I wasn't coherent enough to fully establish how that related to me, so I set my alarm for 5:45 and fell back asleep for another 15 minutes.
Lydia came back in right before my alarm went off and said I could get in the shower. I had told myself that if I got in by 5:45 anyways, I'd be good, so it wasn't a big deal the shower usage got backed up a bit. That'll happen when you live with three other girls.
I was showered and ready to go at 6:15. Lydia left before all of us because she didn't want to be late. We were supposed to meet at the McDonald's at the train station at 6:35. I knew we'd be fine, so I wasn't huffin and puffin it.
Kate, Jess and I left around 6:25 and made it to the station about 5 minutes late, but everyone was still there and we ended up waiting another 10 standing there. This much I figured. About 30 of us — CCI and business students — walked to our train and hopped on coach 7. I sat next to Yelena and across from Erika and Bethany.
The trip took about two hours. We took the fast train, which I love because they are so comfortable. When we all unloaded off of the train we found Francesca, a CCI teacher, and the man who spoke to CCI Tuesday.
When we got out of the platform area, I could not get over at how big this train station was. The ceilings were so high and the architecture was beautiful. It reminded me of Central Station in New York City. I thought Firenze's was big, but not anymore.
We followed Fabbio, Francesca and the speaker to the gates where the metro was. We were given an all-day metro pass that we were going to use. Fabbio came up to my group of friends and I and told us how you were supposed to get on a subway. His advice was to be rude. You have to push and when people just stop in front of you, you cannot just wait for them to move because they won't. We laughed and then Yelena was ready to take someone out. I knew she would too because she was the one who almost took out a nun to get on the plane home from Poland.
When the metro pulled up and the doors opened, lone behold, tiny Yelena quickly maneuvered her way in, accidentally bumping in to someone who was not phased by it at all.
Three stops later, we all go off and CCI split up from business. The groups were going to different places because our destination did not relate to theirs and vice versa. About 10 minutes into our walk outside we stopped at a cafe for breakfast, which out teachers paid for. We assumed it came from our tuition, but regardless it was nice to have it paid for.
I had the best crosant which was filled with chocolate and I ordered a cappiccino. I overheard Erika order it with Soy milk and I became overjoyed. I love my vanilla soy lattes from Starbucks, so when I found out they had soy at this place, I jumped on it. And yes, it was well worth the change. It was probably the best cappoccino I've had yet.
We all sat in the back of the cafe eating our breakfast for about 20 minutes, and then we went to Corriere Della Sera office. Here we were given a tour for about an hour and a half. At one point during the tour we sat in the room where the editor in chief and main editors meet to discuss the next day's paper. It was fascincating sitting in a room where such a successful newspaper was run by. They have the paper all over Italy, Brazil, and also in New York City. They said they have them in cities outside of Italy because the Italian populations are very high there. I found that interesting for New York City.
We also saw where the reporters' desks were, and I got a sense of the journalistic atmosphere like when I'm in the newsroom in Kent. It helped me remember why I really like journalism and the busyness of it.
Fun fact I learned about the newspaper: The sports section is pink because one day it accidentally was printed wrong and they ended up choosing to still sell it. They sold so many sports sections because of the color that they decided to keep it pink. Thought that was interesting.
After the tour Fabbio and Francesca led us around town and to the city center. When we got to the city center Fabbio told us we were to meet here by the cathedral at 2:30, which gave us about 2 hours and 15 minutes to roam around and get lunch.
Our group of 15 split up into three different directions. I went off with Yelena, Erika, Amy and Lydia. We wanted to venture a little out of the city center for lunch because the prices would be a little more bearable. We found this cute restaurant that had outdoor seating under a tent on the side of the street.
Earlier we had asked Fabbio and Francesca what Milan's dish was, and they informed us it was Risotto, which is delicious! All five of us ordered it and it was exquisite! I also decided to splurge a little and try €8 Ewe cheese that was drizzled in honey. It was very good, but it came only a few seconds before my risotto did, so I was too full to finish it. It was also very sweet because of the honey, so I decided to call it quits.
-risotto
-Ewe cheese with honey
After lunch we realized it was already 2:00 and we only had a half hour until we had to meet back up. So we started walking down the street toward a fountain that had caught our attention. On the way Lydia and Erika saw a store they wanted to go into so we walked around it for a bit, and then Yelena, Amy and I decided to start walking to the fountain while the other two shopped. It was so warm out today, 73 degrees, so I felt so comfortable in my dress that I just wanted to take my cardigan off.
When we were standing at the fountain with the blue skies above me, it really felt like summer, and I was all giddy.
When we realized it was almost time to meet up we called Lydia and Erika to let them know we were just going to head back. We got to the cathedral about five minutes late, but we didn't start walking until 10 minutes later.
Our teachers led us to a bookstore where we had a presentation to attend to upstairs. The speaker talked about how the Feltrinelli books and publishing company started and what they do today. This was supposed to relate to both the communications students and the business student, but neither of us thought it did. The presentation was just very dry, but I felt bad for the woman because people kept talking during it and I found it so rude.
After the presentation we headed back to the train station. The day had started so early, but it went by so fast. I was talking to Fabbio on our walk back to the station, and we both agreed there wasn't enough time during the trip for us to see a lot of things. He said for next semester's group they are going to make it a two day trip, which I agreed was a great idea.
We had about 30 minutes until our train left whenever we got to the train station, so some of us went to go use the bathroom. When we got there we learned we had to pay €1 to pee. I said, "I can hold it until home. I'm not paying that to just pee."
For the next 20 minutes Yelena and I went into the bookstore and perused for a bit and then we all walked to our platform and got on the train.
A few minutes after I sat in my seat we heard screaming coming from the coach next to us. I turned around and saw some people scrambling to get out of the car. All I heard again was "Oh my God" in a screeching voice that some man screamed. I grabbed my purse and was ready to bolt off the train. I thought I was about to hear fun shots because the scream was so terrifying and I started getting shaky.
After the coach next to us piled out of the train we looked and saw this man just sitting in the isle in a white beater and shorts. We all realized it was just someone losing it — with no gun involved thank goodness. About five police came to the car and dragged him out and he kept screaming. Everyone said he looked like he was on something so we figured it was drugs or else he just had something really wrong with him. Oh the things that happen on trains when I'm on them...
After we got home two hours later I laid on my couch and caught up on my blogging. It was a long day, so it was wonderful to just sit on my couch and do nothing but relax.
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