Milan, Italy
Venice, Italy
Florence, Italy
Barcelona, Spain
For our week-long spring break a few friends and I planned to go to Milan, Venice, Florence, Italy, Barcelona, Spain and Lisbon, Portugal. In that exact order, we flew from London to Milan and stayed there from February 21st to the night of the 22nd. While in Milan we did a ton of shopping and eating. We were able to see the Duomo and get good prices on designer goods as well as eat as much truffle pizza as we could! We then took the train from Milan to Venice and got there around dinner time. We took a boat from the train station to the Airbnb we were staying at, dropped our bags, and then headed to dinner because we were starving. After having a huge bowl of gnocchi (my favorite), we walked around and digested until we saw a gelato stand and knew we had to try it. When in Italy, right? While we were in Venice we went to St. Mark’s Square and it was during Carnival where everyone was dressed up in costumes and it was packed. We went on a gondola ride which was one of my favorite things because it is so different from what we are used to here in the U.S. So far, I was loving Italy for the food and scenery. We were in Venice from the 22nd to the 23rd because this was the first we really heard of Corona virus and the cases in surrounding towns of Venice were growing rapidly. We were worried we would be trapped in Venice, so we fled to Florence via train a night earlier than expected. We stayed in Florence from the 23rd to the 26th. We got to our hotel late on the 23rd went to sleep and were prepared for the next day full of activities. On the 24th we did a lot of walking around and went to the Gucci Garden Galleria which is free for students and an amazing exhibit. We also went to the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio bridge. For dinner we ate at this restaurant called Zaza and then went to a bar called Lions Fountain and met up with friends from the Florence abroad program. On the next day we went to the Galleria dell ‘Accademia where we saw Michelangelo’s David and a lot of other artwork. WE then walked around and shopped and went to Piazzale Michelangelo which is a lookout point where you can overlook all of Florence (absolutely stunning). We then went to a rooftop bar called View on art and were eye level with the Duomo and had the best views. On our last day we went to the Galleria degli Uffizi which is another museum with beautiful artwork from people like Michelangelo and Da Vinci. That afternoon we took a pasta making class and learned how to make three different types of pasta and we of course got to eat what we made! (so fun and such a great experience). After consuming my last bowl of Italian pasta, it was time for the airport. My friends were headed back to London, but I was headed to Barcelona to visit a friend for a day. I landed at about 7 pm and headed straight to his apartment where we immediately got ready and started pregaming for this club called Razzmatazz. This club was multi floor, multi room and massive. It was so much fun and way bigger than any other club I have been to. The next day we went to La Barceloneta which is a beach area and we ate at a restaurant called surf house which was a good change of pace from being in Italy all week. We then walked around the neighborhood and walked all the way to the Arc de Triomf which was beautiful architecture. After that we walked to the Sagrada Familia which has been under construction for years and it was absolutely beautiful and very detailed. After that we went to a roof top bar that overlooked the Sagrada Familia and we hung out there until we had to go back to his apartment for me to pack my things and head to the airport.