Tampere
Preoccupied by school I didn’t realize that the holiday season had arrived 3 weeks ago and it was nearing it’s big finale. Spending time in Tampere with my relatives really got me in the Christmas spirit. It was a beautiful Christmas day the sun was shining on the white landscape and it was just below freezing. As soon as I arrived we went to Stockmann’s which was bustling with people finishing up their last minute shopping. Later at Jonni and Kirsi’s we cut gingerbread cookies with the boys and had gloggi all as Christmas carols played on the radio. In a wierd way I felt like I was “home for the holidays” in Finland.
Helsinki
Helsinki was also a great change of pace. I had arrived in Helsinki and had dinner with aunt Anneli and opened a few pre-Christmas gifts. (Wool socks, mittens, and a hat, which is EXACTLY what I needed to keep my southern California bones warm!) Later I spent time with my cousin Juuso and his friends for a Christmas gathering/ new living room revealing.
Salo For Christmas
I took a train through the countryside to Salo on Christmas eve day. It was a relaxing 4 days and 3 nights surrounded by family and a beautiful landscape…

My first Ryan Air Experience Dec 21,2009

I booked an 11 euro (31 Euro with the taxes etc.) flight from Milan to Tampere Finland and now I understand why the flight was so cheap! With the inconvenient time and airport location I spent just as much money to get to Bergamo airport as I did on the flight! Since my flight left at 6:45 am I had to catch a 4am bus out of the city and to get to the bus I had to take a cab to the bus station. But I have to admit that the cleanliness and convenience of the airport was refreshing. The flight went smoothly and I got to Tampere with no problems.

Bologna and Torino (Dec 5-7)

Although the weekdays were very busy I still had time to travel a bit on the weekends. I travelled to Bologna and Torino with a few friends these two trips made me realize that it is absolutely necessary to get out of the city every few weeks.
After about a 2-hour train ride we arrived late in the afternoon. My friend (Misha’s) friend (Luisa) attends university in Bologna and offered to take us out to apperitivo and a real Italian dinner (at the fitting time of 10pm). We met them in the city center, which was a short walk from our hostel. We first went out for drinks and appetizers at a cute lounge near the center, I wouldn’t’ve eaten any appetizers if I would’ve known what was coming next…we followed Luisa through left and rights down the narrow streets lined with classic Italian porticos until we reached a small restaurant where a doorbell had to be rang to enter.
Stepping into the restaurant was like stepping into an authentic Italian kitchen. We sat down and they told us what they had made for the night and that they were bringing out bread meats and cheese first and then 3 different pasta dishes for an entrée. It was the best Italian food I’ve ever had…starting with pickled onions, salami and Bolognese flat bread and then moving to mushroom linguine, spaghetti Bolognese and cheese gnocchi and finishing with a cup of Italian espresso…fantastico

Torino is so far one of my favorite Italian cities! My friends Veronica and Virginia and I went for a day trip to Torino and had a great time exploring the city. Our day started by walking along the Po river, then hopping on a double decker tour bus to the shroud of turin, then fiinishing off our day with a full city view from the top of Monte dei Capuchin Monks.

School

After that wonderful weekend that’s when school got kicked into high gear. We started our first workshop titled “The Made in Italy Files”. I endured long lectures about EVERYTHING ITALIAN from fashion to food and faucets. I sat in lecture from about 9am to 5pm. After being in lecture everyday for about a week we started our group project with was basically a rebranding or a start-up faucet company by the name of Antonio Frattini, here’s the website that we have hopefully convinced them to re-vamp within the next few months, www.antoniofrattini.it

Smita’s Visit (Nov. 20-22, 2009)

Right after my last entry my friend Smita came to visit and gave me a new outlook on really embracing travelling. She had been studying in Siena for the past 2 months and had so much to share when it came to where to go in Italy and in Europe. While she was here I finally had the chance to do all of the tourist things of Milan. We started with going to the city center and going into and to the top of the Duomo. Although it was a gray and hazy day it was still a fabulous sight to see. The architecture was amazing and the city looked great from the top.



