Rucking Around The World

So, the blogging frequently thing failed. Since the last post, I have been to Verona and back, wandered around Milan, Lake Como and back, and wandered some more around Milan. Tomorrow, our train leaves to Venice at 7:35a.m. from Milano Centrale.

Verona was last Saturday, and it was a blast. The pace of life was much slower than Milan, although we did stay in the more touristy areas so it was mainly tourists wandering. I heard British, American, German, Swiss, and of course Italian accents throughout the day. Some of the different landmarks that we saw were:

• The Roman Arena (Verona's mini Colosseum, built by the Romans thousands of years ago, which now hosts concerts, operas, and plays. Deep Purple was scheduled to play the next day.)
• Castelvecchio (A castle built in the 1300's)
• Verona's Duomo (only the outside)

Here's a few pictures, but check out the rest of them in the gallery:

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There were a few more, but I mainly just enjoyed looking at all of the architecture and the distinct differences in the way Italian cities and towns are arranged, and shaped. The bridges over the river were really cool.

Fun fact: outside of the Roman Arena, there are street performers dressed up as Roman gladiators that want you to take a picture with them and then expect payment in a few Euros, typically around 5 Euro. They got so desperate that every time Adrie and I walked past they would yell out, "Foto for your Facebook!" in the most Italian accent you can think up. Savvy. Overall, the trip to Verona was a very nice change of pace and relaxation. The trains are easy and I highly recommend anyone traveling in Italy to go by train, you will almost never need a car. Trenitalia does a special during the summer months where if you buy two tickets on any trip in Italy, traveling on a Saturday, you get buy one get one free. It's saved Adrie and I a bundle in getting to these gorgeous places.

Verona was very hot, so walking around for twelve hours in the heat and only sitting down for a nice long dinner at the end was exhausting. We spent the next few days in the apartment back in Milan, with short day trips out to view different parts of the city. I am so thankful for Adrie's family for taking me in and lucky to have an opportunity to be based out of one of the most interesting parts of Italy for four weeks. This is my preferred way of discovering a new place by a longshot. Traveling to a new city every day only gets you a small taste of the icing on the cake. Being able to deeply discover one city, and witness the differences in others is the most fun and enriching way of traveling.

After a few lazy days in Milan, we traveled to Lake Como, home of the international Hollywood elite (George Clooney) and an amazing region. Easily one of my favorite places I've ever been. We only saw a very small portion of the lake, and a picture of a map in my gallery explains it easier. The lake was absolutely gorgeous, and all the buildings and homes (more like mansions) were unreal. Luckily for us, the sun came out in full force when we took a passenger boat ride (the preferred way of travel for easy taxi to all the different towns on the lake) and we got to see the southwest portion of the lake.

Fun fact: The Las Vegas casino The Bellagio is designed and modeled after the town of Bellagio, which is on Lake Como, where the two southern forks of the lake meet. We weren't able to make it up there that day, but travel to Como is cheap from Milan (45 minute train ride for about 10 Euro), so hopefully we will soon. It's supposed to be the best town on the lake.

Some more wanderings in Milan greeted me with the Ferrari store, where the model cars are priced at 4600 Euro, which is just under $7,000. There was an engine part of a Ferrari that was worth more than my car, and some other desktop models were worth more than my tuition.

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Today in Milan we ventured to the district of town with the canals (not exactly sure what it's called, but it's on the West side of the city center. I really enjoyed that portion of town, and it's less expensive than where the apartment is located, although "less expensive" in Milan is all relative. The shops were more interesting and not as designer-style shopping; more my style, although I do like looking at all the stuff I'll never buy that Adrie wishes I would wear, if I had more style. I found a really cool record shop that I didn't go into yet, and an antiques shop that had really cool photos of Milan and the Duomo square around 1900. I also enjoyed a pastry with 3 different flavors of gelato in the middle, that sort of resembled an ice-cream burger. Well worth the 1000+ calories. I will definitely be wandering back to that section of town soon, and browsing the record shop. On the door of one of the little shops we browsed was one of my favorite quotes to date, and fits a purpose of this trip:

"He who does not travel, knows not the value of men."

Tomorrow we're off to Venice, which will prove to be hard to fit in everything we want to in 10 hours, but will definitely be amazing.

Word to the wise: private gondola rides (like you've seen in movies) will cost you and your date around 150 Euro. That equates out to $212. Needless to say, I feel bad about not indulging Adrie in some romantics, but not $212-on-a-college-student's-salary bad. She understands, and I love her for it. More pictures to come.

The past few days have been lazy, and Adrie and I have let it get the best of us. Despite the fact that we were lazy, my counter-intuitiveness didn't put up any blogs; apologies to anyone that was looking for one. We did go out a bit though, and had an amazing experience or two.

