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Ciao! I have arrived in Italy and despite the heat I am loving it! However when I first walked off the plane in Milan I have never been more scared. No one spoke any English and to make matters worse my flight had been delayed so it was 10:30pm by the time I arrived. I nervously made my way to the train station, mangaged to buy a ticket from a man who spoke no English and began my journey. In a very smart decision I decided to take a cap to the hostel and there I began my trip.
The hostel (Hotel Galla) was very nice and I met two awesome girls. We went to a local bar that night with an Italian and a Canadian so I learned about local Italian culture right away. We drank local vino for hours and I attemped to learn my first Italian words.
The next day a girl from New Zealand and I toured the city, including the famous Duamo and the Castle. They have these tricky guys around the famous sights who would place bracelets on your wrists and then demand to be paid. Luckily I had been warned and avoided them, but it was funny to watch the other tourists fall for this trick. At the Duamo I also tasted my first Gelato which was even better than I had heard. My favorite flavor is pistachio and I could and almost have eatten it every day.
The next day I traveled on to Parama, which began with a lost passport scare, luckily my purse just had a hole in the inner liner and had fallen in there. I took the 9 euro regional train to Parma which was very crowed, no AC, in 95 degree weather, oh and it didnt smell to great either. The train was an experience but it was great seeing the country side. When I arrived in Parma I had to carry my two bags (yes I over packed and I regret it and have learned my lesson) up and down 3 flights of stairs... I almost died. But my co-worker and landlord were there to get me and brought me to my new apartment which is great. I will post pictures soon but it is only about 20 minutes from the city center and has beautiful marble floors. The only downside is the stove is not only gas but I have to turn the gas on and off which scares me. Plus the flame is huge when I manually light it.
Parma is beautiful! It is a cute university city with thousands and thousands of bikes, I know before I leave one will hit me. It has a lot of beautiful old buildings and a wonderful shopping row 😊 Cant wait to show you pictures. It has been hard though meeting people because not very many speak English but maybe next week I will know enough Italian to actually have a conversation with someone. But this weekend went to Rimini will tell you all about it in the next blog!
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Burke
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Sounds Fun!
Hey Erinn! Sounds like a trip of the lifetime. One request though, when will you blog about your experiences with your tax report!! Come on! Don't leave out the good stuff! :)