking pictures (which we thought was not allowed), we walked out and went through the covered hallways of the Galleria – a shopping area next to the Duomo. While we walked through we noticed that there was something being filmed because there were huge cameras right in front of us – then we realized that the women in walking in front of us was the subject of whatever they were shooting. Maybe we will be in an Italian commercial!
From the Galleria, we found ourselves right next to the Teatro della Scala – the world famous opera theater. We made our way through the pink snails that were around the square (they were huge plastic, bright pink snails) and went into the Museo della Scala – but, we didn’t get to see the stage lit up since they were testing the lights for a performance. I snuck a picture and then we finished going through the museum. Once we left the museum, we walked around the curving streets and tried to make our way to the Castello Sforzesco.
Once we got to the Castello Sforzesco, we paid 1.50 euros and had access to 5 museums. Walking around the old fortress was great. We got to see the old halls and even got to see a frescoed ceiling painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. Once we went around, we decided to head over to Chiesa Santa Maria delle Grazie to check out The Last Supper, Da Vinci’s famous fresco.
After taking pictures of the church, we walk in, only to find out that we need reservations in order to go in and see it. I go up to the front desk and ask if we can make a reservation at that time but was quickly given a slip of paper with a phone number and website that we had to call in order to make a reservation. The fact that there is a reception area is pointless!
Once the small annoying incident passed, we took a tram back to the Duomo and saw Chiesa di San Satiro hidden among the buildings surrounding it. We walked back to the Duomo and had a sandwich at a small café right off the Piazza.
After lunch, we went to the Duomo and climbed to the top of the roof. We were up there for a while and soaked up the views of the city. Guillaume and I were also very surprised that there were soo many statues on every single spire that stuck out from the Duomo. Once we were back onto solid ground, we headed over to San Ambroggio – a very old church made of brick. Once we walked out, it was already getting dark, so we decided to go back to the hostel, check in, and hang out there for a while before going back to the city center to see what it looked like at night.
Once we were in the hostel, Guillaume and I realized that we were doing the same thing – we were both listening to out IPods and writing down what we had done. After doing that for about an hour, we checked the time, and were shocked to find out that it was only 6pm!
We left the hostel around 7pm and went back to the Duomo to see it at night. I expected it to be a little more exciting, but it wasn’t as great as I thought. We then made out way back to the hostel and had dinner at The Hemingway – a small pizza and a beer for 6 euros. It was a great deal!
After dinner, we went back to the hostel and got ready for bed. Guillaume and I talked to our roommate and found out that he was from Finland and was traveling for a few weeks before his classes started in Basel, Switzerland. He spoke English really well – he studied in Indianapolis for a year and had done quite a bit of traveling in the States. Just when we were ready to go to sleep, an older Italian guy came in and took the last bed in the room – lucky for us, he got ready for bed and instead of falling asleep right away, he turned on the radio and listened to the same song several times before starting to snore and keeping us up. It was great!
Friday, the 12th – we woke up at 9am and got ready to leave. We had bought out tickets to Padova before we went to the hostel the day before and knew where we had to catch our train. Once we checked out, we went to The Hemingway and had our last latte before getting on the train.
After about an hour, we got to Brescia and I got off the train to find Emily. We quickly got on the train and found Guillaume and our seats. Once we got to Padova, we left our bags at the station (we had to leave our bags overnight since they closed at 6pm – I carried my toothbrush around all day), and decided to go into the city to get some gelato before the next train to Venice (which was in 30 minutes).
As we walked to a gelato place, I was able to recognize some of the things I had seen when I first went to Venice. After waiting for Guillaume to get some cash and eating our gelato, Emily pointed out that we only had 5 minutes before the train left so I’m sure that we burned the gelato off since we had to run from the center to the train.
Once we were on the train, we were off to Venice. It was a beautiful day. The sun was out and there was no rain at all. Once we got to Venice, we were able to walk around comfortably since there were not a lot of people. We walked along the canals and over bridges, ate some pizzete with some hot wine, and got to see some of the Carnevale festivities at Piazza San Marco. Overall, it was a great experience to see Venice again and during the pre-Lent festivities. We even bought some masks to fit in!
