It was another 3 and a half hour bus ride, this time from Padua (near Venice) to Milan. There was one rest stop where we could use the restrooms, get snacks, and stretch for a little bit. At this point in the early morning, I was laughing at everything because I was so tired.
According to the original printed schedule, we were supposed to have some free time in the morning then leave for Milan around 1PM. Matteo and the touring company managed to get us tickets to visit the Milan Duomo, which is why we had to leave very early to make our 12PM appointment.
We arrived in the city, left our luggage on the motorbus, and switched on our tour headsets as Matteo handed the microphone over to our tour guide for Milan, Simone. He walked us through the expensive shops and showed us the spot where you’re supposed to spin clockwise as a promise that you’ll return to Milan–Just like throwing a coin in the Trevi fountain. We made it to the Duomo and learned about the history of the architecture and the different stories within the stain glass windows.
After the visit, we had lunch time to ourselves. The group was allowed to find lunch on their own or they were welcome to follow Simone to an Italian “fast food” spot. I would eventually get to visit this fast food spot in the next few days, but I had another place in mind for lunch.
Prior to our departure for Italy, I learned that there was a Jollibee in Milan. What is Jollibee? It’s a Filipino fast food restaurant, famous for it’s sweet spaghetti, ChickenJoy chicken, and rice dishes. Being a Filipino, it would’ve been a crime not to find it. I knew from my research that it was near the Duomo, so I entered the address on Google Maps and navigated towards the eatery.
Being in a new place is always scary and uncomfortable, but I’d never felt more comfortable during this the entire trip than I had once Kayla and I stepped inside the Jollibee. It could’ve been the bee mascot or the sounds of people speaking in Tagalog, but I really felt like I was at home. Just because I was in a familiar place didn’t mean I would be at complete ease during the experience. Mind you I’m in a Filipino restaurant located in Italy, meaning the only languages I’m hearing is Tagalog (Filipino) and Italian. I know more Tagalog than I do Italian so I tried my best to order and somehow it worked.
Stuffed in a seat and hungry, we ate our food and then left the restaurant to meet the rest of the class at our rendezvous point. Once everyone got to the meeting place, we continued on our walking tour and ended at the Sforza Castle. We got back onto our motorbus after the tour and drove to our hotel. Matteo was leaving us because he was scheduled to work on another tour so he handed the “torch” over to our new tour guide Serena. At our group dinner that night, we got to chat and spend time with Serena. Our meal consisted of a spaghetti-type of pasta, chicken, and french fries. Talk about an Americanize meal? We talked about Netflix shows, Italian’s impressions of America, and our college majors in an attempt to learn more about Serena and for her to learn about us.
Now we’ve returned to our hotel and the WiFi connection is the worst. I’ve hit the refresh button several times only to have the webpage repeatedly tell me that it’s not available. Somehow I got this blog to post.
We have a media visit tomorrow. See you in business casual clothes!