Adrie, Doris (her mom), and I revisited the castle (called Castle Sforzesco) we had passed by on Saturday night, but this time went inside to tour the museums. Inside the courtyard is free to tour around at your leisure, but the managed museum exhibits are a few Euro. However, we went on a Monday, and the museums don't open until Wednesday.

The castle dates back to the 1350's and it has been a big part of Milan since then. Now just a museum, it used to be where the Duke of Milan and other notables lived. We had just finished touring the courtyard and I played tourist snapping photos everywhere, when it started to rain. It was getting later in the day anyways, so we headed home. Here's a couple pictures, but check the rest of them in the Photos Gallery:

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I experienced more of the food here, and it doesn't even compare. A stark difference I've gotten used to is the extremely smaller portions compared to the States, but the taste and quality of Italian food is well worth ditching the preservatives and excess portions. Plus, I'll be back in the States in a little more than a month and can wolf down as many burgers and fries as I want. Anyone that's eaten with me, knows how much I love to enjoy my food when it's really good, and Doris finds it funny when I can't stop talking about my food.

For those who don't know, I am living with Adrie and her parents in their beautiful 2-bedroom Italian apartment on the fifth floor in the dead center of Milan. We are a three minute walk from The Duomo and The Galleria, and are right next door to all of the big shops and tourist attractions in Milan. I've been trying to keep up with doing the dishes and helping out since I can't pay for my accommodations, which are amazing and comfortable; couldn't ask for anything better.

Yesterday, Adrie and I had originally planned to go see the Foo Fighters, Social Distortion, Iggy & The Stooges, and Flogging Molly at a festival in downtown Milan, but decided against it. All four of those bands are legendary, and it is one of my all time dreams to tour Europe during the summer festival hopping, but when the opportunity to see the original fresco of da Vinci's "The Last Supper" came up I promised myself to see the bands at a later date in the States. I will probably never see The Last Supper again, but I can see the Fooey's anytime (Fooey's is Australian for Foo Fighters).

In Italian, it is called "Cenacolo Vinciano". You have to buy tickets normally 3 months in advance, and each ticket is only for 15 minutes of viewing time; we found two tickets on Wednesday for 6:00pm. It is located in the chapel that da Vinci painted it in originally, and the entire room, and outside waiting rooms are humidity controlled, and only 20 people are allowed in per 15 minute block so that they can manage the air quality, and the people. No photography was allowed, but I could have easily taken a photo with the flash turned off. The second we got in the room another American whipped out his camera and snapped a photo with the biggest flash on, distracting the curators who came over yelling in Italian. I made the mistake of leaving my camera in Adrie's handbag, and she was adamant about following the rules, so I wasn't able to seize the opportunity (sorry Mom). A sneaky Italian in front of me used the distraction to whip out his iPad, pretend he was viewing a document, but instead switched to his camera and take a picture. Just know, that it is amazing, and you feel surreal witnessing the work that has been momentous throughout the world for thousands of years.

Today, we're going out for more food for lunch, this time a famous panzerotti 'bar'. Hopefully more photos and blogs to come in the coming days. Tonight Adrie and I will finalize our day trip to Verona on Saturday, and we're debating between Bergamo or Lake Como for a few hours tomorrow. As Brad Pitt said in Inglorious Basterds, "arrivederci". (Look it up if you don't know what I'm talking about.)

My first full day in Milan was quite the adjustment. I definitely haven't noticed how much of a small-town life I am accustomed to, but things in the city are very different. Not only that, but it's big city life in a different culture, so I can't even get by on genuine Americanism.

Since it was Saturday, we went to one of the traditional open-air markets a decent walk from the apartment, after some gelatto of course. It was very close-quarters; there's no such thing as a "personal bubble" in such an open-minded culture and in an urban setting. My newest phrase is "mi scusi" or normally just "scusi", which I said to be cheeky when I was a kid in America. But now it actually means something, which I like to think it translates to, "Please excuse my big white self for bumping into you and almost knocking you on your ass, I clearly am not used to this." Being 6'2" and 195 pounds, I am distinctly larger than your typical Italian. Also, after being raised on the good-ole American diet of beef, beef, steak, and more beef, my frame is twice the width of Italian people my height (unless they're an older man, who obviously have eaten way too much pasta and their gut shows it). It's hard to get used to, but fun at the same time.

The market was full of incredibly fresh and delicious food. If I wasn't on a student's budget I would have bought the entire market. The meats and cheese and vegetables they had out you could smell from 30 feet away they were so fresh. And real Italian garlic is the real deal. Every single person that walked by the garlic stand slowed down and barely moved. It created an amazing sweet and smooth aroma, and it was just sitting there, not even being cooked or anything.

