Milano's Greatest Hits

This has been an incredible journey, full of self-discovery, growth, and expansion.  I thought I would address this last blog post to the future students who might have the opportunity to take this trip with UNK.  Here are some words of advice, some must-sees, and cultural differences.

1) You will walk.  Everywhere.  My iPhone has my steps per day hovering somewhere between 15,000 and 26,000 for this entire trip!  I'm used to driving even short distances at home, so this was a bit of a change but once I got used to it I realized I enjoyed walking all the time and hope to keep that habit up at home.  Also, you will see tennis shoes everywhere!  Even the most fashionable Italians will be wearing runners with their couture.  In a city this mobile, you have to be comfortable!

2) Go to Mass at the Duomo, even if you aren't Catholic (like me).  I am so glad that I got up early one morning and made the trek to the Duomo to attend Mass.  You get in for free and see parts of the building that are closed off to normal tourists.  The environment in the cathedral during Mass was incredible as well.  The service I attended was behind the altar itself, so I was looking at the Duomo from the front back.  It was an incredible view and, combined with the incense and the sonorous voice of the Italian priest, quite a spiritual moment, no matter what religion you practice.  There are several different times to attend Mass and even a Latin Mass held in the Crypt below the altar (that's on my to-do list for next time).  There are no pictures allowed during services, so this is just a time to soak in the beauty and history surrounding you.  Also, unless you are Catholic, don't take the Eucharist!  

Inside the Duomo

3) Window shop.  Milan isn't the fashion capital of the world for nothing.  Whether you're gazing at ridiculously expensive dresses at Dolce and Gabbana or gorgeous jewelry at Cartier, you can't go wrong checking out Via Monte Napoleone.  The Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle also has some amazing, iconic fashion houses, but also holds more economic choices such as H&M, Zara, and Kiko (an amazingly inexpensive makeup store).  La Rinascente is a great department store that takes up 8 floors and holds every single item one could imagine.

4) Give yourself some time before and after the program.  Margaret and I got to Italy about 5 days before the program started and we are leaving 8 days after it ended.  I am so glad that we planned in that extra time for several reasons.  First of all, we were over our jet lag by the time class started!  We also had enough time to really explore and settle into Italy.  The time after the program has been a perfect little vacation, time to recover from exams and relax before heading home.  

5) Get out of the city.  You will have 2 free weekends during the program and you should take advantage of those!  Milan is amazing, but so is the rest of Italy!  Milan is very centrally located to some great places, such as Cinque Terre, Lake Como, Florence, Venice, and Rome and train tickets are, for the most part, very inexpensive (Florence and Rome are not the cheapest destinations: it is 4 euro for a train ticket to Lake Como and 89 for a ticket to Rome).

6) Go to Navigli!  If you stay where we stayed, you will be a 20 minute walk or 1 metro stop or a short bus ride from an amazing part of Milan!  The Navigli area is a long stretch of canal lined with restaurants and bars.  It is extremely popular for aperitivo, starting around 7 pm and going until 10.  It's also a great place to grab a gelato, watch the World Cup, or even do some shopping.  

This time in Milan has been absolutely amazing and I can't wait to return to this amazing city.  There are so many more things that I could talk about, but go experience it for yourself!