Milano/Lugano/Como

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I am in back in Rome! Just flew in this morning from a crazy weekend in Northern Italy and Switzerland. Saturday morning was an early morning... we (my friends Gigi, Marymar, and I) woke up around 4:30am to leave for the airport in time. We flew up to Milan, and landed around 8 in the morning. We decided to take a bus to the main train station, and from there to catch the metro to our hostel which was out in the suburbs. The hostel was decent, with a room with 10 bunk beds that we shared with other guests. It was a true backpacking experience! After settling in, we decided to return to the train station to see if we could catch the train up to Lugano, Switzerland. With no luck for trains until Sunday, we decided to get back on the metro downtown to see the main sights in Milan. Of course, our first stop was the famous Duomo of Milan. It was absolutely amazing!! I cannot get enough of the architecture here in Italy. Both the inside and outside of the Duomo were extremely intricate. From there, we decided to go grab a pizza and began to shop. Luckily, I controlled myself and only bought gifts for others. My friends, on the other hand, found some really nice clothes and shoes. They probably spent too much money that day! From there, already very tired from the trip and little sleep the night before, we decided to visit the Last Supper painting by Leonardo da Vinci as our last sight in Milan. Unfortunately, after getting lost on our way to the church, we discovered the tours to see the painting were booked through the week. So, already being there, we simply decided to go inside and check out the church. Although relatively plain on the outside, the church is absolutely beautiful on the inside and filled with many historic paintings. From there, we called it an early night and headed to the hostel to rest. the next day, feeling fully rested, we caught a mid-morning train to Lugano. The ride up into the Alps was amazing, and one thing that really stuck out to me was the clarity of the water in these mountain lakes. We arrived in Lugano around noon, which is quite a clean and quiet city. We decided to take paddle boats out on the lake, and had a fun time exploring some of the shores. We then decided to go on a tram tour of the city, which honestly is very picturesque, but does not have much to do. When we returned to the main piazza, we decided to try some local dishes. Unfortunately, all of the places nearby were closed (due to it being the mid-afternoon), and we ended up eating in an overpriced Swiss Burger King. I can't lie.. having a cheeseburger and some fries was actually a really nice change of pace. From there, with a few hours left before our train, we decided to take a regional train back across the border to visit Lake Como on the way home. After arriving in Como, we were again struck by the beauty of the lake and surrounding mountains. We walked through the main area of the town, and decided to take a cable car up to the mountain above the city. Once at the top, it was pretty cold, but the view was breathtaking! There are many little homes, restaurants, and a small church at the top of the mountain. It looked like a typical town in the Alps! We decided to eat at a small restaurant with an amazing view of the lake. We ate some of the freshest cheese and cold cut meats that I have ever tasted in my life... all local, of course. We quickly returned down the mountain to catch our train, and after a short delay we were headed back to Milan. Upon returning to our hostel, we decided to look at the metro schedule, and realized that the next morning we would not be able to make our early flight on the metro. After a stressful hour, we finally figured out a taxi service that would take us to a bus, that would take us on the hour trip to Malpensa airport. Luckily, after 3 hours of sleep and barely awake, we made it to the airport in plenty of time. However, my friend Gigi booked her ticket on accident for the day after our trip (tuesday). She had to run back out of security, and go buy another ticket, which ended up costing her a lot of money. Luckily though, she made it back just in time for us to board our flight back to Rome. It was quite an ordeal, but we were all relieved upon arriving back on campus. Hopefully next weekend will be a little more calm! Next weekend, it is back to Switzerland.... this time, Geneva!

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