First Travel Experience…
Our guest blogger, McKenzie, is back with another amazing post from Italy.
My first week of school has finally come to an end, and something tells I’m going to really enjoy school in Florence. Here, students don’t have school on Fridays (TCU take note), so my roommates and I decided to take a day trip to Milan. With Milan being the fashion capital of the world, there was zero hesitation in my decision to go.
Train tickets in hand, dressed to impress, and eager to shop, we were ready for an adventure.
Sojourn#1 began after a two-hour weather delay. After finally arriving in Milan, and anxious to begin our day, we headed straight for the Metro. For those of you who know of my determination to live and work in New York upon graduation, I took this as an opportunity to learn to navigate the subway on my own. Once we got to the Duomo di Milano, we were in complete awe. We all stopped for a moment to take in all of its beauty. In hindsight, we knew we looked like complete foreigners just standing there gawking at the beautiful building, but we didn’t care. And naturally, my roommates and I had to take a picture in front of the famous Duomo to share its beauty with you.
We spent the day walking all over the city, stopping in both the small boutiques and the world-renowned designer stores, all of which were extraordinary. My favorite part of the day, however, was when we took our daily afternoon chocolate break at Chocolat Italiani (this is a definite must on your list of places to visit in Milan). One of my roommates and I ordered a waffle heated up with dark chocolate and white chocolate gelato on top and dark chocolate drizzle to top it off. Imagine tasting heaven in your mouth – that is what it tasted like.
Sojourn#2 took place Saturday when our TCU abroad program took a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano. My only knowledge of Siena, aside from it being famous for its wine, was that my parents had taken a trip to Siena many years ago, where my dad took pictures of many beautiful doors. He later framed some of these door photos, which now adorn various walls in my parents’ home as an ongoing reminder of this part of the world’s old charm beauty. Still to this day, my mom says that Siena is one of her favorite cities in Italy, so having the opportunity to experience the beautiful city while learning about all of its history was both exciting and rewarding.
On our way back, we stopped at San Gimignano, which was absolutely beautiful with its quaint feel and picture-perfect views. I must also note that in this city lies the gelato shop, Gelateria di Piazza, which is famously known to have the world’s best ice cream. Of course I, being the self-proclaimed dessert connoisseur that I am, had to try it out. Well let me tell you, it was AMAZING! I got a combination of Kinder (vanilla with Nutella) and salted caramel, and this gelato far exceeded my expectations. It’s safe to say Gelateria di Piazza definitely has the best ice cream in the world.
My traveling experiences in this first week abroad were nothing short of incredible. If the rest of our trips are anything like this weekend, we are in for an amazing semester. I am thankful each and every day for this opportunity and I look forward to all the adventures to come.
Thanks for coming on this journey with me… check in for daily insights @KenzInFirenze.
Ciao!
McKenzie
