Weekend With The Family

Friday 02/12: Today my sister is coming!!! Ava and B were going to Venice for Carnivale, which I so sadly couldn’t make because of my family arrival to Milano. As disappointed as I was to be missing out on the infamous Carnivale, my family means the world to me so I had something special coming my way.

The girls left early and I woke up later knowing I wouldn’t be hearing from my sister until about 11 or so. When she called me, I had just finished getting ready and we both decided it would be better for her to come to me than vice versa. She’s city savvy having lived in NYC for the last 5 years so I wasn’t worried about her getting lost.

I hadn’t seen my sister since Christmas so I was beyond excited to see her gorgeous face! She had a little trouble getting into my apartment, though, because remember that whole thing about the 7th floor and the private elevator? Yeah that sort of deterred her ability to get up. Eventually the doorman brought her to me and we were finally reunited.

Alli was hungry from the hours of travel so we headed to a little café nearby in order to get a little bite to tie her over. After we finished chatting and munching, we headed off to shop in and out of the millions of stores that line Via Torino, which we concluded with a viewing of the one and only Duomo. We then walked northward to the castle and sat in a park taking silly pictures and enjoying the sun that I was SO happy had come out for her. We walked into Brera and I showed her around until we realized that hunger had hit and we needed lunch. We stumbled across a really cute little pizzeria and shared delicious food and excellent conversation. Sister bonding is the best.

After lunch we headed outside and I spotted this beautiful girl with an exceptionally well-dressed guy by her side. Recognizing whom it was, I yelled, “Chantal!!!” It was she indeed and I was beyond stoked to see her. Chantal is a girl from San Diego who I knew through mutual friends. We had met a bunch of times here and there throughout the years and I had always thought she was amazing. Fashionable, outgoing, and incredibly fun. We had discovered that we were both headed to Milan when I bumped into her at Nordstrom one day. It was kind of exciting news. So anyway, this was the first time we had seen each other in the city and it was rather ironic given that she had contacted me for the first time since being here, the night before. I couldn’t go out with her only because I was dead from the laundry experience (remember that fun?) but I had told her that we needed to meet up ASAP. I guess ASAP was an understatement. She was with her roommate and friend Vincent. The two of them both go to USF and decided to live together since they were friends from home and were going to the same school here in Milan. My sister and I talked with the two of them for a while and I was beyond excited to have seen them. Feeling a little lonely and what not, it felt so amazing to instantly connect and feel so welcomed by them. I had no reservations about whether or not we’d become best friends. Definitely happening.

Alli and I said goodbye since they were trying to get to lunch and the two of us wanted to continue our city exploring. I couldn’t get over the coincidence of the meet up because my sister and I had just been at lunch talking about making friends here and finding those people that really make you feel included and happy to be with you. Thus I found it to be a little Godsend that I had stumbled across them.

So we set off and headed towards the best shopping and, of course, the insanely large Zara. Zara ended up being a major success because I found 2 pairs of boots that were originally 140 Euro for only 29 Euro. Score. Best part is that one pair is a heeled pair of black studded boots. Badass to say the least. While I may be exceptionally tall in them, I have no shame. Gotta embrace what God gave me, right?

After shopping ended, I needed to stop by the post office to send off a few things and a special little something I had put together. America better be getting my witty package pronto otherwise I’ll be an unhappy girl in Milan. That will be especially true seeing that I had been searching the entire day to find this one thing to finalize the package but hadn’t found it anywhere. I’m talking searching in some 15 different places trying to find the damn thing I was looking for. Thank goodness I found one 10 minutes before I had to send the stuff out.

By the time errands and shopping had been accomplished, Alli and I were ready for showers, rest, and just general downtime. I headed back to the hotel with her so she could unpack and get situated before my parents flew in the next day. She showered and I just kicked it until the two of us headed back to my place so I could get ready. When I had bumped into Chantal and Vincent, I had invited them to aperitivo. Apparently they had NEVER been and I wasn’t about to let them go another day without it, not to mention I wanted their company. My sister had been dying for aperitivo too so it was a perfect plan. My friend Chris had called me to see if I wanted to go with him to aperitivo so I asked him if he’d like to join us instead and he did. So around 7:45 pm my sister and I headed back to my place so I could change and then we walked the couple of blocks to a bar called Cheese, in order to meet the group.

