Lake Como - Vespa Adventures

This was the first adventure that I took without the school using the trustee Eurail pass and experiencing the massive train system that they have here in Europe.

Thank you Mom and Dad this was an extremely helpful tool for seeing this part of the world! Anyhow, Lago di Como (“Lake Como”) is situated on the boarder of Italy and southern Switzerland. The lake looks like an enormous meniscus, horseshoeing around a piece of land. Fortunately, enough this lake is where they filmed the last part of the last 007 movie, “Casino Royale”. We were able to find and see the home where they shot the end scene. This was when the older man (that has the briefcase) is walking up a white cobblestone path and Bond shots him and for the first time boldly states his classic line, “My name is Bond, James Bond”. Como also has one of George Clooney’s homes (I believe the one that the French thief lives in, in Ocean’s 12). This one we could not find though. This lake has been a center for the elite for over 2 millennia… Emperors’, Caesars’, and the like have been building homes and living here for at least that long. That’s pretty impressive to think about.

All this information aside we had one of the best times yet here. Joined by Harper, Trisha (both Sierra’s roommates), Newman, Kolina Beck, William “Bill” Anderson, and Tim we all rented mopeds and thoroughly enjoyed exploring as much of the lake as we could. We stayed at one of the nicest hotels to date, extremely comfortable and affordable. We also caught a boat race towards the end of the weekend. I’ll let the photos tell the rest….

Milan

We went to Milan just before going to Lake Como. It was a brief trip we only stayed there overnight and left fairly early the next day to Como. But the city was beautiful and our experience was one in a million. There are several things about Milan that draw anyone’s attention. First and foremost we went there with a Leonardo da Vinci course to see The Last Supper. It was truly an unreal experience. The fresco was just amazing to see, with all its mathematical proportion and ingenious meanings it’s hard to not be dazzled. It’s exciting to see a piece that is constantly under new research and where people search and find so much meaning. Secondly, we were able to see the 3rd largest cathedral in the world. The Duomo (literally meaning the seat of the Cardinal every city, typically, has one) of Milan is a massive cathedral of gothic architecture and is really just magnificent to look at. We were all gawking anytime that it was insight and when we were inside. The last thing that was going on while we were there was fashion week…not exactly my thing but apparently there were interesting things happening. This was the first place that we stayed at a hostel and nearly through out the idea of ever doing it again given our experience. The one that we went to was converted from some sort of substance abuse/ reform school/ detention center/ prison. It was pretty bad…but subsequently we’ve stayed at others that are much nicer! But, if you’re going through Milan, I recommend a hotel.

Tuscan Wine Harvest

The Tuscan Wine Harvest was the first group trip that we did once in Florence. And the first time that we really got to see the Tuscan country side and experience first hand how the Chianti regions wines (that we’ve been drinking plenty of) are made. We went to a vineyard called “Castello di Tavolese” and had a really nice tour of the place. They tried to explain to us how the wines were made. However, there was a very strong language barrier and most of the information that was attempted to be communicated was lost in translation.
Despite this slight hiccup it was quite the experience and I learned a lot more about wine than I would have otherwise known! Plus, the landscapes were unreal.

Going Out in Florence

Florence has also had a really great night life to share with us. All though I feel that most of it is directed at the over 5000 America students that live here every semester, it’s still a lot of fun. With J.J.’s Cathedral next to the Duomo along with many other local bars and clubs we always have a good time. And I was lucky enough to have a run in with Outkast’s Andrea 3000 one night while strolling the streets with my two roommates.

Santa Croce

Santa Croce is really beautiful and I just wanted to share some pictures of it as well. Here are the graves of some of the greatest minds to affect the Western world from Italy. Just to name a few Michelangelo, Donatello, Da Vinci, Enrico Fermi, etc., etc.

Firenze Soccer Matches

Firenze Calcio (“Soccer”) has been a lot of fun to watch. We saw matches against Altlanta and Roma. Always good times to hear the Europeans enthusiasm for their home teams with songs that have been sung for generations and that have deep historic meaning for the local cultures and their long-long-longtime rivals. Here are a few pictures of the mayhem.