Il Whirlwind de Milano

The Class of 2019 divided their day between Milan and Venice, with a healthy dose of train travel through the Italian countryside in between. We encountered the first challenges of the trip, but just as Jeff taught us, we ~worked as a team~ and ~persevered~. These hurdles include but are not limited to:

•Jamie stepping in dog poop in the Piazza del Duomo (shoutout to the kind Italians who immediately offered water and tissues for clean up!)

•finally reaching the front of the Duomo line, tickets in hand, only to learn that we had to purchase unattractive white ponchos to cover our scandalously bare legs and shoulders for entrance into the cathedral

•the angry Italian hotelier who yelled at us for returning to Hotel Demo after check out time (anti shout out to the woman who told us the wrong check out time)

•arriving at the Milan train station only to discover that ours was “Cancellato”

•KP’s solo first class train trip & solo arrival in Venice, plus subsequent complications in finding the “Charming House” we are staying in

•the fifteen terrifying minutes we spent locked in our apartment, unable to get the stuck door to budge. Jamie began plotting a dinner of biscuits and warm white wine (all we had in our backpacks). Laura and Kip brainstormed potential ways to rappel down the side of the building. Swags began to crumble from claustrophobia and hunger. This weak link (Swags) shockingly saved the day by desperately shouting to strangers out the other window – who conveniently only spoke Spanish – to kick the door from the outside as we pulled from the inside.

And yet – these hitches (haha get it) were all worth the amazing views from the terrazas of the Duomo, the beautiful inside of the cathedral and accompanying museum, our first sights of Venice’s canals and a ride on the water taxi, and calamares, aperol spritzes, and good company at dinner! Headed to bed full of pasta and sleepy from free limoncello!