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…