WEDNESDAY
We started nice and early (again...) with choosing our classes! We don't get to register yet, classes will start Sept. 26, but we got to hear about a variety of courses. This orientation session was held in the hall where most of them have been, in one of the Universita Cattolica buildings. Next it was time to fill out our Permesso di Soggiorno applications! This is a lengthy bureaucratic process that is absolutely mandatory for all persons staying in Italy. And it is all in Italian. So with the help of one of our amazing staff, a giant, jovial fellow named Walter, we all followed along as he filled one out over the projector.
Next came our music orientation! We will be auditioning at least three times for this program, even though we already sent in an audition tape! Once for our private voice teacher, once for the IES music ensemble, and then again for any choirs we wish to be a part of. Some choir options include gospel and a cappella! We have two practice rooms in the IES center, with one bigger room in the basement that has a baby grand. There is also the possibility to take music classes at an outside university, such as La Scuola Civica della Musica. Not sure if I'm interested in that just yet. We shall see!
Lunch was soon to follow, and was again held in the Universita Cattolica cafeteria. It was yummy, but I'm really getting ready for something more than pesto pasta! After lunch my fellow vocalists and I made our way back to the IES center to have a meeting specifically for vocalists. That was more information about choirs and such, and wrapped up fairly quickly!
Finally we had some free time in which to get ready to go out to another IES sponsored aperitivo!! This time we all went to the club NOON. It was SO FUN!!! I arrived with my fellow housemates on time (for once! we're getting the hang of it!) and were the first to get there. Once a few more IESers had shown up, we made our downstairs to the level that IES has reserved for us! It was SO COOL! Floor to ceiling, the room was painted a bright white with stunning photographs hung around the walls. There were benches with tiny red cushions built into the walls. The tables were small and made of stainless steel, and were accompanied by white benches. We staked out our corner, placed our drink orders with a waiter, and then proceeded to talk our ears off. NOON was pumping out loud, but not excessively so, techno which only added to the Zoolander-esque vibe of the club! Soon there were more waiters bringing around trays of delicious goodies. My favorite? Mashed potato balls. Like tater tots, but with mashed potatoes! Yummy! We spent a few hours laughing and socializing until we decided it was time for gelato!
Awesome!
A group of le mie amiche!
Isn't this place COOL????
So with a few of our CAs, we made our way down the street to a gelatteria. I decided to be adventurous and ordered a stracchielleria! Essentially vanilla chocolate chip. It was scrumptious! More rearranging of tables occurred, to meet the demands of our enormous entourage, and we all exchanged flavors! One of the best, and richest, flavors was my fellow DUian's chocolate and orange...sooooo.....goooooood!! But so rich you needed to drink a gallon of water after it! Sometime there after my little group made our way back home to Via Tiziano and our lovely, lovely beds. Oh! And one of our new house mates finally made it! Her name is Katie. That makes seven of us now!
THURSDAY
Standing in front of Il Duomo!
Tour Time!! This morning we met up on the stairs of Il Duomo. Yup, my first time at the Duomo. It took my breath away!
"We're at the Duomo!! EEEEEE!!!"
The intricate details on such a massive building...it was outstanding. One of the CAs was explaining to us that sometimes they hold concerts on the roof, I need to go to one of these ASAP!! Either way, I'm definitely planning to climb up there and take a look around.
Impressive, isn't it?
The entire piazza was filled with tourists and men trying to con you into buying their pigeon feed (*shudder* pigeons...) or bracelets. the rest of the IES group showed up and then we split into three groups for the tour of the Milan fashion and financial district! I chose to go with the director of the program, Roberto!
The main entrance of La Galleria
We walked through the Galleria, there were these four paintings up on the columns above the center of the Galleria, each one represented the discovered nations:
Europe, America, Africa, and Asia. Then we made our way out into the piazza della Scala! We were surrounded by a Spanish diplomatic center where the Spaniards had control of the city, La Scala (!!!), and another diplomatic building. There is a giant statue of Leonardo DaVinci is the center of the piazza!!
Immediately taken from the exit of the Galleria....I believe it's the town hall building.
