Abbey Trip and a Weekend in Venezia

I can't believe it has been nearly a month since we arrived in Milan. At the same time, I can't believe it has only been three and a half weeks. While I am getting more and more settled into my new home, I am getting anxious at the passing of time and worrying about wasting precious travel time.

In the wise words of Smashmouth, "So much to do, so much to see, so what's wrong with taking the back streets? You'll never know if you don't go." It seems I have taken these poetic words to heart lately, as I have spent the vast majority of my free time wandering the streets of Milan in attempt to better orient myself and discover those hidden gem caffes, shops, markets, etc. While it is super convenient that IES provided us all with a month long bus/metro pass (which you can then renew, but be weary of gypsies trying to "help" you. No. They aren't.), you will eventually find that Milan is a very walkable city, and what appears to be miles apart on a map is merely minutes away on foot. 

Aside from exploring beautiful Milan, I spent two weekends ago doing quite a bit of travel. On friday, IES scheduled a trip to the nearby town of Pavia, including a visit to two Abbeys and some free time to wander the quaint downtown. On saturday, a few friends and I booked a spur-of-the-moment trip to Venice, where we spent the night at a friend's friend's awesome canal-front apartment. We lucked out with a gorgeous weekend, and though it was a bit on the chilly side, the streets were nonetheless packed with visitors, and the gondolas afloat in the canals. 

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but if you're going to study abroad in Milan (the most central of Europe you can get, really), then you're going to #YOLO it up and make whimsicle choices like that that. Some will be mistakes, surely, and you will learn from them, but some will become the best choices of your life. And if you're gonna YOLO, might as well do it when a weekend in Venice sets you back a grand total of 60 euro. 

Up next: mom and sister come to visit this weekend!! 

Coming soon: Florence (potentially), Fashion Week Milan, Paris