Upon arriving in Milan, I was immediately struck by the size of the city and the number of people crammed into such a small space. The trains were packed, the subway was full of passengers even at odd times, and the coffee shops were always full, but always worth the wait. The amazing combination of new fashion and ideas in a place rich with history was exciting and different than any other experience I’ve had. Visiting Duomo, I was even more surprised at the amount of people, and pigeons, you could fit into a small area. Although I don’t have an extensive background in design, the culture of the city is tightly bound with the historic buildings in the area. The shear amount of people in the city was clear when a few of us attended a concerted and were packed into a small park in the middle of the city. It was not only interesting to see the night life, but also the combination of beautiful historic buildings in a park hosting a DJ filled with people young and old.
After seemingly just arriving in the city, I traveled to Cinque Terre with Karina and Linda where we spent most of our time near the shore in La Spezia. The beautiful atmosphere was much different than Milan and traveling was a bit harder due to the fact that fewer people spoke English. However, the scenery was a beautiful mixture of old castles and pastel apartments which captured the unique style of the city.
