By Txell Borràs, University of Bocconi, Milan.
It has only been 10 days since I moved to Milan, and it already feels like a new home. To be honest, I did not have the best of welcomes, since the day I arrived we were on a government alert for heavy rain and the flight was delayed several times. However, the amazing experiences I have lived so far overweigh the chaos of the first days.
As an international student, I committed the mistake of thinking that a year abroad would be the same as my first year in Manchester, but I was completely wrong. There is such a positive and welcoming environment, and everything feels a hundred times more intense, as though you want to make the most of every second that goes by. I would advise you to say yes to every plan and to not be afraid to make plans with people you don’t know yet; you might miss out on some amazing future friends.
Yesterday, we went to one of the most breath-taking places I have seen so far, and it was the result of a totally improvised plan; one of those that might go terribly wrong, but if you’re lucky, you will remember all your life.
We woke up at 9am and went all together for breakfast just before hopping on a train to Lago di Como. It’s an hour-long ride and with good company goes by so fast. Once there, we walked around the lake and visited the main village, which looked unreally beautiful, and since it was 32º and we felt like we were melting, we decided to take a take a little swim around the lake.
We then headed to a park, where we sat on the grass and had the most fun picnic, just before going to a typical “gelateria” to get some coffee and ice-creams. People do not exaggerate when they say Italian ice-creams are the best, I don’t think I have ever tried something even similar before, and I completely recommend the tiramisu flavor if you’re a coffee fan. And a word of advice if you have never been to Italy and want to order coffee, never ask for a “latte”, because even though they might know what you mean, here “latte” means milk, and they won’t hesitate to serve you a cup of cold milk and leave you looking confused and a bit embarrassed.
Finally, in the evening before the sunset, we hopped on a cable car that dropped us at the top of the mountain, at Brunate, from where we enjoyed the most romantic and spectacular sunset, that cannot even be described with words.
We then got back to the village and had dinner at a terrace with views to the lake illuminated by all the village and boat lights, before heading back to Milan on the last train.
Truly, a day to remember.