Venice, Cinque Terre, and Milan part deux

Venice! I visited Venice a few years ago but it was pouring rain when I was there so I promised myself I would go back when the weather was better. Thursday I headed from Milan to Venice by train which took about 2.5 hours. Fortunately, the weather was much better this time around and I spent the afternoon walking the streets, wandering through the hundreds of shops and taking a million pictures. I was tempted to take a gondola ride but it was 80-100 euro (about $160!) no way. Plus a gondola ride alone = pathetic. Maybe next time, Venice!

Next up was Cinque Terre. The Cinque Terre are 5 villages along the Italian Riviera and they are BEAUTIFUL! I left Milan early to catch a train to La Spezia, the city just outside CT. I got there without any problem but after my navigational mishap in Milan decided not to chance it with the bus and just hired a taxi instead. My hostel was in Biassa just like 10 minutes from the first village, Riomaggiore. As soon as I got checked in a guy from the hostel drove me into Riomaggiore. My plan for the day was to explore there and the neighboring town, Manorola. After about 20 minutes I realized I had pretty much seen what there was to see in Riomaggiore. It was SO small. So I got on the train and went to Monterosso, the fifth and biggest village. It is pretty much just a beach town so I walked around the shops and the beach, got some gelato and enjoyed the warm weather.
The next day we got an early start so we could hike the Via dell'Amore, the trail that runs above all 5 villages. The trail between the first two villages was closed due to a mudslide so we started in the third village, Corniglia. All I knew about this village before going was that it had a lot of stairs.. no kidding. Literally I think we probably climbed 500 stairs. I did the hike with Kara, a girl from my hostel who is just about to graduate as a mechanical engineer, we had a really good time and I'm so glad I met her! The hike took us about 4.5 hours and we ended in Monterosso where we laid out and just relaxed on the beach. We headed back to the hostel around 6:00, got cleaned up and headed out to dinner with a group of students we met on a study abroad from Mizzou.
The next morning, Kara and I caught the train back to Milan because we both had flights out the next morning, mine to Athens and hers to Barcelona. I stayed in the same hostel that night and it was so nice already knowing my way around! As I was checking in, a girl came up and asked where I was from and turns out she grew up in Holladay, went to Waterford, and we knew a few of the same people. Small world! We became fast friends and decided to go explore a little more of Milan. We went to this little part of town known as "Little Venice" where there are hundreds of antique shops and restaurants all along the grand canal. There was even a gondola (yes, a single gondola) and it looked a lot like Venice. After that we tried to get to the top of a museum that had an amazing view of the entire city but we got there just after it closed. We headed down by the Duomo, where there was a huge park with a castle and a fountain where they were having the international ice cream festival with hundreds of gelato vendors. We just walked around and talked and it was a really fun night. Next was a super early morning for my flight to Athens!!

Milan.

I kicked off my bucket list summer in Milan, Italy. The 16 hour flight went rather smoothly, and I arrived in Milan about 10:30 am. I had directions of how to get to my hostel and seeming simple enough I started on my way. I found the suggested bus right outside the terminal and got on board. The bus seemed to go forever with no sign of my stop. I asked a couple nearby if they knew where my stop was and they said that wasn't even a stop and that this one was the last. Perfect. I knew my hostel was close to the Duomo so I had them point me in that direction. Without coming from that bus stop though my directions to the hostel were useless so I wandered around asking people for directions and none of them knew what I was talking about. I was very surprised to find how few people speak English in Milan! Like none. I finally resigned to getting a taxi and went to stand by the taxi stop where I waited... and waited. Finally, I asked a waitress at a nearby cafe but all I could understand was that there were no taxis. (i found out later the taxi drivers had gone on strike) I was officially out of options. I had no idea where I was going, it was like 90 degrees and I was dragging around 100 pounds (literally) of luggage through these crowded streets. Eventually however I did stumble upon my hostel and I recovered. I couldn't check in for another hour or so, so I dropped off my luggage and went off to explore Milan. I knew one of the things I wanted to see was Da Vinci's Last Supper but when I inquired about that the girl told me you usually have to buy a ticket a month in advance and there was no way I would be able to get a ticket. I figured I would chance it anyway so I walked to the church/museum where it lives and asked if there were any available tickets and surprise... there were! So I got to see the painting. After that I explored the duomo for a while which was beautiful, and the surrounding area. Milan is the fashion capital of Europe so the piazza is full of high end fashion and so many shops and stores. I shopped for a bit and then hung out in the piazza listening to some live music. I had been up for about 30 hours at this point so I headed back to the hostel and tried to get some sleep. My roommates however had different plans and I was awake for a few more hours while they pre-gamed for the clubs. Just. My. Style. I felt like I had seen what I wanted to see of Milan so the next day it was off to Venice!