Once we got back to Padova, Carlo picked us up from the station. We stayed the night with the Marchetto’s – a family Emily met through the EAP program. When Emily studied in Padova, she was put in contact with Gabriele, Carlo’s son, who was going to study at UC Riverside. Emily’s family also spent Easter with the Marchetto’s. Needless to say, they go way back.
It was about 10:30 or 11 pm but, Bruna, Carlo’s wife insisted that we have dinner. It was great to be welcomed by this family. We truly got to experience the Italian hospitality. Not to mention I was able to practice a little Italian (I really need to do some review).
Saturday, the 13th - After sleeping for almost 12 hours, Guillaume and I woke up and got ready to head to Florence. We showered, got dressed, and had an amazing lunch prepared by our Italian mom (she adopted us and told us that we were welcome to visit anytime).
With only 15 minutes before the train left, Emily ran to buy the tickets, while Guillaume and I got the bags from the luggage storage. We did everything pretty quickly and were able to relax for a little before getting on the train. We took a FrecciaRossa – a new high-speed train in Italy – we got to Florence from Padova in an hour and a half!
Once in Florence, Emily’s friend, Cat, an NYU Grad Student studying in Florence, met us at Santa Maria Novella and took us to her apartment. We left our bags and went into the city center to see the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza della Signoria, and the Uffizi. Once it got dark, we went to a small little bar and had some spritz before meeting Katie, Cat’s roommate, at a small restaurant nearby. For roughly about 12 euros each, we each got a pizza, water, some prosecco, a misto toscano (a platter of traditional, regional meats) and some grappa to digest the meal.
Once we got back to the apartment, we all went to sleep – after some endless laughing at random stuff.
Sunday, the 14th – Once we all got ready to go, we went to the Accademia – the home of the famous statue of David. Once we were able to check him out and the other works of art in the museum, we went to the Duomo and climbed up the Campanile – the bell tower next to the Duomo. We had a great view of the city and of the Duomo. Once we climbed down, we went in the direction of Piazza Michelangelo. On the way, we ate in a small sandwich shop were I was able to savor porchetta once again. It has got to be the best thing to eat in a sandwich. Imagine – slices of roasted pork seasoned with salt and rosemary and put on foccacia bread = amazing.
Once we finished chatting with a woman who had sold everything to live in Italy and witnessing Guillaume break the Duralex (French ‘unbreakable’ brand) glass, we continued towards Piazza Michelangelo. Once we got to the top, we took in the view of the city and then went to the Monastery at the very top. Since there was a bus strike, we decided to go down the hill by foot and start heading back to Cat’s apartment. We made a pick stop at the statue of the boar and then went back to Cat’s, where we ordered Chinese food and had dinner together.
Monday, the 15th – after leaving Cat’s apartment, we took the bus to the train station and found out what times the buses left for Siena. Once we had the schedule, we went to look for the bus stop of the #12 bus to get to Piazza Michelangelo one more time. Thanks to our good fortune, the bus stop changed the day before. So, we deciced, heck, let’s just go to the next stop. We would have gone back to the train station if we had known that we would never find the next stop. After about 20 minutes of wandering and tempers starting to meet their limits, we got on a bus and got to our destination. After snapping some pictures under the sun at the Piazza, we went to the cemetery next to the Monastery to look for the tomb of the author of Pinocchio. Although we didn’t find it, it was cool to walk around the cemetery. Who knew walking around a place where dead people are buried could be pretty? - it was a bit strange though.
After our stroll among the dead, we started to head back to the sandwich shop from the day before only to remember that it was closed on Mondays. We made do with a shop that was just down the street from where we got off the bus. While we ate, we ran into some high school students from Newport Beach, who were on a school trip. We even saved one of them from losing his bag – he left it on the chair and forgot to grab it when they all left.
We then went to the bus station and took the bus to Siena. The whole way there, I felt like I was going ‘home’ – to the place where all my European adventures started.
After checking in to the hotel, we walked around the street of Siena and the Campo. We bought some wine and then went to Greg’s (one of my roommate’s when I studied in Siena) favorite osteria – it was just down the street from our hotel. We all ate awesome food – Guillaume had the carbonara, I had some ribollita (a Sienese dish), and Emily started with some pici (a thick Sienese pasta that looks like spaghetti) con sugo de chinghiale (wild boar sauce).