We all had a great time and the aperitivo was incredible. The company, however, took the cake in terms of the highlight of the night. Chantal and Vincent couldn’t believe they had been missing out on something so amazing! I told them not to worry because we’d be making it a regular weekly occurrence. After we ate, I told them about Grom. Grom is known as the best gelateria in the city. We are talking some seriously life changing gelato. Grom is really well known for its signature flavor, Crema di Grom…a creamy vanilla with graham crackers and chocolate chip shavings. The second I mentioned it, every single person at the table was begging to go. Luckily there is one of the two Groms in the city right near my apartment. We headed over and I was so excited because I got to use my Italian to order for each person. Jaws dropped and there was silence. No one could believe how incredible the gelato was. I warned them!

Once it got a little later, we all said goodbyes and headed in different directions. My sister and I were pretty tired so we went to the hotel for sleep. I was still so happy from the day and genuinely so excited to have found Chantal and Vincent and to finally have my sister with me. It was an amazing start to my weekend.

Saturday 02/13: I woke up with a splitting headache and hope that tea and breakfast would help make me feel a little better. My family was staying at the same hotel I had stayed in when I arrived in the city so I was more than ready to be reunited with my beloved breakfast room and that yummy yogurt. And it was just as I remembered. My sister and I sat and talked until we both agreed bed sounded really good again. She slept for a few more hours having needed it from the travel and I managed to get a pretty decent amount of stuff done on my computer. Yes the hotel had internet. Felt like I was in heaven. By the time Alli woke up, it was 12 pm and she was freaked out that we had missed so much of the day. We hopped to and headed out to explore. We walked up and around some new areas of the city and found ourselves in Navigli.

The weather was impeccable. I am talking absolutely stunning blue skies and sun. As we walked up and down the canal, I was so excited to see outside seating. That was a first thus far. We tried to find a place that could accommodate us outside but everyone was thinking on our same level. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of this ideal weather when its still super nipply outside? We finally found a cute little restaurant and sat in the window with the sun shining in. Perfection.

After we finished, we explored some more until my mom called to say that she and Faj (nickname for my dad) had finally landed and were at the hotel waiting eagerly! Alli and I busted our butts back to my apartment so I could change for dinner and then we decided to stop by the grocery store to pick up some snacks to surprise the parentals…bread, cheese, fresh meats, apples and pears, and some good Italian wine.

When we showed up, it was lots of loves and hugs and kisses. My parents hadn’t seen me since I left and hadn’t seen my sissy since she had gone back to NYC for work after Christmas. We all snuggled on the bed just talking and catching up. I honestly have the most incredible family in the world. Poor mommacita was pretty sick, though. She had just been in Mexico with her girlfriends and had picked up a really nasty cough and cold. My mom is an all-star and DOES NOT get sick so to see her hacking up a lung made me so sad. Thank goodness she had some serious cough medicine to suppress the bark.

When it got time to get ready for dinner, we all put ourselves together and headed off. My friend Danielle had studied in Milan during the summer and told me about a restaurant called Oficina 12. Based on her recommendation, I had made reservations and that’s exactly where we were headed. The restaurant had great ambience and had a beautiful dining room. It wasn’t your typical little Italian restaurant but was a bit more upscale. We had a nice dinner and opted for a walk up to the Duomo. Funny story, though. My sister was wearing a brand new pair of gorgeous Prada boots she had treated herself to…my sister is a badass who works for Merrill Lynch Bank of America. Talk about setting the bar high...I have some serious big shoes to fill. So yeah, the poor thing hadn’t worn them yet so her feet were killing her. Too bad all the trams had something like 15-minute waits, which meant we needed to keep walking. I was impressed with her pain endurance because she made it all the way up to the Duomo, which is a decent walk from Navigli. As a family, we decided that gelato was the perfect remedy to cure the situation. Unfortunately, Grom was closed so we found some other random place close to the Metro so they mom, dad, and Alli could just hop right on. We sat and enjoyed each other’s company until it got late and everyone needed to head home. I decided to just come back with them and sleep at the hotel. It would be a tight squeeze but hey, we’re family, we can make it work.

