My last weeks abroad!!

on Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Year everyone! This post is like 6 months late but I figured that if I don't post this now, I may never get around to it. This is also a very productive beginning to the new year! This entry is not really written as well as the other ones and is more of a rough outline of what Francisco and I did the last month in Italy. By now all of the pics have been posted to facebook so I won't upload those to here. I wrote this on my iPod on the plane ride back to the US and it may not be fully in complete sentences or anything like that.

It is hard to believe that one year ago I was at home in Minnesota preparing for my journey to Milan! Little did I know that I would have the time of my life......


Francisco and I went to Portofino with Sabrina and Pascalle the morning after the champions league final. Portofino is considered to be one of the most beautiful ports in the world and it definitely did not disappoint. We had a great day seeing the beautiful landscapes and the yachts that were docked there.  The next day Francisco and I went to Paris to see the French Open and to visit the beautiful city. We stayed with my mom's friend (Adriana) again and we had an incredible time in the city. The French Open was a lot of fun and the highlight was probably seeing Maria Sharapova. We were very eager to see the tennis matches and we were actually the first people to get in that day. We saw the 3rd round and the tickets for the grounds were only like 20euros each! Once we got back to Milan I studied innovation for a few days and went to Yguana (my favorite aperitivo) with Francisco and Marine and Margaux. On that Thursday I had my innovation final and I studied the wrong things but I thought it was a great test. Update: I got my grade an got an A so it turned out for the best.

The next day which was Saturday we went to Lake Como. Como was beautiful we started at Varenna and then paid 11 € for a day ferry pass and went to bellagio which was beautiful. After we walked around we took a ferry to Lenno we walked to Villa Babianello which is in a bunch movies and we ate nutella. We spent the day outside but unfortunately we forgot our hats (which we bought at the French Open). After, we took the ferry back to Bellagio and then Varenna but we ended up waiting forever for the train to Milano because the weekend schedule didn't include all the normal trains. It was funny because in the morning in milano we saw an American family and we ended up seeing them on the train back too.

The next day, Megan came from Africa and it was great seeing her. With Megan we ate lunch at the boat in navigli with Margaux (Marine's friend from France) and then for dinner we ate at a pizzeria in ticinese. I ended getting food poisoning from the foccacia at lunch but besides that it was a great day. We also watched the French open final at Toine's apartment.

The next day we headed to duomo and went shopping with margaux and Megan. I ended up buying some rayban aviators so it was a success. We also went to luini's for a snack and then burger king for lunch since margaux wanted to go. Then we napped around and made dinner and then went out to the columns and then the yellow bar near mcdonalds at PTA ticinese and then navigli where we randomly met up with a group of Canadians I know from school.

The next morning we got up bright and early to go to Venice for the day. Although I initially just wanted to sleep in I had an incredible day and enjoyed the city much more than my first trip there. It was much less crowded and the weather was perfect as well. We also did a bit of shopping and we all really enjoyed it.

The next day I went to school and studied for a few hours and Fran and Megan went to duomo area and tried to get his inter jersey fixed. Unfortunately the concept of customer service after the sale is made is non existent so they didn't help him. When I got home I was surprised when Megan had bought me the D&G cologne I wanted as a kind gesture for housing her during her visit. That evening was rachels last night in Milan so we went to a dinner for her at pizzeria ticinese (again). Afterward we went to the collumns for a drink and then headed to old fashion for a night of dancing.

The next morning we got up early and went to Cinque Terre with Johan and Oscar. The train was like 4 hours long and then we dropped off our things at our hotel in the 3rd or middle village called Corniglia. After that, we hiked north to the next village and had lunch. I had a delicious lasagna and we met an American family. During the walk between villages we ran into Jorgen (a friend from Norway). After, we headed to the next village or the first one of the 5 and stopped on the way and had a lemonade from a farmer making it from his farm. At the third village we had a gelato and bought wine and then took the train back to corniglia where we had a wonderful dinner at a nice restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean sea. I had the best risotto of my life that night and when we got back home we played cards and Francisco displayed true dominance. In fact, we were the only 2 that won any games that night so we did well for ourselves. The next day we hiked the last two villages and spent the rest of the day at the beach where Francisco and I recieved our first and second sunburns of our lives respectively. After that we watched the first game of the world cup over dinner and we met a family from salt lake. When we got home that night we were exhausted and went straight to bed. Cinque Terre was easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and I hope to go back again one day.

The next day, we then got up early and went to Verona for the day where we saw Juliet's house and stuff. It was just an hour away via train so it was a perfect day trip. After we got home we watched the world cup at carlsberg (the pub/resturants where I watched a few of the Champion's League games). We saw the US tie against England and we met some Americans who work in Italy from Michigan.

The next day we went to taxi blues to watch Ghana play and hung out.

On Monday I probably tried to study.

Tuesday I had my exam and Francisco broke his foot and instead of taking a trip to Switzerland we went to an opera at la scala and Oscar and Johan and Johanna all came over afterward and we hung out on my balcony and we saw a shooting star.

The next day we walked around Milan with Megan for her last full day and had the best gelato ever ( at chocolat) and then we went to roialto for an aperitivo. After, we came home and she packed. Megan was with us for like two weeks and we had an amazing time with her. I was really glad that she was able to come because ever since I went to college I didn't really ever have the chance to hang out with her.

The next morning we dropped her off at the bus for the airport and then we came back and took a nap. Then we got up and booked our trip for Rome and then went shopping and had chocolat gelato again and then I bought new work shoes at Tod's. After we went to the boat at navigli for a going away dinner and said bye to Oscar, Johan, Ole Martin, Oyvind, Heidi, Emelie, Latetita and Daniel. After we also had Riva Reno gelato. While Megan was here Francisco and her went out for gelato at least twice a day and I would join them when not studying so I can truly say that I have a new appreciation for the delicious desert.

Francisco and I spent 3 days in Rome and loved every minute of it. we stayed overnight with the Brandos because we missed the train and it was truly special to be able to spend time with them. The Brandos were our neighbors in Colombia when we were little so they knew our parents very well. In Rome we at at the gelato place the obamas went to and took a bus tour of the city. when we first got to our hostel they took us to another one in what turned out to be little india and it was in a terrible neighborhood and we should have complained because what they did was probably illegal. Overall, it was incredible to be able to spend time in the eternal city with my clone!!!!

After rome we came back to milan where i studied for my last exam and then we packed everything up and left. it was sad to leave and i already miss all of my friends and the city. the past 5 months were truly an adventure of a lifetime and the countless memories will be with me forever. 

thank you for staying with me during my journey. i hope that you enjoyed hearing about the things i did. i know that these blog posts will be very rewarding to read in a few years.

god bless all of you.

Love,
Camilo

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod

1 comments:

c-Lo said...

Reading this so many years later I was right about it being rewarding to read these entries later!

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