Coming here I knew it was gonna be a completely new experience, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this different. I began my journey at 6 am in Austin to head to New York City before going to Milan. I was so excited, even though it didn’t go perfectly as I planned. I left my jacket back in Austin’s airport but it turned out to be an excuse to buy a new hoodie for my little New York City adventure since I’ve never been there before. After, the plane to Milan was more than 8 hours long. I could not keep track of time since I had never been on a plane for that long either. I could not sleep the entire flight, I think the combination of excitement and nerves were too much, so I stayed awake watching movies. Finally, I arrived in Italy and was greeted by Emma holding a sign for us. I met a couple other girls, and we took the train together, which was another first for me. Those were my first glimpses of Milan. The building colors, the nature, graffiti, and the whole atmosphere was truly beautiful. Everything was so different from the US and at the same time it felt a little familiar to Mexico. I then arrived at Milano Centrale, which had a vibe that almost reminded me of Harry Potter, to take an uber to our hotel. During our ride I got to observe the city with closer attention to the details: the way plants hang out of almost every balcony, the size of the streets, the small shops and boutiques, and the beautiful architecture that characterizes this city. Everything Milan feels both big and small. I feel like I can take a train and navigate the entire city in 15 minutes, or take a 30 minute walk and be in a completely different neighborhood. I’ve already walked more here in three days than what I walked in a week back in Austin. Another highlight of this small week was seeing the Duomo for the first time. As we walked out of the train station, we saw it get taller and taller, it truly took my breath away. I also tried real Italian food, and I think it now has ruined all the possible pizzas, pastas, and gelatos I can find in the US. There is so much I’ve learned in these few days, but I can’t wait to keep learning more about this city, understanding its history and the impacts it had, discover its beauty and observe the beautiful mix between tradition and innovation.
Some of food I had this weekend!
Roof of the Duomo and Galleria at night!