I had the opportunity to go to Warsaw and Milan this past weekend for our first extended break. The two cities were completely different, and I would do the weekend all over again if I could! I remember when discussing traveling plans with everybody for the long weekend, my friend and I decided to go to Warsaw, and we were met with blank stares. From that, I inferred that not many people at CIMBA (or at home) have been to Poland before and that excited me even more. I have zero regrets about choosing Warsaw.
In Warsaw, we went to the Palace of Culture and Science, where an elevator took us up thirty stories in less than thirty seconds. Reaching the top, we were met with all-encompassing views of the city –skyscrapers, shopping centers, trains taking locals where they need to go, and even Old Town. The historic site of Old Town included vibrant tones of yellow, orange, and other colors that contrasted well with the muted nature of the weather that day. We had pierogis and other intriguing food that I had never seen before. I was thoroughly impressed with the city and almost having a Midwest-American feel to it, especially with how it looked.
Contrarily, Milan was compact, expensive, and boujee in the best way. When we arrived in the city, we saw the train station which was notable to look at and people watch in. We stumbled around the beautiful Duomo and walked into the main center for fashion in the city. One thing was apparent immediately – Italians know how to dress! Seriously, there was not one person that was less than above average looking. My tip would be to budget out Milan before you go because otherwise you will likely overspend trying to see everything.
Travel never looks as perfect as it does on Instagram, however. There will more than likely be delayed trains, flight issues, baggage allowance, unclear transportation logistics, etc. For us that manifested in having booked a bus ticket through Trenitalia and having no direction on how to get to said bus. I assumed it would be in front of the train station we got off with the other buses, but it was in actuality two blocks away and we missed the bus, so we rushed to the airport in a taxi instead. Needless to say, do not book a bus ticket through a train ticketing company, even if it is cheaper. Those costs in the end may add up quickly.
Feeling refreshed after our first extended weekend, we CIMBians had pizza making after the first day of classes back. We went to a local pizzeria where we were very graciously welcomed by Servio and his son who ran the business. It was apparent how much they valued serving pizzas to customers and the quality was top-notch. I made the best pizza I have had in Italy yet, with help from Servio of course, with a simple combo of pepperoni, mushrooms, and mozzarella.