We settled for some amazing prosciutto cotto (cotto = cooked), fresh buffalo mozzarella (ridiculously good), pepperoni piccante cheese (spicy provolone), and fresh Italian bread. All of the food looks so good in the case, it's hard to decide on one, but we bought all of the food for under 20 Euro (under $30).

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Later in the night we walked a fair bit to go to dinner. Along the way we saw some statues, and A CASTLE. My first castle ever, but it was cool. I never found out how long it's been around, but I know at least 500 years or more. All that's left is the inner-structure, as the outer walls had been where the city is now. Of course, the outer moat is gone too, but the inner moat is still there (not filled of course). There's a museum inside that hopefully we'll be able to go tour soon. I was really stoked on the castle. Don't judge my inner kid-in-a-candy-store.

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We walked through a park that was really cool; mist was coming from all the plants and the paths wove in and out of the trees and led up to this amazing gate. On the other side of the gate we had a traditional Italian pizza dinner on the patio of a restaurant. Along with my pizza, I bought my first legal beer and thoroughly enjoyed it. Some even better gelatto than the morning's on the way back home, and spotting of an old-fashioned Mini Cooper and I was snoring as soon as I laid down.

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The first thing Adrie told me as we were weaving our way through the train stations and the underground (the subway) was "Toto, you're not in Kansas anymore." How ironic because Kansas has twice the population of Idaho.

I've only been to 6 states, a couple cities in Mexico, and Vancouver B.C. I never really considered how much of an unsophisticated redneck I look like to the rest of the world. I also had my first experience in international flights, which there is hardly anything good to say about it. Jet lag kills, it's one big hassle, and nothing ever goes as planned.

I learned a valuable lesson in putting faith in people in general. After my whole itinerary began to fall apart 20 minutes before my first plane was to board, my trust of airlines and my faith in humans went way downhill. Every ticket agent recommended to just keep flying towards my destination, and hope for the best in each airport. They assured me I'd get to Milan eventually, just might not be for a couple days. After my dad calmed me down on the phone and prevented me from reaching across the counter and picking up the little 5-foot tall ticket lady by the collar, I took their advice and got on the plane with low expectations. Although it was very close, I still managed to make all of my original flights and made it to Milan only 3 hours late.

I also learned that North Idaho really is the 51st state. As I conversed with people who sat next to me on the planes, I found myself having to explain what kind of lifestyle people live in Idaho and they couldn't believe it. People thought it was amazing that we could withstand 9 months of snow, rain, and cold weather, and that deer walk across the main roads and everyone knows how to shoot a gun. Also, as much as everyone in Idaho tries to say we are, we are not diverse. I'm not a racist, but this was the first time I had seen more than one or two black, Asian, Arab, or other people from different nationalities in many years. On my international flight, I sat next to Alberto, an Italian kid that had just finished his senior year of high school in Dayton, Ohio on exchange, and he thought that my lifestyle at the University of Idaho and the things we do were hilarious and incredibly cool. If you've never explained what a "power shower" or a "keg stand" is to a foreigner, make sure you have your camera ready. Priceless.

So far my trip has taken me from Boise, to Chicago, to New York (Newark technically), then to Milan. I landed at 11:00am in Milan, but had been up for 24 hours easily. Jet lag is a tricky situation, and it was my first time dealing with it. I stayed up as long as I could, and I made it to 5:00pm, took a nap, then ate dinner and sipped on a good beer until 11pm. My body was wide awake at 6:00am though, so we'll see how today goes.

Food in Italy kicks every other country's food's ass. Food in Italy rocks. Enough said.

Also, Italians are just like they are in the movies. Italian men only wear one of two haircuts: 1) wavy and long, sometimes in a pony-tail or 2) bald like a Mafia hitman. Here, 10 year-old kids dress classier than I do, and the police wear Armani uniforms (no joke, I saw the logo). Everyone wears their sunglasses everywhere, including inside, whether it's light or dark.

And last but not least, architecture in America sucks. The buildings here are so cool, and every single one of them is timeless. We visited the Duomo, the 3rd largest cathedral in Italy, which has the largest and oldest cathedrals in the world. Pictures don't do it justice, because in person it is massive. Everything is marble, the building is all vaulted ceilings at 10+ stories tall, and every single inch of it is detailed in some way. I'm not a churchy or artsy person, but you quickly develop an appreciation for these beautiful buildings that have stood over a thousand years. There's a reason their well known, no matter how "too cool for school" you think you are, you can't ignore the simple wonders of this country.