Welcome to Italy (Part 2)

Milano was actually a very boring city. There wasn't much to do except go to the Duomo and the shopping district. Thankfully, I had a Californian girl I met the night I arrived that wandered with me. She helped me shop around for a purse for my mother and accompanied me to the Duomo, a very beautiful building that clashes with the rest of Milan. While we were shopping, we found a crowd of people waiting (what is it with me and finding crowds?) for the AC Milan futbol team to arrive at their official Milan store. They were releasing their new jersey design! We didn't get to see the team, but it was a fun experience and I got a photo with the team bus.

The next day I left for Venice and made a day stop in Verona, famous for the house of Capulet of Shakespeare's tale “Romeo and Juliet.” I wished I had actually stayed a night in Verona, it was a very beautiful city and had some neat things to see. There just weren't any hostels. As I was searching for the Roman amphitheater that was supposed to be there (which was very small)n meet an English family and spent the day trading stories with them about life in the US and England. I absolutely love when I get to do that!

I arrived in Venice that evening just in time for dinner. The hostel I was in was great because they served a dinner, which meant the entire hostel was there at half past seven to sit and chat in the common room. We (ten of us or so) played some drinking games after and went to wander about the city. I enjoyed my first night in Venice so much that I decided to stay another night. It went pretty well the same, just with a new set of people! There were to guys in particular, a Dutchman, Wouter, and a German, Eric, I hung out with for most of the day and night. that I'm going to try very hard to make a stop back in Venice on my way up to Prague.

I had decided that I couldn't come to and skip the famous Italian auto factories, so I proceeded to Bologna for a night and Modena for three. My hostel in Bologna was actually outside the city, and I was nearly stranded the next morning. I didn't have change for a bus ticket, so I just stole a ride. Travel kind of forces you to do these things. Approached the train station to find ANOTHER crowd (WTF!) celebrating some anniversary of Bologna. I watched that and wandered the city for a while before taking my train to Modena.

Remember, Modena was supposed to be a chill period. I ended up being just as active there as I was previously, just without the nightlife. Oh, I also had a bit of a mental breakdown due some events I found about back home, but I'm okay. It made for some interesting alone time, though. I got up the first day and went to visit Galleria Ferrari (the Ferrari factory) in nearby Maranello, was out all day and explored Modena city center that night. The second day I took a bus to the Lamborghini Gallery. While I was there, I ran into two amazing people from DC who ended up taking me with them to a Pagani factory tour, a traditional balsamic vinegar distillery tour and pretty much paid for my afternoon. Kyle and Olivia made that day one of the best of my trip. I hope I meet more people as awesome as them. When I get back home, I'm going to send them cash for a night out on me. I had a fantastic day and want to return them the favor.

After Modena, took a train to Cinque Terra national park.