Finally, finally, finally I am settled in Milan. After two amazing weeks on the road, I have moved into my Italian apartment and am trying to get into the swing of things here. I have met one roommate so far. Her name is Ilaria and she is amazing. She speaks little Italian, but I think this will come in handy once I start practicing the language.
Before I get too far into current goings-on, I will back track two weeks and recap my European adventure:
11 August: Mamie Knutson, Andrew Rodenberg, Brian Houle and I left Fargo, NoDak for Europe. After a tearful airport goodbye, we started for Milan.
12 August: After meeting Brian in Malpensa (the airport outside of Milan) we took a train to the city center and tried in vain to find our hotel. We gave up, took a taxi, and made it safely to the Hotel Brasil. We toured the Piazza Duomo, shopped, and ate pizza and gelato. But, to Mamie's disappointment, no pizza cones.
13 August: It was at least 90 in Milan the day before, but we were greeted by 40 to 50 degree weather in Amsterdam. We layered as best we could and were welcomed to Dutch-land by very friendly "Hollanders". Here in Amsterdam we called the hostel "Stay Okay" our home. We ate typical Dutch pancakes and took some time to explore the very beautiful Amsterdam. We were able to participate in Happy Hour at the hostel that night. We drank Heineken, while watching Olympic diving.
14 August: Today we left the city to discover Den Haag, a town about one hour away. Here we met a Knutson family friend, Nardine. Nardine showed us the Parliament building, the International Court of Justice, and the North Sea! We ate wonderful Middle Eastern dishes and made a pit stop in Leiden to check out the university medical school; which was eerily empty and full of doctor scooters, weird.
15 August: We all purchased I Amsterdam cards, which gave us discounts at local museums, stores, etc. So, after a GIANT late breakfast, we rented bikes from a local place called MacBikes. Here we met two employees: one from Vermont who hated Texas and men, it seemed. And another who hated Americans, in general. When he learned Andrew's name he declared, "I have a coworker named Andrew, his nickname is dickhead." It was hilarious for us, not so much for Andrew. We got VIP, no line, and no charge treatment at the Van Gogh museum because of our cards, were able to check out some art, and buy some expensive mugs and postcards. After free coffee (because of the card) at a fancy cafeteria, we headed to the Amsterdam History Museum. I thought this place rocked, very hands on history. We then drank typical (and free) Dutch gin, or genever, in the typically Dutch way (no hands sip off the counter), it was better than I thought it would be. Mamie and I then stood in line for an hour to spend another hour in the Anne Frank House. Totally worth the wait. It made me appreciate not only my writing, but also having the freedom to write.
16 August: After returning our bikes, we took a free canal ride tour of Amsterdam. We were glad it was free, because while interesting, it was also long. After this, we took a free bus ride (thank goodness for the I Amsterdam card) to Harlaam, a local town. Harlaam was awesome! We all agreed it would be a great place to live. It is like Amsterdam, but not as weird or as busy. We did a lot of shopping and exploring. Brian and Andrew bought some strange coffee bean shaped chocolates that they attempted to pawn off on us girls and were later rediscovered in Palma. They also produced this quote:
(As Brian was trying to feed me chocolates by hand)
Andrew: Don't ever feed Andy that way, he'll eat your entire finger.
Ann: Do you feed Andy like that a lot?
Andrew: You'd be surprised how often it happens.
(Brian explains how they fed Andy like that while he was driving to SD)
Brian: Yea, Andy shouldn't drive with his hands off the wheel. Andy shouldn't drive with his on the wheel.
We left Amsterdam this night at 11pm. Since our flights didn't leave until 5am, we took time to eat Burger King and watch a man smash a flower pot, be chased down by the police, and then be escorted from the airport. I took photos. ha.
17 August: Andrew and I flew together, while Mamie and Brian flew together to Mallorca, an island off the coast of Spain. We all landed and met up in Palma where we picked up our rental car, an adorable black two door. After getting lost, we found the Terremar, a hotel run by a British woman. Our room in Palma was an apartment, with two rooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen and dining room. We had a fridge and a sink, so we cooked our own food and were able to do laundry. Palma is a big coastal town that is part historic Spanish town, part trashy big city. We explored a little, ate a wonderful Spanish supper of Paella, and drove around a bit.
18 August: Today we drove to Santanyi, a city on the coast where we deep water soloed, swam, and sunned. Deep water soloing is when you climb cliff walls without a rope over the ocean. Although we had to deal with lots of German tourists, it was still amazing. It was so wonderful! We also explored local towns, and went Spanish grocery shopping. After a good day, we had a bit of a downer: Our rental car had a bit of a run in with a scooter, but everything turned out ok. Mamie gave me a Spanish a haircut this night!
19 August: Today we drove to Soller, which is separated from Palma by a mountain range. It was amazing driving through the mountains, lots of switch backs. We found the beach, swam, looked at the light house and headed back to Palma. Today we checked out a local castle and then climbed at Porto Pi, the place where Deep Water Soloing began. It was AMAZING. Lots of very cool climbers. The boys impressed us with their bravery, but Mamie and I rocked out the most! We were very proud of our climbing moves, and got some Spanish words of encouragement from local climbers. After a long day of beach and climbing, we enjoyed cheap sangria and local night life.
20 August: Today we left Palma. After a sad goodbye to our rental car (and Andrew said good riddance to driving stick in Spain), we headed to the airport to be pushed around by AirBerlin. As we were struggling to check in, someone said, "our bags are soooo getting lost." Whoever said that can see the future. Because they did get lost. Ugh. But that's another story...
We spent some time in Germany, where I was able to eat sausage Vienna style and practice my grade school German! We landed in Milano in the evening to be greeted by... not our bags, awww. BUT, we were able to interact with the slowest, least smart airport employee EVER. After over an hour, we were told that our bags should arrive at 8am the next morning, so we decided to stay at Malpensa. We spent the night on a McDonald's bench, where Mamie and I got what Andrew called Bench Bug Bites. Yuck.
21 August: We all woke up stiff, and being stared at by airport people. Awkward. But, our luggage arrived on time! We bussed to Milan, where we got on a train to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is a group of five Italian coastal villages. We stayed in Riomaggiore. It was very quaint, steep stairs, twisty alleys, beautiful coast. Our apartment we rented was really weird: it looked like it was someone's house, and we felt like we were trespassing. There were clothes and shoes and booze everywhere. Weird. We explored a little, ate Italian food, watched the sun set over the ocean, and went to bed at a good hour.
22 August: Our first and only morning in Cinque Terre. After a BAD breakfast (for me; I squished my pastry between the bakery case and my chest, sad), we locked our bags at the train station and started on the Via D'amore. The via is a footpath that traces the coast, and goes up mountains, connecting the five villages of Cinque Terre. It was hard work, but we were able to explore four of the villages and do some shopping. At 5 that evening we got on a train back to Milano.
23 August: Brian left first, then Mamie and Andrew and I parted ways outside of the Hotel Brasil. It was sad, but I am excited to be in my "new home".
There is so much more that happened. And I wish I could write all of it. This trip has been more than amazing, and I am sooo blessed to have been able to experience it with such great friends. I am so lucky!
Well, I need to jet, Milano is calling my name!
Ciao!
Check out my photos from the trip!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2486312&l=f0a25&id=6850983
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2486361&l=1ef45&id=6850983
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2486392&l=023ab&id=6850983
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