La Vita è Bella: Milan and Lake Como

The first weekend trip was most definitely a learning experience. Our flight, booked only a week in advance, was more money than I would have preferred to spend on a small trip, and the 3:15 am wakeup to catch a taxi and spend hours traveling on planes, trains, and buses was a little much but overall, there were many lessons learned, and many beautiful sights seen.

Milan is in northern Italy, and we may have slightly overlooked the fact that it would be COLD there in January! (again, not South Bend cold, but still uncomfortable). We explored their beautiful gothic Duomo - the second largest church in Italy and third largest in Europe - and walked through the impressive and ritzy Galleria, complete with Louis Vuitton, Prada, Swarovski...and of course, good old Mickey D's. At night, we fell in love with Yguana, a bar with a great atmosphere, awesome music, delicious drinks, and (the best part for poor starving travelers) a free buffet that we literally stuffed ourselves with for two hours (dinner, check!)! I'm not sure I would recommend Milan as a destination on its own, especially with the slightly higher cost of our trip, but it was definitely useful as a starting point for Lake Como.

Como is absolutely beautiful! The sun was shining, the lake was sparkling, and we had a gorgeous hotel room with heated floors and a lake view! The lake is nestled in the mountains, reaches Switzerland, and is home to the one and only George Clooney. We spent the afternoon soaking in the incredible views (we took the funicolare to the very top of the mountain as well) and had a great dinner and lots of fun just hanging out that night. Sunday was spent traveling home and overpaying for many forms of transportation. I have to say that coming back to Rome already feels comforting, and on our taxi ride home from the airport we drove along stunning ancient roads that I can't wait to explore.

We've just booked a trip to Florence next weekend, and then we'll have a weekend at home before heading to Venice for CARNIVALE (!!!) on the 13th. As always, thanks for reading!

Baci,
Katie