In the midst of all this crazy thesis writing and job searching and everything else going on, I got to take a quick break and meet up with my friend Elizabeth last weekend. Elizabeth and I went to undergrad together, and she's spending a couple months working in the UK, so after hours of searching for the most cost effective place for us to meet (which was oddly neither of our homes) we ended up booking flights for a quick weekend in Milan!
Flying over the Alps in Austria and Italy, totally unreal.
We had no real plan for the weekend at all, mostly just wander around, enjoy wonderful food, and catch up on life. And we definitely succeeded.
Well actually, I suppose there was one thing on the agenda, going to the top of the Duomo. My grandparents had done this years ago and my Granny assured me that it was a spectacular view and great activity, which was definitely the case.
It really is so cool that they just allow you free reign to run around on the roof and look off all sides. We also definitely lucked out with gorgeous, sunny, warm weather all weekend.
While there are tons of pigeons around, I'm not sure what the odds are that one will fly through your photo and be quite this clear.
A quick visit to the relatively newly opened Eataly in Milan, which while obviously an Italian thing, definitely reminds me of New York.
Saturday we began our day with a walk around the grounds of the Castello Sforzesco, which was originally a 14th century fortification, then turned into a castle and added onto from the 15th to 17th centuries, making it a quite interesting array of architecture. It is now the home to several art museums which we decided we didn't really have the time to go into this trip, but we did enjoy wandering around the public spaces.
Behind the castle is a park, which happened to be hosting this preview of the Switzerland pavilion for the World Expo which will be held in Milan next year.
This gadget/art installation contained a rolling ball which continually moved throughout, highlighting many traditionally Swiss activities and locations. I was happy to have done most of the distinctly Geneva activities they showed!
A walk through the pedestrian shopping street back towards the Duomo. We did do a bit of shopping, while we're not exactly on the designer Milan budget, we are on the Banana Republic/Gap budget, and they have those there! (we in Vienna do not, and I miss them)
Part of Spain's exhibition preview
Enjoying some delicious local meats, cheeses, and wine
And a little nighttime stroll
It was a marvelous weekend, getting to see a place I'd never been and spend time with a friend I don't get to see nearly enough. Hard to believe we're nearly halfway through May already though, with all these things to do the weeks keep flying by. I'll be trying to keep this balance of productivity and travel going a bit longer, although next up are some visitors to Vienna, so I'll be showing off all that I love about my home :)