After walking to the Duomo we walked around the city center with Smita and her friend Maryam repeating how “international” the city was and as they compared it to Siena I began to realize that living in Milan was going to be a whole lot easier than all of my guidebooks said. I even started to appreciate all of the kebab shops on every corner.
In the evening we attempted to make “authentic” southern California Mexican food for dinner, sub basil and rosemary for cilantro and chili pepper and pita wrap bread for tortillas and we made ourselves the most Italian Mexican food ever!
The next day it was off to Lago di Como. Lake Como is a summer hot spot about an hour train ride outside of Milano. Although it’s winter Como is still a great place to visit and with a train ticket for about 7 euro round trip why not?!
Walking around the lake I realized that I had been in the hustle and bustle of the city for too long. The serene setting of the calm lake and the colorful fall leaves was an instant relaxant. We spent the day playing in the leaves, walking around the lake and photographing the scenery. I have a feeling I will be spending a lot of time there whenever I need to get away from the loud city.

Catch Up!!

It’s been a while since I’ve written (thanks for the reminder Justin!) But getting settled in Milan takes more time than I expected. My new year’s resolution is to keep my blog as current as possible. As for the past month here is a run down of what I’ve been up to…

Getting into the Swing of Things

I've come to the end of my second week and Milan and life is finally starting to gain routine.

Jason and I found a 2 bedroom apartment in the west of Milan for a great price and moved in right away. My room is quite large and even has a balcony. According to the locals we snagged a great location. I agree! we are steps away from the bus for school and 2 minutes away from the metro stop to take us to the Duomo (the center). There is a big grocery store across the street which makes shopping easy very easy (especially without a car!)

The place is quite big but was missing the necessities so we took a trip to Ikea. Who knew Ikea was so popular in Italy! The place was very very crowded and I took a while to get through the whole thing. After such a rigorous shopping adventure we stopped at the cafe for Swedish Meatballs and potatos before getting on the shuttle back to the metro. Buying about 100EUR worth of home furnishings while using public transportation is not an easy task but we survived and made our place a home.

School is very busy! The whole year is pretty jam-packed, we have back-to-back, month-long group workshops as well as lectures from 9-5 most weekdays soo this is NOT gonna be a vacation! We have already started our first project my group is working with a new italian faucet company thats building it's brand. I'm really excited about actually working with a company immediately rather than studying the theory in a controlled environment. The CEO came in and spoke to us on Tuesday and we're going to the factory on Monday. This is the company website http://www.antoniofrattini.it/home.html
In the meantime our group was instructed to visit showrooms in the area and research competing brands to learn about marketing high-end faucets.

On friday a group of students and I met in the center of the city (where i was able to take a few pictures) for caffe lattes and paninos and then split off into groups to look at the showrooms. It was nice to get to know my international classmates and see the city at the same time. After our the showroom visits we got together for a second round of lattes and exchanged information. I am already learning a lot about design marketing and can't wait to see Antonio's factory on Monday.

Saturday I went back to Ikea to help my friend Veronica shop for her apartment...I never thought I'd say this but of everything I've experienced so far, I think Ikea makes me the most homesick. I even bought a few scandinavian treats just in case i really started missing home. :-)

Saturday evening Jason and I had a few classmates over for wine to show them our new place and then we went out for pizza and coffee. The weather is getting colder everyday and I'm trying to see as much of the city before the rainy winter makes it too miserable to go outside.

Today a few of the girls from the program and I are going to Milan's International Antiques and Modern Art Fair. It supposed to rain for the next few days so I will probably be spending lots of time indoors after that :-)

First Week in Milan!

I've been in Milano for about a week now and everything has been a whirlwind!

I got in at 7am Milan time last Sunday and sleptacross our two small twin beds most of the day. My new roommate and colleague Jason and his friend Chad arrived around 3pm and we went for a walk along the Grand Canal which is about a 5 min walk away from our hotel this is known the "Nivigli Area". There are shops and restaurants lining the canal and is quite lively most nights.

The next day Chad Jason and I decided to explore the city...in the pouring rain! My faux leather boots from California were great at keeping my feet dry! We walked to the city center, window shopped and took the metro. Milan is not a very big city and you can get from one side to the other within an hour by walking. After a long day I had my first slice of Italian pizza for 1.80EUR. It was delicious! Italians know food! Everything tastes soo fresh!

Wednesday was a beautiful day and we explored more of the city and found a park to relax and people watch. In the evening was the first unofficial meeting with our program coordinator at "Il Bar" a rooftop bar in the center of the city on top of a high-end department store with a beautiful view of the Duomo (the grand Cathedral). I am planning on bringing my guests here when they visit ;-) This is where we discovered "aperitivo". Aperitivo is the Italians happy hour but it works a little differently. Instead of cheaper drinks, drinks are more expensive but you get a free buffet of food! I repeat...Italians know there food (and wine).