My Collage

I created this collage online and it's being printed as a poster and shipped to my house! - What a great was to remember my trip :)

Milan

Before arriving to Milan we stopped in Moderno to see the Lamborghini museum. Fabio Lamborghini, the nephew of the founder, gave us a great tour of his museum. We got to see and sit in some very expensive cars.

On our first night in Milan, we had a social with students from the University of Milan. We met five students at a restaurant and had dinner with them. After dinner, they brought us to the piaza and we had drinks and talked for a while. They were excited to have us and were very kind. They all said they hope to visit the states in the future.

The next day, we got up really early for our U.S. Consulate visit. After that, we went to the University of Milan to meet with a few other students. It was really cool to talk to them and learn about our similarities and differences. That night we had a group dinner with our professors at a local restaurant to conclude our trip. After dinner, we went to a night club and then headed back to the hotel for a couple hours of sleep before our flight in the morning.

By 8am we were on our way back to the states

Siena Part 2

I guess late is better than never. I wasn't able to update in Milan because internet was expensive and we hardly had any down time.

Our last day in Siena was really relaxing. We had a second wine tasting and lunch at a different vineyard (this one was much better). At night we went to a cooking school in Siena and prepared a delicious dinner. We made two types of bruschetta, pasta with sauce, potatoes, veal with wine sauce, and the best part, tiramisu. Everybody really enjoyed cooking. With dinner we had yet another wine tasting, but this time we had mostly white wines, which was a nice change.

We left Siena early in the morning to head for Milan!

Siena

Yesterday we got to Siena, and right away, we went on a walking tour of the city. Siena is really small and it’s definitely nothing like Rome or Florence, but it’s pretty. In Siena, we have nice views of the countryside.  There are tons of tiny cobblestone alleys that are really pretty too. Siena is really clean and quiet in comparison. Also, the sky is really, really blue. They told us it’s because they don’t have much pollution and they have neon lights that make the sky look bluer.

Last night we had dinner at the hotel, which was okay, followed by a beer tasting, which everyone seemed to really enjoy. The best part about the meals is definitely the cheese. Most places give cheese and meat before dinner, and every place we have been so far has had really good cheese.

This morning we got up really early for breakfast and a discussion about the wine industry, and then we drove about an hour away to a vineyard. We learned a lot about Italian wine and how it is made and distributed. We had a wine tasting in a wine cellar. I drank all five kinds but I couldn’t taste the flavors that she was talking about. One was supposed to have a cherry and tobacco taste, but to be honest, they all tasted really similar to me, and not like cherry or tobacco. This afternoon we toured a bank in Siena, which is the oldest bank in the world (1472).  It’s been a really long day walking in uncomfortable shoes, and a lot of people are getting sick, so tonight we’re just going to have dinner and hang out at the hotel and then get to bed early.

Tomorrow we have another vineyard and wine tasting in the morning, and then a business panel discussion in the afternoon. After that, we are taking a cooking class and we’re making our own dinner.

The weather has been really nice – we’ve been lucky. Everyday has been in the mid 50s  and we only had rain for about a half hour one morning in Rome. Siena is a little bit colder, but not much – still warmer than home.

I’ll try to update again soon!

Florence

Last night we arrived in Florence and just explored the city. Our hotel is right in the center of the city and is so close to everything; the location is perfect. Right down the street we had a delicious dinner and then went out afterwards. The best thing about Florence is that it's really small. I was so surprised how quickly you can get from one place to another and how easy it is to find your way around. We had an hour wait for dinner and in that time we saw the famous boar statute, the river and Ponte Vecchio, and the Duomo. In Rome everything was spread out and in one hour it was difficult to do a lot, but Florence is really different. It was gorgeous at night, especially the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) because it was all lit up.

This morning we went to a few markets and I bought a few gifts. We were able to bargain with most of the vendors, but I was surprised how expensive some things were even at the markets. We went back to the Duomo today and we went inside. Miraculously, we climbed all 463 steps to the top without passing out, and I think we worked off all the gelato we've eaten in the past couple days. It was really dark, steep, and winding, so the walk up was not at all fun, but it was definitely worth it! The view was absolutely incredible. It's definitely the highlight of Florence, and probably my favorite part of the trip so far. We also went to see the Statue of David and we walked along the Ponte Vecchio.

I love Florence and I'll be sad to leave tomorrow. We are heading to Siena in the morning where we'll be staying for three days. I won't have internet access there, so I will try to update again when we get to Milan.

Rome

Today is Day 3 of our trip. We just left Rome and arrived in Florence. I haven't been able to update because we had very limited wifi.

Rome was amazing! On the first evening, we took a tour bus around the city and saw many of the sites from the bus. That night a big group of us went to a restaurant  called Da Tony's and it was delicious. They were so nice and welcoming and gave us tons of free food, wine, and desserts. Later we went to a night club and that was really fun too.

Yesterday we went back to the sites we saw from the bus. My group took a tour of the Colosseum and the Forum. I was really impressed, and we had great views. We then walked to the Trevi Fountain, where if you throw a coin over your shoulder, it means you will be back to Rome. After that we went to Piaza Navano and the Pantheon, both of which were very crowded but nice to see. We had dinner next door to our hotel and the food was great.

Today got up to to get to the Vatican by 7am. We saw the Sistene Chapel, which was very impressive. It was really beautiful. Somehow we wandered from the Chapel to St. Peter's Basilica, and avoided a huge line. That too was really impressive. I couldn't believe how intricate the artwork was. After that we walked around some markets and ended up at the Castle St. Angelo, which had a nice view of the water and old bridges. From there we went back to Piaza Navano for lunch and gelato.

We left Rome a few hours ago and just got to Florence. I added a couple pictures and I'll update again when I can!

Ciao!

Italy January 2011

UMass Business Trip in Italy:

A. Rome  Hotel Diana

B. Florence Hotel Pendini

C. Siena  Hotel Moderno

D. Milan Hotel UNA Scandinavia

Other places I hope to see:

Cinque Terre
Venice

Map: