Fashion capital of the world- MILANO!

Friday was our trip to Milan! We were supposed to leave at 9, but once again, we left 30 minutes later and not even everyone made it on the bus. They were responsible for their own transportation to Milan. It was a 90 minute drive with lots of construction but we made it! It was at least 30 degrees there with a hot sun. We all spread out in small groups and I went with Madlen for most of the day. I was amazed by the history in this city. Another thing that was different for me was that all the people dressed up to go outside. Ladies of all ages were wearing heels and the men all looked like models too. There were also black men that were selling fake luxury good and begging for money. This was weird because in other parts of the world that I have seen, I have never seen black people on this lower level of the social spectrum. One thing that really scared and annoyed me was these black men with bracelets throughout the city. They approached me and put a bracelet around my wrist. He said it was for good luck. It was weird to I tried to walk away but then he got angry and told me I needed to pay for it now. I firmly told him that I was not paying for this bracelet and he forcefully ripped it off my arm. Others have told me that these bracelets represent tourists who have money. Some people caved and paid for these bracelets while others got them for free and some shared the same experience as me.

I walked along the famous shopping streets. It was disappointing to see most of the same brands that are in the major cities around the world like H&M, Zara, Prada, Louis Vuitton, etc. I really wanted to buy something unique and Italian but I did not really find anything. I bought a few shirts and my favourite purchase was a mint green laptop bag! Luckily, there were sales everywhere so prices were affordable. The food, however, did have Milan price tags. I HAD to have some Milan gelato which was to die for but I didn't get a picture of it since it melted fast with the heat! It was a long and exhausting day but it was totally worth it!

On the drive home, I learned what the weird crop was in the fields that was everywhere. Did you know that they grow rice in northern Italy? I sure did not and thought is was a weird type of grass but it was under water? Rice and corn and a couple hay fields was all I saw outside of the cities.

We had a party at the hostel Friday night to celebrate our last night in Italy. It was a really good time and we all enjoyed each other’s company.

Famous church- Duomo. I wasn't allowed inside because my shorts were too short. They were really strict on letting people in to see it. Your shoulders and knees needed to be covered

Door of the church

World famous shopping area including shops like Louis Vuitton and Prada

You could test drive ferrari's at this store!

The sun setting on the drive back to Biella