MILANO!!!

SUNDAY

5:30am my alarm goes off. At 5:31am my phone rings with the SuperShuttle guy saying that he is outside and waiting for me. Lots of scrambling ensued! I quickly got dressed, thanked my past self for the future insight to preset my luggage, and quickly hugged my friends Sarah and Patrick goodbye. When I got outside I saw that I was getting to share the super fancy Exec SUV! No bumpy blue shuttle van for me! It was nothing but cushioned leather seats and shiny tinted windows. Definitely a luxurious way to get to the airport :). Because I was the only other stop for the SuperShuttle, we got to DIA exceedingly fast! Which meant that I had to wait in front of the Air Canada check-in desk for over two hours, waiting for it to open.... Finally I got up to the counter, only to find out that my carry-on suitcase was too big! So I checked that and my big suitcase and went on my merry way. Nothing could quell my extreme excitement!

Security was a breeze, I've done it a few times before and I was ready. My first flight, Denver to Toronto, Canada, didn't leave until 10:30am, which left me about two more hours before it left. So I went to the American Chophouse for a sit down breakfast! There my friend Madison met up with me and we had a good meal. Then headed off to our gate to board!



We arrived in Toronto, Canada a bit late, but made it through customs to our next gate with about 30 minutes to spare. We took some photos and then chilled at our gate until it was time for our next leg of the trip: Toronto, Canada to Dusseldorf, Denmark!!





This was the long part of our trip! We were on the plane for 7.5 hours! Madison and I had separate seats, but I played musical airplane seats and got us seats together. Thankfully, everyone was very friendly and we were served yummy (using the term fairly loosely) dinners. There were TV screens in the back of every seat, with lots of viewing options! I watched "Water for Elephants," a great book and a pretty good movie! Madison and I got a bit of sleep, but it was hard to, seeing as we still felt like it was late afternoon/early evening. Oh! It was great, the only other person in our row on that giant plane was also heading to Milan for the IES program! Her name is Avery and we all ended up traveling the rest of the way together.

MONDAY

Once we landed in Dusseldorf, DE we had to go through security. This was actually the most rigorous security we came across! It was a tiny little airport, but they went through everything! We got through that and made our way to our gate. Which lead outside to a bus. Which would have been just fine, except that it was dumping rain!! We all got soaked, confused about how to actually get to our plane, and then were laughing like crazy because we were in Denmark, in the rain, getting confused by buses!!

More soon.... (I'm off to tour the Fashion district!)

Flying out TOMORROW!!

Ciao tutti!

First thought on my mind this morning was, "This is my last day in the country!!" I am SO EXCITED!!! And it's here!

I am currently hanging out in my friend's apartment in Denver, getting ready to say goodbye to my Dad. He and I had a great breakfast this morning at Lucille's, still full from Sushi last night! Later this afternoon I am meeting up with a bunch of friends to have lunch on 16th street mall, and then a dinner later tonight. I'm really looking forward to seeing them before leaving for Milan!







My suitcases are packed and just about ready to burst, but still within the limits. Rest assured, no hurricane will be stopping me from getting to Milan! My flights are booked through Canada. I will bypass it completely! (Thank goodness!) I fly Air Canada Denver to Toronto, Toronto to Dusseldorf, Denmark, and then Dusseldorf to Milan! I will be traveling with two of my friends from Lamont who will also be participating in the IES - Milan program. It will be nice to have some friends to travel with!

Hope all is well, parlo pronto!

Ciao,

Cassidy

10 Days!

Buongiorno e benvenuto!

I would like to start out this entry by expressing my extreme gratitude to all who were in attendance at my recital on Tuesday night! The house was packed, it was so wonderful to look out at the audience and see a sea of smiling faces before me. With your kindness and generosity I was able to raise $1,300 in a single evening! Which leaves only two words: GRAZIE TUTTI!!

My new digital camera arrived today (thanks Dad!), it's very pretty and takes wonderful photos! I've named her Suzy Q. Suzy Q will be my faithful companion on my journey to Milano, together we will try to capture and send a piece of Italia home to you. The 4GB memory card is en route.


The Spacesaver bags also arrived today, you suck out the air with a vacuum, which creates much more room in my suitcase. I've learned that it is lovely the first 2-3 weeks of the Milan program, but then it rains the rest of the time. Ipso facto, I will be bringing a lot of warm clothing! Any first hand experience will be gladly accepted!

It's time for me to start unpacking my moving boxes so that I can start packing my Milan suitcase! I'm off to begin this extensive project.

Ciao ragazzi!

Welcome!

Hello and Welcome to my travel blog!

Starting August 28, 2011, this local girl is heading out to spend a semester abroad in Milan, Italy. I will be keeping this blog updated as frequently as possible. Definitely once a week, hopefully once a day. This is a blog to update my family, friends, and avid supporters on all the goings on in Milan.

If you would like to make a contribution to my studies, please leave a comment with your email and I will contact you.

The countdown has started! I leave in: 19 DAYS!!

Thanks for subscribing!

Ciao,

Cassidy