First Day of Classes

My two month winter break is officially over as of today. I start my classes today at Bocconi. My schedule isn't as full as a semester at Madison and I'm testing out an online course for the first time, but nonetheless I'm excited. As much I wish I could just be continuously traveling and making sure I miss nothing in Europe, it will be much better to get into a routine with studying again and having a schedule to keep.

I spent my last week busy by exploring Milan, meeting new people and, even took a small weekend trip. On Wednesday night a large group of people from the dorm all attended an appertivo together. You pay 10 euros to get into a club, and with that money you get into the club(every place here has a cover or service charge), you get 2 free drinks, and you get to eat from a buffet line. It's a great way to get a cheap dinner, and then afterwards dance it off when the music gets going.

On Thursday morning my friend Sarah and I took a train to Florence and spent two days there. It really is a beautiful little city, and easy to walk around without having to pay for any transportation. The first thing we saw was the statue of David at the Accademia Gallery. They had seating all around him and I sat for a good 15 minutes mesmorized by the sculpture. It's a captivating piece of art and the detail and size of it leave you in awe. We also walked through the Duomo and the large cathedral that night in the center of the city. We ended our first night in Florence out by the river taking some snapshots of the famous bridges connecting the two sides of the city. Friday was spent walking around the entire city all day. We stopped for a tour at the Pitti Palace and its Boboli Gardens. We ventured on the other side of the river a bit. Naturally we had to do some shopping in the afternoon, and casually made our way to an elegant little restaurant right on the river front for a filling dinner. Taking our time after that, we made a hike uphill to the Piazzale Michelangelo, which is the greatest place to see the whole city of Florence all lit up at night. Pictures couldn't even capture the beauty of the view. Saturday, once again we caught an early train to Pisa and spent the afternoon there taking in the leaning tower, the cathedral, and quaint streets of the city. It was also Valentine's day so we were surrounded by bouquets of flowers and couples. Italians aren't very private about showing affection in general, so naturally on Valentine's day it was quite a lovefest throughout the streets.

We made it home by Saturday night and now it's Monday morning and I'm off to class in a few hours. The first week isn't very intense, similar to other schools, and I'm signed up to take a weekend day trip to Venice on Saturday to participate in the famous Carnevale festivities. It's comparable to...I'd say Halloween mixed with Mardi Gras maybe? People get dressed in costumes, many times just masks and then for a week they have special events and at night all the decorated people take to the streets and have a good time :) I'm going with a large group of international students from Bocconi.

Well now you're caught up on everything I've been up to in Italy. Have a great week!