Ciao! Sono Brianna: Cheerio Mate!

This past month has been filled with exploring all that Milan has to offer and a trip to London (oh and yes a midterm which means studying). Here is the top 10 from my two and a half weeks in Milan and then London.

1. Saint Patrick’s day - The weather finally started getting nice here in Milan so after class we all started celebrating the holiday of the Irish. We drank and threw the Frisbee around out on the big balcony behind our dorm but were forced to end our celebration early because some of the local Italian boys started throwing rocks up on the balcony.... We all ate dinner and headed out to one of our favorite bars that I believe I have mentioned before called La Fontanella. They have all these crazy contraptions that pour out beer for you from an octopus to a train with real smoke coming out of it. We celebrated this Holiday perfectly; the Irish would have been proud.

2. Old Fashion - One of our favorite places to go out at is called Old Fashion. The other week when we went I found an Italian boy who actually knew how to dance which included dipping and spinning me around. You would think as a dancer I would know by now how to ballroom dance, but nope. I'm still having to let the boy lead since I have no idea what I'm doing. Also, whenever we go here I somehow always leave Emma with all the boys and go home with the girls... The next morning or even that night she is not very happy with me.

3. Maya - We were told about a 1,000 times we had to go to Maya for aperitivo because of how good the food and drinks were! It has the BEST mashed potatoes I have had in a long time, which is something I have been missing from back home. They served everything you could have wanted, which included multiple rice dishes, pizza, fruit, a ton of fried food and then they ended your meal with a chocolate fountain accompanied by chocolate cake. We left satisfied but in so much pain since our tummies were so full.

4. Basketball bracket - Our guy friends decided to a bracket pool for March Madness with some of the people in our dorm. There were 10 people in the pool and of course I felt left out so I joined as the 11^th person. Now I know hockey but basketball is a totally different story.... I know nothing about it, and they said that most people who know nothing about it end up doing quite well. They also said if I ended up winning the pool they would be FURIOUS with me. I thought my bracket was decent and at one point I was in 4th place! But then slowly I started going down... and then even further down until I was in last place. I ended up getting 10^th place but the only reason I didn't get last was because the guy who lost to me is from Iceland and has noooo idea about basketball and didn't even know the rules or regulations. I don’t even know if that counts? But guess who did end up winning? Emma. She at least knows basketball more than me but still the boys were not happy with her.

5. Platform 9 and 3/4s. After my two weeks in Milan, my first trip to kick off spring break was a trip to London to visit two of my favorites Marissa and Ali. I almost didn't get into London since my visa was stolen with my passport, and I was going out of the EU, it was the first time I had gotten my passport checked. They were very iffy about the whole situation but luckily I always carry around every piece of paper I might need in case they ask me for it (yes mother your skills of being overly prepared have paid off). Then to make matters worse I did not know Marissa's address, which was where I was staying while in London, and the lady thought I was a complete idiot. Luckily though they let my stupid butt into their country and I was off to try to meet up with Shlags. I finally found her after my hour bus ride next to the cutest lady from Ireland. Her accent was so thick which required me to ask her to repeat herself multiple times but we talked the whole way about my studies, my future, her family, even boys and at the end she said, "I knew you were from America because of how nice you were. The English are nothing like you." Guess that’s a good way to start off the trip since you don't hear that about Americans too often. After finding Shlags and finding Carlie (another friend visiting at the same time who studies in Rome) I of course had to stop at Kings cross station to take my picture at the Harry Potter 9 and 3/4s train platform. It was then and there that it hit me that I was in London. Once we got to Shlags flat she said we were going to visit a bar with all the people on her program so we were off to O' Niels. This bar was exactly what I thought a bar would be like in London. It had a pub like feel and had a live band. We danced our butts off the whole night so much so that I was still sore two days later. London has a lot of fake KFC restaurants all over the city so we ended our night with some fried chicken and fries.

6. Hyde Park. The next day we walked around Hyde Park and saw both Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace. Hyde Park was absolutely beautiful. It is ginormous and has so many different parts. There were multiple ponds, the Princess Diana memorial, too many garden areas to count and the best part were the dogs. The dogs were so well trained and just roaming around the park while their owners walked or jogged in front of them. It makes me wonder how Kate and William live in Kensington Palace since tourists can get so close to it! Getting that close to Buckingham Palace was a different story... It of course is guarded so well and we think there was an event held at the Palace because people were coming out dressed exactly how they dressed in the movie with Amanda Bynes called What a Girl Wants.

