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!