Sunday 02/14: Happy Valentine’s Day!!! We all woke up, had a loving valentines breakfast and then got a move on to the train station. I thought that Lake Como would be such a perfect place for us to celebrate the day together. Lake Como is kind of like the Hamptons for the Milanese. Because Milan epitomizes your typical urban metropolitan city, a very large percentage of its residents have apartments or houses outside the city in the lake regions in order to get away for weekends or during the summer time. Lake Como happens to be a particularly beautiful lake with gorgeous houses and residential areas lining the water’s edge. George Clooney has a huge mansion that sits right on the water. If he thinks Lake Como is legit, I figured we would.

We ended up missing the first train that left at 10:40 am but selected a train that was leaving at 11:10 instead. This is where our adventure begins. We bought the tickets and I found it strange that they were as expensive as they were. From what I had been told by locals, the trip to Como was about 6 Euro or less by train. The tickets we had just bought were double that. My dad was confident that we had picked a good train because it was “Eurocity” and that meant a faster travel because it didn’t make tons of urban stops. I was still a little confused because our tickets also said Como San Giovanni and we wanted Como Nord, which takes you directly to the center of the town. My parents thought it would be a good job for me to figure out the issue. I wandered around until I found what looked like an information desk. There were these glass doors, however, that wouldn’t open. I started knocking on them and a woman comes to yell at me to take my hands off the “Club” doors. Oops! I deserted that area and finally found an actual information desk. Apparently we were headed in the right direction but would have to get to Nord from San Giovanni. I figured no big deal.

We hopped on the train to find ourselves in reserved seating. It was both cozy and comfortable. We enjoyed the scenery before coming to our first stop: Como San Giovanni. I thought, “Hmm we should probably get off here or at least ask someone if this is the right place to connect.” My dad, however, was adamant that if we stayed on for one more stop that we would get to Como Nord. Wrong. Come the next stop, we get off to ask someone and guess where we are? Switzerland! Haha Yup, we most definitely missed our stop. Best part was that we now had to buy 4 more tickets to go the one stop back. The tickets were really cheap but that’s because the train was a POS (piece of shit). I’m talking seriously dirty, stained, danky seats.

When we finally got to San Giovanni, I made sure we all got off. I practiced my Italian and talked to a magazine vendor about the lake and the best way to get into the center. He gave me directions and we were off. Como is stunning and tons of houses sit on the hills surrounding the lake. Colors of burnt orange, Tuscan yellows, and faded red splashed the water’s borders. It’s pretty spectacular. We just walked around and admired the architecture and quaint buildings. We decided that we would take a little boat tour around the lake but because of the timing schedule, would grab lunch first. We walked around the lake until we found a really cute restaurant with an impressive menu. The food was delicious and it was filled with tons of fun Italians. I think it may be impossible to have a bad meal in this country.

When lunch finished, we made our way back to the ferry. During the boat ride, we decided as a family to pick out the houses that we’re eventually going to move into. To be honest, we’re actually thinking about renting a lake house one summer. Can you imagine how ridiculously amazing that would be?

After our quick tour of the lake, we came ashore to find a big Carnivale concert going on in the center square. Tons of little kids were dressed in costumes, dancing, and throwing confetti into the air. Carnivale, while a festival that’s characterized by mask wearing, is kind of like Halloween for children. I saw little Winnie the Poohs, a turtle, a princess, a spider man, and a bunch of other characters running around.

While the Carnivale chaos continued, we all went to check out the main church. Simply stunning. It’s honestly so fascinating what people used to be able to do with their hands. The detail on the ceiling alone was mind baffling. It just amazes me that people were so crafty and gave such time and dedication to the construction of these buildings. Looking at the stone carvings, you notice such precise detail and talent. I can only imagine the copious amounts of time that went into creating such masterpieces.

After the church admiring, we realized we had missed the train we wanted to take back so we headed to a café for tea and coffee. Before we made it to the café, however, some guy decided to deck me with silly string. Major fail by the man. His bottle was almost empty so it was down to that liquid, nasty smelling stuff. Yeah well it got all up in my hair and all down my jacket and stained the sleeves. Coat is off to the dry cleaners in hopes of fixing this minor booboo. Come 5:00 pm, we made our way towards the proper train station and waited until we could finally get on. The train ride was long…much longer than the one it had taken to get there. Thus, it was very clear as to why our tickets had been 2x the price. You either spend less money and spend more time or spend more money and less time.

