So I have not been a good blogger for the past month and a half. The saddest part about my lack of blogging is that I like to blog right after my trips and experiences so that I have the ability to remember more. I also realized this weekend that I am a big fan of the blog. When I first started blogging I wasn't sure if I really wanted to be a "blogger." I thought to myself who really wants to keep up with my life that closely and felt it might be too much self disclosure. However, a moment happened this weekend where I realized that blogging, especially when so far away from my family and friends, really does help to keep you connected.
Greg, Annelise, Gretchen and I went to Austria this weekend to visit my friend Paul again and climb a mountain (full details will come soon in another blog) and we were making our long ascent up the mountain when Greg said out of nowhere something like this (Greg, please forgive me because I know you will remember the exact quote because your memory is wayyyy better than mine but this is what I remember you saying), "Do you think the Jimmys from Scotland would like that?" For two seconds I actually thought my brother was in Scotland with me and met the Jimmys (see Scotland blog for background information on the Jimmys) but then I realized, "No! We just shared that experience because he reads my blog!"
And then I realized... It is time to ketchup on the blog. And there is more ketchup needed right now then when Gretchen and Joelle come over for dinner. (Sidenote: I realize that is a bad ketchup joke but I am leaving it....)
So since I last wrote, here are the highlights:
1. Milan for the day
2. Barcelona for a weekend
3. A full weekend of babysitting a friend's awesome 4 year old
4. Greg and Annelise arrive
5. A weekend in Austria with Greg, Annelise, Gretchen, Paul, and Lucia
I will blog later separate blogs about 2-5 but here are the highlights from #1.
So after Berlin, me and a couple girls went to Milan, Italy for the day. The intent was for it to be a quick trip to check out the mecca of shopping. I am not a huge shopper so my intent was just to see the city and eat some Italian food. I did some research and found a list of things you must do in the city but most of them pertained to shopping. The two things that I found that you must do that I put on my nonshopping list were:
1. Go to the top of the large Cathedral in Duomo and see the city from the top.
2. Go to the middle of the shopping center and spin around on the "Bull's Balls" for good luck.
Both of these must dos were close to each other so we accomplished both. I do have to admit though that besides that I did not do much.... speed traveling got the best of me.
We got up at 4 am to get to Milan and got to the city at about 9 am. We then realized we really didn't know where we were going and where the hotel was. But after about 3 hours of travel time to the hotel after we landed (1 hour was a bus ride from the airport to the city center... the other 2 hours was a group of six lost girls trying to find their way) we got there, dropped our stuff off, and left to explore the city.
We went right to the church. The inside was nice but there is a semi-hidden way to get to go to the top and see the city. That was the best!!!! It was a super hot day and a lot of steps to take but it was awesome to see the city AND the top of the church because the actually building was amazing.
The church was right across the street from the shopping center that houses the Bull's Balls so we went over there, spun for luck, checked out Louis Vuitton (pretty sure this nonshopper spelled that wrong), and then broke for lunch.
I was not really that impressed with the food and wine of Milan. I found it to be over priced and not as good as Sardinia. But the saddest part is that I have to admit that after lunch the rest of the girls went out shopping and me and one other went back to the room to nap.
So after waking up, we all went out to dinner in a really cool place near our hotel. It was along the river and it had tons of eateries and shops. We walked around for a long while then settled on a nice eating establishment... actually it was not easy to "settle" on a place with six girls because we were all a little bit wishy washy but our indecisiveness allowed us to see more of the area.
The food did not blow me away but it was great company and a lot of fun. We then went back to the hotel and went to bed since we had to be up at 4 am again the next day to get back to Germany.
So it was a really fast trip but well worth it to see Milan and get a feel for the city. I am not sure I will ever get the chance to go back so I was glad to get the chance to see it even if my 20 hours in the city included a 2 hour nap.
I promise to blog again soon about the other fun adventures... I especially can't wait to tell about the weekend with Kaiden and our trip to Austria (because those have been my two high points in the past few weeks).
I also have to blog about my past experiences soon because there are so many fun things in my life line up that are on deck, including...
1. My mom and dad fly in this weekend for two weeks... YAYYYY!!!
2. We go to Scotland this weekend for their international festival and get to see the Military Tattoos... aka the guys in kilts that play bagpipes outside the castle.
3. Michael meets the rest of the family for Labor day weekend in Venice
4. A group of friends and I are going to the Highlands of Scotland and Loch Ness in a couple of weeks (sidenote: I might be obsessed with Scotland)
So I promise to post soon...
Arrivederci 4 now