7. Harry Potter Tour at Warner Brothers Studio - This was for sure the highlight of the trip. Alex and Analise (two of my friends in Milan) were in London the same time I was conveniently, so we all met up to go on the tour of Harry Potter and it was fabulous! We saw everything including the night bus, costumes, props, the actual Great Hall, portraits, the Gryffindor common room and even 4 Privet Drive. Even after the tour ended I still couldn't believe I saw things that were filmed in the actual movie. We also got authentic butter beer that was so rich it made my stomach hurt but it was totally worth the pain.

8. Divergent - I started reading the Divergent series and finished the first two books in two days. This included being a huge nerd and bringing my Kindle to class and reading during the boring parts of lecture (sorry mom and dad. I promise I pay attention 90% of the time). While I was in London it was the opening weekend of the movie for Divergent so Friday night we went to the movies. The movie was wonderful and the main actor... is sooooo attractive so that never hurts. I recommend the books for anyone who loves Hunger Games or even Harry Potter. But stop after the 2nd book because the ending to the series just leaves you feeling so disappointed. My friends can contest that I was so distraught after I finished the 3rd book.

9. Burrows Market to London eye - Saturday we woke up and Ali took us around that day. We started off at Burrows Market which is this huge market filled with an insane amount of food vendors. The first thing that caught our eyes was a breakfast sandwich but authentic London styled. It was on a roll and the sausage was fabulous. The downfall is how I am my grandma’s granddaughter. Every meal she spills on herself and I have no idea how it happened but now I have the same problem. I took one bite of my sandwich and yolk went all down my shirt and mind you it was only 10 in the morning... there were still so many pictures to be taken. At the market I also had a cheesy pretzel/bread thing and then split a HUGE chocolate chip cookie with Ali. After that we ventured over to the London Bridge and Tower of London which has been used as a place of residence for Royalty, a prison, and a castle. Ali and Marissa were such wonderful tour guides because they have had so many visitors, they know so many random facts about each site that we saw. Of course I don't remember all the facts now, but at the time they were quite interesting! We then had a long walk to Regent Park were we climbed to the top of Primrose Hill for the overlook of London which was breathtaking. Sitting there with my two friends, looking at this beautiful overlook and hearing the British accents felt like a dream. I still can’t get over how attractive the British accent makes everyone seem. After that Carlie wanted a taste of home so we stopped at Whole Foods for lunch where I finally got some Mexican food (a taco salad) and boy I ate that thing way too fast. Later in the afternoon, after some shopping, Carlie and I went on the London eye. Now I have had a fear of Ferris wheels since I was 12 and went on one at the Fourth of July carnival and got stuck on the top by myself. I haven't been on one since but figured the London Eye would be worth it - and I was right. We went on it around 7:30 pm and when it started it was bright outside but then by the end of the ride it was dark so we were able to overlook London during the “day” and “night”. After we met Shlags for dinner at a classic London pub which was so popular that they were out of fish and chips.... But they had the next best thing which was crab cakes, London chips, and coleslaw. To top it off I had my first Guinness beer to wash it all down.

10. Wisconsin Game - That night Wisconsin Basketball was playing to make it to the semi-finals and the only place we could find showing the game was at a casino. There we were able to meet up with a some of my friends who were studying in London and even some friends who are studying in different parts of Europe who were conveniently in London the same weekend as me. One of the high points of the night was a random Wisconsin Alumni who bought us beers all night. The game was a nail bitter and we were all certain we were going to win and then at the last second we lost. We had been so loud throughout the whole game but at that point we were all silent, shocked and had no idea what to say even.

My time in London went way too fast and Marissa and Ali killed it as hosts. I just got back a few days ago from Sardinia and am headed to Rome tomorrow at 4 am which will both be talked about in next week’s blog. I have been here now for almost 3 months and most of my friends are starting to finish their programs but I still have two and a half months left and I am thrilled to see what that time has to offer me. Ciao for now!