Milano e Verona

Two weekends ago I went to Milan with a group from my program. We had tons of fun- seeing the magnificent Duomo, the famous opera house- La Scala, the most beautiful shopping in the Galleria and in the shopping district, a museum to see Raphael's sketch of the School of Athens. We also went to a nice dinner, all of us dressed up and having fun talking and then chic and fun nightclub called Hollywood that cost us a total of 50 euros each (cover, drinks and coat check) but the money was definitely worth it! The trip started off Lauren and I going without much planning at all. But we did try to plan to see The Last Supper. We thought that we didnt really have to make reservations a month in advance in February because it doesnt seem like such a touristy time. But the line was always busy and online it said tickets were sold out- not for the weekend but seemingly forever... So unfortunately we didnt see this famous work of art and also Lauren and I read that you could get discounted opera tickets two hours before a show so we planned on stopping by and seeing if we could get some tickets. It is opera season so we thought that there would be an opera but we looked at the scheduled posted outside and there was an opera every day in the month of February besides the Saturday night we were there... what bad luck. Even missing these two things we had a great time at the museum, the club and window shopping. 

Then I had my first week of school at the university. I have one class Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and the other Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The first class is the Sociology of Tourism. It is supposed to be an easy class and the teacher seems very nice and laid back. The second class is History, Society and the Family. This class last two hours and the teacher talks non stop- very boring after the first hour. Luckily, or else i wouldnt make it, she starts 15 minutes late (like most professors here) and stops 15 minutes early. It is kind of dry because she just sits in front of us with a microphone and talks at us but the test is supposedly just over the books you read. This week I went out every night and consequently did not get enough sleep and thus developed a cough that wouldnt quit.

This past weekend on Saturday Lauren and I and two other girl friends went to Verona for Valentine's Day. Verona is the city where Romeo and Juliet lived- ideal city for the lovers holiday. We had a great time. We saw the arena (a small version of the Coliseum), the river, a basicilica, a chiesa, a castle and had a great lunch and dinner. For our romantic Valentine's dinner we ate at a Indian restaurant. Some what of a strange concept but of course (as i suspected) everywhere was booked for dinner in Verona on Valentines Day. The girls I went with seemed to think there might be a good place that wasnt full- i didnt have any hope. We grabbed the last train around 10:30 and got home around 1am. 

Then I slept all day Sunday to try to feel better.

This week is week two of classes and this coming weekend we are going to Venice for Carnivale, i'll update when I get back!