Saturday, April 30, 2011

My Last Trip: Milan



This week, I got back from my last trip out of the UK: Milan, Italy. We left Swansea Sunday the 24th of May for London Luton airport. Our flight was at 6:25 in the morning, so we stayed at the airport overnight, because there was no way to get to the airport early enough to catch our flight. We flew over the Alps on our way there, so that was really cool. Milan is situated in Northern Italy, and really isn't that far from Switzerland. We got to Milan about 9:30 their time (they are an hour ahead of the UK) so it was about a two hour flight.

The weather in Milan was excellent the entire time we were there. It wasn't too hot or too cold. Just perfect. The first thing we did after we got there was eat some Italian food. How could you not? The food was very good. I had all of the pizza, pasta, and bread I could handle. We explored around Milan's central station for awhile and then went to a local park and people watched for about an hour. This was really interesting because you can learn a lot about a culture from watching people's actions. A lot of the shops were closed down because it was a Monday and I guess that must be a day off for people or part of the weekend somehow. However, we were able to find a gelato stand in the park that was open, so that was great. Gelato is the best ice cream ever.

The 2nd day, we went to Milan's Duomo, which is a large cathedral. Also, Milan is a European hub for fashion designers, so there were Prada stores, Versace stores, and the like. We walked around more of the city and eventually came upon Sforza Castle. It was right in the middle of the city, so it was a very unique sight.

Overall, I had a great time in Italy. I really want to come back there someday. Now, I only have a month left of classes at Swansea University before I come back to the United States. My flight home is June 6. Classes start back next week, but I can tell I am dreadfully out of practice because we have had a full month of break.