The Lakes and Rome

Last weekend (10/3), I went on a trip organized through the school to Milan, Lake Maggiore, and Lake Como. We left at 7:45 on Friday morning by bus to go to Milan. Our main adult leader was a professor named Francesco who chain smokes a disgusting amount. (we had to stop the bus almost every hour so he could have a cigarette!). Once in Milan, we saw the Duomo there which was HUGE and beautiful with its gothic design. The stained glass windows were amazing. Downstairs, we saw the remains of San Carlo Borromeo, a very rich cardinal in Milan who died in 1584. From the church, we walked to through the galleria of shops under a huge archway. We saw the MTV studios from the outside and the Jonas Brothers were the guest of the day. A bunch of young girls were making huge posters outside of the building. Then, Francesco took us for a walk down one of the streets with stores of famous designers such as Gucci, Prada, Michael Kors, etc. I left my contacts back in the apartment by accident for the weekend so I was stuck wearing my glasses the whole time but I was able to take a picture outside of Dolce and Gabana wearing my glasses from there. We got to our hotel in Stresa, a town on Lago di Maggiore around 5pm. We settled into our rooms and decided to explore the town a little. We had some wine at a small bar before heading to dinner at the hotel. After dinner, we went to another bar but not much was happening because we were there early (before midnight). We returned to the hotel to get some sleep because we had to get up early the next morning.
On Saturday (10/4) we took a private boat tour of Lago di Maggiore and luckily we had perfect weather. (I learned from my experience in Munich and wore boots instead of flip flops!). Our first stop was the Borromeo Palace. The Borromeo family was and still is a very rich Italian family. The palace is on its separate island in the middle of the lake. Each room was stunningly gorgeous and meticulously decorated. There was one room where Princess Diana had visited and had lunch. Even the “grottos” (there wasn’t any water in them) in the basement of the palace were beautifully architected. Each stone was intricately placed to create an interesting pattern on the floors and walls. We could only visit certain rooms in a certain section of the palace because the family still lives in and uses some of the rooms when they come to visit in the summer. After the tour of inside the palace, we were allowed to explore the huge outdoor garden on our own. The garden had several levels and tiers and the highest one offered a beautiful view of the lakes and the surrounding mountains. There was so much to take in and enjoy, it was a wonderful way to start the day. From the Borromeo Palace, we took our boat to another island called “Fisherman’s Island” where all of the fishermen lived in the past. The town was small but quaint. We had lunch at a nice restaurant which specialized in seafood. From Fishermen’s Island, we returned to our hotel to relax before dinner. We stayed at a very nice five star hotel which had indoor and outdoor pools, Jacuzzis, saunas and steam rooms. A bunch of us took advantage of these amenities and relaxed for a few hours. We all met for dinner later that night and went out to another bar. We were a small group (about 15) so we all got to know each other and it was fun hanging out. The people who owned the bar loved us and towards the end of the night they were giving us all free drinks.
On Sunday (10/5) we left the hotel by bus for lago di como. We took a boat tour of the lake and saw many villas owned by famous people (Steve Jobs, the owner of Heinz Ketchup, Sylvester Stallone, to name a few). We also saw the villas where Mussolini was murdered, where they filmed a scene of Ocean’s 11, and also GEORGE CLOONEY’S!! (from a distance though, not up close..bummer!). After the boat tour, we had some lunch and then got back on the bus to head back to Florence. Overall, it was another amazing weekend that I am so grateful for.
Last Monday (10/6) my parents arrived in Italy! I met them at the airport and I was so happy to see them! Unfortunately I only saw them for a few minutes because they had to take a bus to their hotel in another city with their tour group. This past Friday (10/10) I went to Assisi to meet up with my parents and their tour group. My priest from home said mass in one of the chapel areas in St. Francis. From Assisi, I rode with the tour group on their bus to Rome. Rome was AMAZING! There was so much to see and I’m so happy that I got to see and experience it all with my parents. My favorite site was the Coliseum because it was interesting to imagine what it was like when it was actually in use. I also loved the Vatican, St. Peter’s Square, and the Sistine Chapel (which wasn't what i expected but still so interesting). On Sunday (10/12) we caught the end of Mass at the Vatican and got to see/take pictures of the pope! There were 1000s of people all packed into the square because they were beatifying 4 saints that day from different countries. On Sunday we also visited the Trevi Fountain which was swarming with people but was still beautiful. I read that there’s a myth that if you throw 1 coin in you’ll return to Rome, 2 coins means you’ll fall in love there, and 3 coins means that you’ll get married there (however, our tour guide said that 2 means marriage and 3 means divorce…I like the version I read about better!) Some other sites we saw over the weekend were the Spanish steps (kind of overrated but still cool to say I was on them), the pantheon (really pretty on the inside), the piazza navona (there were some funny mimes, jugglers, musicians and puppet people…a good place to people watch for a while) and the piazza del popolo (which means the people’s square…it has 2 twin churches right next to each other facing into the piazza and also a huge obelisk in a pretty fountain..another great people watching spot). Overall, I really enjoyed my trip to Rome…hopefully the one coin I threw into the Trevi Fountain works and I’ll come back at some point in my life. Miss you all! Hope all is going well back home =)
Ciao! Eliza xoxo