Milan, Verona & Bergamo, Italy- September 2014
Hello Hello!!
So this post revolves entirely around Italy and the ACA Convention that I attended in September of 2014. During this time, Mike was in Turkey for a short mission, so he will have to write his own post of his experiences. (He is, by the way, extremely excited that I'm catching up on all of this). It all started when I was looking to network for my Master(piece)'s in Mental Health Counseling. I met the former president who lives in a town nearby and she instructed me to sign up as a student for the convention that would be held in Italy. At the same time, Chi Upsilon Chi (CSI) at Capella University, sent an email out saying they would sponsor students who were interested in attending the convention. I was lucky enough to live pretty close being in Germany, so I immediately responded. I initially thought that Mike would go with me, so I did not take the school's offer for a shared room. That was a mistake, because Mike didn't end up being able to attend! More to come on that... I was also asked to present with the instructors for CEU earning hours. It was amazing!
The flight from Germany to Milan was about $300 round trip for specific dates on a small airline, booked on abctravel.de. I was going for about 4 days, with specific arrival and departure dates and times. I booked a place with AirBnB.com which initially I thought was a great deal. The apartment was a room inside of a shared space, with one other room and couple sharing the space. We shared a bathroom but had keys to our rooms. The host was very helpful and waited on me until my late arrival in Milan after 11pm. It was a single room with a balcony and kitchen and bathroom, basically all that I needed for my stay in the city. The location was perfect as it was about 10 blocks from the hotel where the convention was. Capella's apartment was also halfway between my apartment and the hotel. Upon meeting, I quickly discovered how great the location of the Capella apartment was versus mine. They also had additional space- I should've taken the space!! They did reimburse me for all of my expenses at the convention and the apartment I rented, however, that didn't stop me from my frugal side peeking out. I couldn't consider staying in the other apartment when I had already rented my own. Well, I should have!! Turns out, the hot water didn't work and there were bed bugs. There were also cleaners that left my room and belongings unattended, even if I had locked the doors when I left. It was very disappointing. I do not recommend using AirBnB unless you are SURE that it is a reputable place.
After the convention ended, we spent a day sight seeing. Most evenings we went out to restaurants recommended in downtown Milan by TripAdvisor and Yelp. Some of the meals I had was traditional Gnocchi, Caprese Salad, Bruschetta, and of course Pizza and Gelato! by far, this was some of the BEST Italian food I have ever eaten. Our last day in Italy was spent driving from Milan to Bergamo for morning tours and lunch, followed by Verona for afternoon tours and dinner.
So this post revolves entirely around Italy and the ACA Convention that I attended in September of 2014. During this time, Mike was in Turkey for a short mission, so he will have to write his own post of his experiences. (He is, by the way, extremely excited that I'm catching up on all of this). It all started when I was looking to network for my Master(piece)'s in Mental Health Counseling. I met the former president who lives in a town nearby and she instructed me to sign up as a student for the convention that would be held in Italy. At the same time, Chi Upsilon Chi (CSI) at Capella University, sent an email out saying they would sponsor students who were interested in attending the convention. I was lucky enough to live pretty close being in Germany, so I immediately responded. I initially thought that Mike would go with me, so I did not take the school's offer for a shared room. That was a mistake, because Mike didn't end up being able to attend! More to come on that... I was also asked to present with the instructors for CEU earning hours. It was amazing!
The flight from Germany to Milan was about $300 round trip for specific dates on a small airline, booked on abctravel.de. I was going for about 4 days, with specific arrival and departure dates and times. I booked a place with AirBnB.com which initially I thought was a great deal. The apartment was a room inside of a shared space, with one other room and couple sharing the space. We shared a bathroom but had keys to our rooms. The host was very helpful and waited on me until my late arrival in Milan after 11pm. It was a single room with a balcony and kitchen and bathroom, basically all that I needed for my stay in the city. The location was perfect as it was about 10 blocks from the hotel where the convention was. Capella's apartment was also halfway between my apartment and the hotel. Upon meeting, I quickly discovered how great the location of the Capella apartment was versus mine. They also had additional space- I should've taken the space!! They did reimburse me for all of my expenses at the convention and the apartment I rented, however, that didn't stop me from my frugal side peeking out. I couldn't consider staying in the other apartment when I had already rented my own. Well, I should have!! Turns out, the hot water didn't work and there were bed bugs. There were also cleaners that left my room and belongings unattended, even if I had locked the doors when I left. It was very disappointing. I do not recommend using AirBnB unless you are SURE that it is a reputable place.
After the convention ended, we spent a day sight seeing. Most evenings we went out to restaurants recommended in downtown Milan by TripAdvisor and Yelp. Some of the meals I had was traditional Gnocchi, Caprese Salad, Bruschetta, and of course Pizza and Gelato! by far, this was some of the BEST Italian food I have ever eaten. Our last day in Italy was spent driving from Milan to Bergamo for morning tours and lunch, followed by Verona for afternoon tours and dinner.
One of the most memorable moments was seeing Juliette's home from the classic William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliette. The iconic love story of the ages! The statue is Juliette. The legend is that if you touch her boob, you get good luck. It's been groped so many times, it's changing color. If you can see in the picture, the color of the statue is like a dark brass. Her boob is a very bright gold brass color. We didn't close enough/ want to grab it. As you can see the 'Letters to Juliette' on the walls. They were written in marker, stuck to the walls, painted on the walls, you name it. It was incredible to see. There were stories upon stories of love held between people across the world. I was just overwhelming!
We also found a mini colosseum type structure in the center of town. The streets surrounding it were covered in marble, it was almost like we were walking around a palace. The shops were Italian brand labels, high end fashion companies and other labels such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Dolce and Gabbana. And again, the food was more than outstanding. I was living the dream. Don't even get me started on the cappuccino! In Milan we had coffees made with the cliche 'heart in the cup'. It was like the baristas knew I was coming to Italy for my first time!
Because I'm writing this nearly a year later, there will be plenty more detail in the post from this year's Italy trip. Realistically though, Italy is a trip for the ancient and iconic sites and food. Other than that, I could go elsewhere for shopping and typical tourism!
Until next time-
Ryanne
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