This past weekend I decided to take a trip to Milan, which is part of Lombardy. The (fast) train took about 2 hours, so it wasn’t that bad as opposed to the slow train which takes 4. The Milan central station is probably 5-10 times bigger and more hectic than Santa Maria Novella! Anyway, from Milano Centrale, I took the train to Lecco, a city right next to Lake Como. It’s just a small town 40 minutes outside of the city, but so beautiful because of the mountains! Elena picked me up at the station and after about 30 minutes we went back with her friend Silvia to watch a concert in Milan. 

Compared to Florence, people walk even MORE in Milan because it’s such a big city. they have metros and buses, but even with that, you still have to walk to get to some places. I guess I went during Milan’s Design Week, so even at 12am, the metro was supa crowded. You didn’t even have to hold on to the rails because the people were so squished together. We went to this bar to watch an Italian band play, but later changed our minds so we just decided to go to Alcatraz. At the bar, I noticed a guy wearing a UCLA sweater, so we asked him if he’s a student. Turns out, he just studied abroad for a summer. But yay him for reppin’ on the streets of Italy. Anyway, Alcatraz was poppin’ and only €10 to get in with 2 free drinks included. Love me some Erasmus <3 Let’s just say.. it was a very “multicultural” night for me ;) The first train back to Lecco was at 5am so we took that one and met this Turkish guy on the train. So random but we ended up going out with him & his friend the next day too. 

Saturday afternoon, I decided to go to Milan to explore on my own. On the train from Lecco to Milan, we passed by a playground and there were all these little kids waving as the train passed while screaming “Ciao! Ciao!” It was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I walked around a lot and went (mostly window) shopping. Everyone in Milan seems so fashionable and high class. It’s impossible to take a trip to Milan without shopping though :) I also saw the Duomo. It is so grand I couldn’t stop staring at it! I finished exploring around 9pm and took the train back to Lecco. Then Elena told me that we were going out again that night so I went on the train again to Milan. haha We went out with her friend Matteo, who is super cool and funny. We ended up going back to Alcatraz that night. It wasn’t as great as Friday night, but I still had lots of fun anyway! We got back to Lecco around 7am, but Elena and I chatted a little so we didn’t sleep until 9am. haha I woke up around 2pm and we walked around Lecco and got lunch (pizza!!) I also got to try Sicilian granita with fresh cream on top. Soooo good! Lake Como and the surrounding mountains are beautiful.. exactly my type of town. After lunch, we went shopping a little and got me some new shoes :) Now everytime I wear them, I’m gonna be reminded of happy memories I had in Milan and Lecco :))) 

Elena is so lovely! I hope she comes visit me in Florence or the UK, even LA! She’s super social and knows so many people from all over the world. :) I didn’t get back to Florence til 10pm so I was super exhausted. I loved Northern Italy, but I felt so relieved to be back in Florence. It really is my new home now <3 So little sleep this weekend, but definitely worth it! Most people say Milan’s not that great because there’s not much to see, but I think otherwise. Every city has potential and can be beautiful in different ways. I had an amazing time and met some amazing people. Actually, I met a RIDICULOUS amount of people this weekend (and none of them were American!) Yay for making new friends :)