Then we made our way through the piazza and down several streets. To be honest, I don't know exactly where we were, but it sure was Italian! One really cool thing about Milan is that it has been taken over and then rebuilt so many times that it has a very patchwork kind of look. There are 15th century buildings right next to modern structures! We got to tour this really awesome hotel called Hotel Bostelo. The story goes that the architect had an amazing career and then decided that he wanted to have some fun and made a hotel that looks like Alice in Wonderland! It was awesome.
Cassidy in Wonderland. It's a thing!
The downstairs bar...ritzy and super funky all at once!
We trekked through the fashion district, ogling all the beautiful things, all of which had hidden price tags.... In fact, Roberto said that some of the shops are so expensive and exclusive that you have to call ahead and make an appointment to go shopping. Then they roll out the red carpet and treat you like royalty (Ok, made up that part, but all I can think of is the shopping scene from "Pretty Woman"!). After the fashion district we ended up in the banking district, which is where all of the really beautiful old buildings are. Apparently, they are so expensive that only the banks can afford them! We walked through a piazza that has the statue of Manzoni, the church that he and Verdi attended, and, of course, some really gorgeous banks.
For those who don't know: Manzoni is a famous Italian writer who decided what was to be the language of Italian. Why was this necessary? Well you see, Italy used to be made up of lots of little city states, each with it's own dialect! When Italy started to unify and become a single country they decided that it was time to have a unified language as well. Now which one to pick? There is this famous guy named Dante who wrote the "Divine Comedy." At the time, Dante's work was one of the most well-read pieces of literature; if you were educated, you read Dante's work. Dante used the most musical and beautiful sounding version of Italian, so Manzoni chose this version as the official language of Italy. That is why Italian is still regarded as one of the most beautiful languages of the world, and why it is wonderful for singing opera!! The above photo is a statue made in his honor. The church behind was where Manzoni, in his old age, fell to his death on the stairs. Verdi, being Manzoni's buddy (!!), was so distraught that he composed a requiem for Manzoni and premiered it in that very same church. (Are you getting goosebumps yet? I certainly had them when we were on the tour! I was in the same church as Verdi and Manzoni :D!!!!)
Speaking of Verdi, the window with the blue European flag is where he spent his last days:
Verdi was unusual, he was actually loved and worshipped during his lifetime (unlike DaVinci...). He was beloved by all, but he was a kind of grumpy old man, so when he knew he was dying, he requested that there was no big fuss over his funeral. Thus, his casket was wheeled through the streets of Milan at 2:00am...amidst hundreds, if not thousands of mourners. Yes, they loved him so much that they came out into the streets, in the dead of winter, at 2:00am to watch his funeral procession. Now that is fame!
Anyway, enough geeking out over those dead guys, it's back to the rest of Thursday! After the rest of the tour (I love this city!!), I had some time to go home and spruce up before the aperitivo at Autogrill, which is conveniently located right by the Duomo!
There we were, eating our finger food, sipping wine, and watching the colors of the sunset transform the Duomo. It was magical to say the least!
My CA was telling me later that night, after we had gotten home from the dinner, that "Cassidy, you were so funny!" because I went up to everyone at that event and introduced myself! This was quickly followed by an imitation of "Hi! My name is Cassidy!" in her silliest voice. I do so love Annalisa ;). Suffice it to say, I met many wonderful IESers that night! And I am loving my group of friends here!
Callie (housemate), Senhica, Nicole, and I chillin' in front of the Duomo!
Myself, Nicole, and Lisa enjoying our cena!
After aperitivo, a group of about 20 of us made our way to a giant piazza (yes, I will learn the names! Someday...) where the "young folk" like to hang out!
There were hundreds of people hanging out! Some were sitting on the ground, others were chilling on ancient stone benches that date back to the Romans! It was really cool to see a bit of the younger crowd. We all hung out and chatted for a good long while before my housemates and I decided to call it a night. We hopped on the tram and made our way home.
As I was rereading, I realized that I almost forgot to mention:
LUINI'S!!! Home of the Panzerotti!! Sooo delicious! If you're ever in Milan, go to Luini's. I will give you very easy to follow directions. Also, the gelateria right next store is DELICIOUS.
Ok everyone, I have so, so much more to write about. But for tonight I am all blogged out. La vita 'e dolce!
Buona notte!
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