I went to Italy and forgot all of my French
Forgive me for taking so long to update you on my travels, but I have been extremely busy. I am back in Montpellier, which I have discovered is just as exciting as my hometown of White Bear Lake. So, obviously, this is a hoppin’ town. After spending a week in Italy I have lost desire to go to school, because why go to school when I can travel and see beautiful sights? Yet, I trudge on. Barely learning French and staring blankly at my teachers – back to life as usual.
Enough depressing school talk.
Let’s talk about Italy. I had one week off of school, so my roommate, Brianna, and I traveled to Rome and Florence. Getting there was ludicrous. We stayed up late packing and procrastinating which led to us having a grand total of four hours of sleep between the two of us. We left Montpellier at 10 AM, and several train changes later, we arrived in Milan at 11:30 at night.
Our arrival in Milan was half-baked and we had not made plans of any sort of what to do. The train to Rome had left as soon as we had arrived – so it looked like we were staying in Milan. Ugh. After sitting in the warmest place we could find for some time, which was conveniently located next to the bathroom, we decided we were hungry and left the train station. After wandering around for two hours, passing a group of hopefuls outside of Armani (Did I mention it was fashion week?), our backs breaking from lugging our bags around, and convincing some kids that we were British, we finally found a hotel that wasn’t booked out due to fashion week. (Note: Just because Milan is one of the fashion capitals of the world does not mean that it is an exciting or beautiful city. Truly, if you aren’t going there to shop, you shouldn’t go there at all.) The hotel that we found was a four star hotel, which is usually out of my price range. But, I think the concierge took pity on Brianna and me and gave us a 40 euro discount based on our tired and haggard looks. I have never been more excited to be in a hotel room. Ever. The 90 euros we spent on the hotel was used efficiently and I think we got our money’s worth. I mean, I got to take a hot shower without worrying about how much I was using, I got to sleep in a bed instead of on the streets of Milan, I got to eat a delicious continental breakfast and pocket a bunch for lunch, I got soap that smelled like candy. I also learned that it is usually a bad idea to show up in a strange city without any plans of what you are going to do.
When we finally made it to Rome we definitely did all of the tourist things, but there are things in Rome that if you go without seeing them you are missing out on something. I was in Rome in 2005 and this time around I saw it with new eyes, probably because I am no longer a surly teenager, but a surly young adult. Of course, we went to St. Peter’s and the Sistine Chapel. Of course, we went to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. Of course, we saw the Colosseum and the Roman Forum (we just looked, didn’t actually tour it). But, we also went to the Non-Catholic Cemetery and saw the graves of John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Me, being the nerdy English major that I am, stood in front of Keats’ grave weeping. Brianna, being the cat lover that she is, donated money to the cemetery because it is also a cat sanctuary. I have a soil collection from every place that I have visited, so I scooped up some of the dirt from Keats’ grave as a new addition to my collection.
In Rome, it rained every day. I have had to super glue the soles of my shoes back on twice in the past 2 weeks. Awesome.
Florence was completely different from Rome. When I got back people asked, “Did you like Florence or Rome better?” That question is unanswerable. They are completely different cities, with completely different vibes, and completely different sights. They both have so much to offer, so please don’t ask that question.
The art in Florence was absolutely breathtaking. After seeing Michelangelo’s David, every statue seems insignificant and unimpressive. The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli is much more consequential in real life, a book or a photograph can never do it justice. The city itself was one of the most beautiful views I have ever witnessed. Brianna and I walked up this huge hill to Michelangelo’s Piazza and could see the entire city and the mountains behind it. It is definitely a sight to see. The color scheme of the city is also something to take note of. The yellows and oranges play perfectly with one another against the foliage and the blue/brown of the river.
There are two things that I would like the US to adopt from Italy.
- Aperitivo buffets: You go to a bar, order one drink and are given access to an entire grad party-esque buffet. There are a variety of pastas, breads, fruit and vegetables, and other delicious treats. This makes eating out much cheaper and every bar that has an aperitivo has a different selection of foods.
- Lucky Strike Girls: In the US we have Red Bull Girls, and unless you want to stay awake longer while you get drunk there really isn’t any point of drinking Red Bull. Have a cup of coffee for Christ’s sake. In Italy, there were girls walking around handing out free packs of Lucky Strikes to promote the new line of cigarettes. This would probably be the hardest thing to legalize in the US, but a girl can dream.
This has been an extremely long post.
P.S. Everything is covered in gold foil. So, be warned.





