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| Waiting for the lift to Bergamo. |
Summer in Europe--Entry 4
Photographs and text by R. Jon MacDonald
On the roof of Duomo Cathedral in Milan.
Related Links:
The
European Summer School
Oberlin-in-Europe Euro Summer
School
Journal
Entry 3
Journal
Entry 2
Journal
Entry 1
Milano… shopping capital of the world indeed--We arrived in Milano, Italy, and were taken to our hotel by Mayra, our contact for the week, to rest for our evening trip. That night we headed out to Bergamo, a small city about 45 minutes from Milano, in the mountains. There were two ways into the city, which is located about a mile from the city below it; the 2,000 plus stairs or a lift/trolley. Naturally I chose the trolley and arrived at the top to what easily became my favorite city of the whole trip. This city had it all. It was small and built completely out of stone, and had streets lined with small shops, restaurants and cafés. The view of the surrounding mountain ranges was incredible. Mayra took us to a small restaurant where we were served a glass of champagne as soon as we sat down. We each bought a bottle of the best wines on the menu and shared them to get a taste of the incredible Italian wines (often more famous in Europe than the French ones).
The next day we started classes. We took trams to Bocconi University, where we studied that week. Again, we had classes for at least eight hours a day, and they were worth all the time we spent behind a desk. At Bocconi, we had two classes, one on the expansion of the European Union and another on how e-commerce is changing the European economy. I found the latter to be particularly interesting because of my computer science background and how well it tied in with the small web-design company I've been running. Once again, the professors were incredible--always lively and interesting.
During the week, I had the opportunity to participate in Milano's favorite pastime: shopping. It is hard to resist if you are anywhere near the center of the city. Within an hour of setting foot in the city, I had bought five designer Italian ties--all for less than $10 U.S. each and all pure silk. By the end of the week, I left town with an Armani suit and a bag full of other various designer items for my family and friends back home. Word of advice: if you go to Milano, try to go during the month of July. All the locals have left town to go on vacation and the shop-keepers run sales to make up for the lag in business.
With my entire souvenir shopping done, it was time to board another train and head into Venice for the day. Venice was an incredible sight--no, it doesn’t smell (as it turns out, that is a myth the locals started to try to cut back on the tourism). I took the bus-boat around the city and saw about 60 percent of the islands before having to board a night train to Vienna, Austria, for the next session of classes.
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| The view from Bergamo. |
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