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).