After dinner, we went to the Campo and drank some wine while we were surrounded by the famous Palio track. It was good to be back.
Tuesday, the 16th – After breakfast, we went around Siena and I showed Emily and Guillaume the statues and churches of the contrade. Around noon we met up with Sarah, an English assistant in Lyon from Canada, who came to Siena since she was staying close to Pisa for a week. Her boyfriend was at work, so she had nothing to do. Once we met up with her, we went to lunch at Nonna Gina’s, a place recommended by the guy who checked us into the hotel. This place was amazing! We ate stuffed gnocchi with a pistachio sauce and then I had some coniglio al limone and Emily’s leftovers.
After ordering some coffee and some digestivos, the owner gave us some suckers and even gave us a discount – we got 15 euros off the bill! That place is definitely worth checking out.
Sarah had to catch a train back to her boyfriend’s town so she wasn’t able to go to the Duomo with us. Guillaume, Emily and I bought our tickets and went inside the Museo dell’Opera and got to see the Campo from the arch. After leaving the museum, we went to the Crypt and Baptistry. We rushed through them since they closed at 5 and we started at 3:30pm. Luckily, we left the Duomo for last and were able to be in there with enough time to soak it all in.
Once we did the tourist thing, we went to Barone Rosso, the bar we would always go to to check the time it opened and then had some coffee and hot chocolate at what used to be the Walkabout Pub – a bar around the corner from my apartment in Siena. After going back to the hotel for a while, we went to dinner at the corner bar and then went out for some drinks at Barone. It wasn’t as crowded as it used to be with my group of Californians, but it was nice to go back and see that everything was pretty much the same
After a few rounds of shooters and watching the Olympics on the projection screen, we went back to the hotel to nap since we had to leave early the next morning to get to Milan.
Wednesday, the 17th – once we got to the bus stop outside of Porta Pispini in Siena, we got on the bus and head to Milan. I napped on the way there since we were going to be on the bus for 4 hours.
Once we got to Milan we went to Centrale, the main train station, to leave our bags at the luggage storage so that we wouldn’t have to carry them around with us all day. Once we did that, we went to the Duomo again. I went inside with Emily while Guillaume went to get some money. After eating a sandwich, Emily left for the train station and Guillaume and I went to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana.
We had all day, which was good since the Pinacoteca had almost 26 rooms to go through. We rented an audioguide and used it in every room despite its random commentary – nothing was in order, we typed in the room number only to tell us about certain paintings that were scattered all along the walls. But, I thought it was fun since I considered it a game – find the painting I’m talking about before I start with the next one (lol).
The best thing about the Pinacoteca was that we were able to see pages from Leonardo Da Vinci’s notebooks. Each page was under a protective glass, but we were able to use the audioguides to listen to more facts about the life and work of Da Vinci. Once we were done with the Pinacoteca, we tried to go to another place where we could use the tickets we paid for to get in for free.
While I was in the restroom, Guillaume heard someone say something about this place so he had me ask the lady at the reception. She was very nice and explained that the ticket was not valid unless we had paid for it at the beginning but since she knew we were students, she could call the other place and tell them that we were on our way and to let us in. After successfully having this conversation with her, we set off to find the place, only to get lost and decide to get a coffee somewhere. Once we drank our beer (changed our minds about the coffee) we went to Centrale, picked up our bags and head towards Lampugnano, the bus station to wait for our bus. We checked in, got our boarding passes and waited for 2 hours before we were back on a bus and on our way home.
Thursday, the 18th – Guillaume and I were surprised that we got back to Lyon an hour and a half early – so early that we couldn’t get into the bus station and take a tram back to his apartment. So, we walked back to his apartment, I got my keys and went back to Perrache to wait for the train to Villefranche. I took the 6:08am train back to Villefranche and was back in my studio at 7:05. I passed out and slept the entire day! I even took a nap after I had been awake for 2 hours.
Overall, this trip was long, fast, but well worth it! I miss traveling and I can’t wait to do it again!
Since we were short on time, we just walked around the port and walked to some beaches and were even able to do a little hike along the Presqu’ile – the peninsula. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
