Ciao, Bella!

My final weekend of traveling this semester was spent in Italy. The weekend was split between Milan and Venice. We flew in and out of Milan, and spent two of the three nights there, but Venice was the highlight of the trip. It was late afternoon on Thursday by the time we checked into our hostel in Milan. We headed into the city center and went to one of the main squares. We went inside the huge Duomo church and just walked around the downtown area. We did not do much the first evening because we were planning on waking up early to take a train into Venice the following day.

Canals of Venice

We had booked a night in Venice in advance, but had not yet bought train tickets. The staff at our hostel said to not bother buying in advance, and to just buy tickets from the train station the day of our journey. We had checked the time tables once we got into Milan, but had not realized exactly how expensive the tickets would be ($46 each way, which really isn’t too bad, but once you factor in the cost of the plane ticket and transport to and from the airport, we realized just how much would be spent on transportation that weekend). We did make a morning train, which was good planning because the duration of the ride is just over two and a half hours. The place we were staying in Venice was quite close to the train station, so we easily found our way. The apartment we were staying at in Venice was amazing! It was huge and located right next to a canal. After dropping off our bags, we walked around and headed towards the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco.

Partially flooded square; photo credit Alexa Berry

We did not buy a public transportation pass in Venice because it is very expensive, and you can easily walk everywhere. We made it to the main square in about half hour, and that was with us just wandering around and following the signs that are posted on every street corner. Once we got to Piazza San Marco, we went inside Saint Mark’s Basilica. This is one of my favorite churches I have ever been to, partially because the stones in the floor are laid out in a fantastic geometric pattern! Unfortunately there was scaffolding up on the outside due to restoration, but you could still tell how beautiful the church is from the outside. We just wandered around the piazza and down random side streets, and we never did get lost (yet another time GoogleMaps has come in handy).

Seafood appetizer platter; photo credit Alexa Berry

We went back to the apartment for a little rest and to figure out where we should eat for dinner. We looked online and found a traditional place called Paradiso Perduto. We went in and luckily got the last table available. The waitress was incredibly nice and helped us order, giving us her recommendations and telling us how large the dishes were. We ended up getting a huge seafood platter as an appetizer; it was maybe the best seafood I have ever had! They were making handmade pasta, so of course we had to try some. We shared a plate of squid pasta, and a plate of “cheese and pepper” pasta, which of course was just mac & cheese. The next day we once again wandered around the island, gradually making our way towards the college square, Campo San Margerita. This was the area where I had stayed in Venice four years prior, so I recognized quite a bit! We also went inside the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, ate gelato, and shopped around a flea market we stumbled upon.

The Duomo Cathedral in Milan

We took an afternoon train back to Milan and arrived around 5:00. We were staying in a different place than the first night (a real hotel!), so we headed over to check in. When we got to the building, the receptionist told us that our room was actually at another location nearby, and showed us where to go on the map. We were all a little confused and were unsure of what was happening, but we took her directions and went to find our hotel; however, the receptionist had pointed us to the wrong street, so finding the hotel took a little longer than expected, but we eventually found it. That night we had “aperitivo” for dinner, which is where you just buy a drink at a restaurant, and then you have unlimited access to the buffet of appetizer food.

On Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel, and headed back towards the area of the Duomo. This time around, the area was so packed with tour groups that we could barely move. Since we had already been inside the church once before, we decided to head towards a park and castle area. There was a large flea market going on, and it was packed with people. Somehow our group got split up, and it took over half an hour trying to find each other again, which is hard to do when you don’t have data and cannot easily find wifi. I had tried to get tickets to see Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper, but unfortunately they were sold out and we were unable to go. Besides London, Milan was the place most similar to an American city I had been all semester long. I liked how the city was laid out, and the metro was easy to use, but other than that it did not feel extremely “Italian.” Also, I am a little surprised by the fact that Milan is a major location for fashion week! There were a lot of name brand stores (I have never seen so many H&Ms in my life), but the people were dressed normally, if not a little fancier than average. Overall, it was a great last weekend of travel, and while I do not need to go back to Milan again, I would go back to Venice anytime in a heartbeat.

On the Rialto Bridge in Venice