Verona and Milan

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Last weekend we started off on a train to Verona. It took about 2 hours to get there from Paderno. I learned that printing directions works a whole lot better then drawing them on a piece of paper. We walked around Verona for about 2 hours before finding our hostel but the reason we got lost was because we couldn't find the right road walking out of the train station. We ended up making a loop around the area we needed to be to finally find the right roads. The hostel we stayed at was excellent. It was basically an apartment turned into a hostel with one 4 person room (our room), and two 3 person rooms (one housed some brazilians and the other some girls from our Cimba program). Verona is a very beautiful city with many old buildings. We walked around the old Roman era arena and then headed down the shopping area saturday morning. We climbed a tower and saw the magnificent view of the surrounding hills with castles and other nice buildings. We could barely see the mountains way out in the distance, which made me wonder how beautiful it would have been on a clear day. The weather was nice but a bit hazy and in the 50's. We stayed in Verona till around 3 and then started making our way to the train station for Milan.

We got to Milan around 7 and started walking towards our hostel. This time we had an Ipad in our possession, (same 4 from Verona +2) so we pulled up google maps and made our way smoothly. That night we found a Pizzeria Chinese Restaurant. Sounds funny but they serve pizza and chinese food. The floor was glass and underneath it was a tank of water and rocks, needless to say it was very cool. The next day was sunday and we woke up nice and early and made our way to the castle and Duomo area of Milan. We walked around the castle, walked inside the Duomo and then spent the rest of the time in the shops spread around the city center. The Duomo is huge, I don't think I have been in such a large cathedral before. It is the largest gothic cathedral and second largest cathedral in the world, which I later found out on wikipedia. The city of Milan definitely impressed me. I definitely found it more modern than most european cities, but it still maintained that Italian essence. Everything in Italy is on sale right now. You can find things from 50% off to even 80% off. It's their big post christmas sale period, so I have found myself turning down some incredible deals.
The soccer game was an experience of a lifetime. I don't think words give it justice. The people that went to Milan and Verona early, aka my group, met the bus at the stadium. So we were at the stadium really early because we did not want to miss the bus and we needed our tickets. We got our tickets and went right in, 2 hours early. The stadium is incredible, it seats 80000 people so it is pretty big. All the rowdy fans sit behind the goals, the home team on one end and the away team on the other. I was on the side of the field facing the benches, so I was safe from the crazy fans but they made the experience insane. After the first goal, two minutes in, about 6 flares went off in the rowdy section, crazy. The crowd sang songs, taunted the Roma players and fans, and went insane when anything good or bad happened to Inter. I would say it is definitely a step up from any American sporting event out there when it comes to the energy in the crowd. One of the down sides is that smoking is allowed in the stadium so all you smell is smoke which isn't the most pleasant smell in the world. If you ever have seen a night soccer game in Europe on TV, you can see there is a bit of a haze when the cameras show the fans. That haze is from the smoking, and it is especially bad at halftime as you can imagine. The final score was 5-3 Inter so there were no fights that I know of in the parking lot after because the home team won ha ha. Overall, it was one of the most exciting experiences of my life.
I got back to Paderno in time to see the last part of the 3rd quarter and then the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl. It is really hard to believe here in Italy that the Packers are actually World Champs. With very few people talking about it and nothing seems too different in the way people act through their excitement. We didn't get any of the good commercials here. We just get the Army ones, which aren't very impressive. But still that excitement is in my blood, Go Pack Go. I have been blasting Green and Yellow, the song, and talking up the Packers with my friends, who are everything from Jets fans to Chiefs fans, but it's all fun. Aaron Rodgers has one thing Brett never accomplished, a Super Bowl MVP trophy. I would like him to, at around week 3 or 4 next year, call up Ted Thompson and say he misses the camaraderie of the team aspect and ask for a 3rd string spot on the Packers for a last year of football. Wouldn't that be a great way to go out, backing up a super bowl MVP, your successor and pushing for a Super Bowl repeat to right all the havoc he caused in his final years in Green Bay. Doubtful, but still fun to think about.

I have 2 tests this week so I have been working my tail off to prepare for them. Next week I have a whole week off from school so Saturday I fly to Porto, Portugal. Spend a few days there, make our way up to Santiago. Fly from Santiago to Barcelona, Spain on Wednesday. Then spent the rest of the week in Barcelona. It should be an excellent time. I'll get back to this blog in a week and a half because I don't plan to take my computer.

I would like to thank my parents for allowing me the opportunity of a lifetime. Without you, none of this is possible. So thank you very much. Hopefully everyone back home is surviving the bitter cold and snow. Thinking of all of you and I appreciate every comment. Off to more pasta and a random meat for dinner, but hey like the old roman saying, when in Paderno del Grappa.

Ciao!

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Comments

[Joanne Huston]

Good Luck and Have FUN
Sean, Good luck on your exams this week, and have a wonderful time in Spain. Love, Aunt Jo

[sally]

Hi Sean! thanks for keeping this blog! I sure appreciate your posts, and I know that andrew and edie receive email notification of them, too. you do a super job of describing your experiences. keep it up...when you can.

[Megan]

Finzyyyy! Sounds amazinnnn! Hope you're loving it