Another weekend in Italy...

This weekend was quite busy for myself. After my roommates left early Friday morning for Rome, I went on a hike with most of my classmates on Monte Ceceri, a high mountain/park in the town of Fiesole, just outside of Florence. We were treated to great views, clear skies, and a dense green forest that made me feel as if I was walking around Colorado on an early May morning.


The view of Florence from the top of Monte Ceceri.


Saturday morning I left with a friend I've made here, Bethany, for Milan by train. At Milan we were treated to cooler temperatures, high fashion stores, and a gorgeous cathedral that most definitely rivals the one in Florence. Saturday evening we talked over drinks with two men staying in our hostel. Jimmy, a British man from New Castle is living in Milan and teaching English as a second language. He and I immediately found common ground, laughing heartily about Eddie Izzard and Coen brothers films. His friend, Mohammad, had been born in Tanzania, educated in Britian and America, and was now in Milan working on his own telecommunications company that specializes in calls from Europe to Africa and Asia. These men were not only genuinely refreshing and funny, but they had great viewpoints to share about the global economic crisis, our new president, and general current events in the past few years. I looked up at one point in the night and saw what was happening. A couple of Americans in their early 20s were talking to an Englishman and a Tanzanian in their mid 40s in a bar staffed by Chinese immigrants in the middle of northern Italy. Funny how that works out.



The duomo in Milano.


The inside of the duomo. Very very incredible.




This seemed like the place the Illuminati had their secret meetings...




Inside castle grounds in Milan.

So, although I'm a little sad to be missing out on some great concerts in Minneapolis this weekend, I'm very lucky to see and meet such great places and people. Hope to have more updates soon.

Scott