By the time we finally got back, everyone was in need of rest. I headed to my apartment for a shower and some napping and my sister and parents did the same back at the hotel. We planned on meeting at restaurant #2 about 10 minutes before I had set the reservation. I was taking my parents to Trattoria Toscana, the restaurant I had been with Koltin twice before and the restaurant I officially called my favorite in the city. I was really excited for them to share in what I had been so crazy about since my arrival.

I showed up at the restaurant around 8:50 pm seeing our reservation was for 9:00. I waited. And waited. And waited. Come on Wiles, I know you tend to be late but 25 minutes late?! I excused it as a lack of understanding the city.

My parents LOVED the restaurant as I had expected. The food there is so well done and the waitress we had was beyond helpful and sweet. What’s best about this restaurant is how hidden it is. I love that you don’t really know it’s there until you discover it. Not to mention the vibe is comfortable and fun, yet romantic. Anyone who comes to visit me, we’re going!!!

After dinner, my sister was going to meet up with a friend who was studying for his masters at Bocconi. Goran and Alli had met when he took a semester at NYU a few years back. While we waited, mom and dad were in need of some gelato so I took them to another A-grade spot near my apartment. Once Goran showed up, my parents and I made our way back to my apartment and I then sent them in the direction of their hotel. I was starting my first day of true Bocconi classes so I needed to get in bed earlier rather than later. 8:45 am class and the 15-20 minutes it took to get there meant for an early wake up call.

Monday 02/15: Last day with my family and my first day of class…not the best combination. As I headed off to school I got to make a pretty awesome call home. The crowded ride to school, the wandering around campus attempting to find my classes and the frigid cold were all completely ignored due to my undivided attention to my A++ conversation. Start to day 1 of Bocconi: pretty dang good.

I finally found myself in the right class and made my way into one of the benches. Unlike USC lecture halls where you sit in individual seats, the Bocconi lecture halls are set up so that the students sit in bench arrangements with long desks that match the length of the benches. Interesting yet effective. My first class was Intro to Management Consulting. The teacher spoke good English and was enthusiastic about the topic matter. From what he spoke on, seems like the class is going to be a really engaging one. Granted we do have a really huge project in front of the class but business entails a lot of that, so I might as well get more comfortable with presentations.

After my 8:45 am class finished, I jetted back to my parents hotel to meet up with them. I was hoping that we might be able to do something together before my next class at 1 pm. I figured I’d call before I got there so that everyone would be up and ready to go…or so I thought. I call and my sister is in bed half asleep while my parents are in the breakfast room. I figured that by the time I stopped to surprise my sister with a chocolate croissant and I got there that all would be good. Wrong again. I show up and my sister is still in bed, sheets over her head, my parents are watching the Olympics and I’m laughing to myself because go figure they wouldn’t be ready. Oh family! I joined on the bed but hopped on my computer instead since having internet is just so enticing these days. Yup, still NOOOOOO internet in our apartment.

No one managed to get up to go or do anything until I finally said, “Come on people, let’s get a move on!” Finally the crew was ready and we headed off towards Bocconi. My parents wanted to see the “campus,” which I warned them wasn’t really a campus. See Bocconi is more like a few buildings where kids go to school. Nothing, and I mean nothing, like USC. Well apparently that didn’t matter to my parents and they still wanted to see it. The tour literally lasted 5 maybe 10 minutes. As I warned them, it was just a few buildings and that’s it.

I was hungry so we stopped for lunch at Taxi Blues and I bumped into the waitress from the first time I had gone. She invited me to some international happy hour on Thursday. My parents and sister weren’t hungry so they just kept me company. When the time came for me to head back to class, I sent them off to do touristy stuff and to go shopping near the Duomo. I was totally jealous but it was what it was. Plus I just wanted them to have a great time so as long as all was good with them, all was good with me.

So I said goodbye and made my way towards class. Too bad my class was canceled for the first week. Seriously Bocconi? I was so irritated because I hadn’t received an email and I could’ve spent more time with my parents. I just utilized the time by getting on the computer and uploading pictures!!! That’s right, pictures are up. I’m not going to be posting them on my blog because there are too many so check my Facebook.

Despite having my 1 pm class canceled, my 02:30 pm class was still on. Too bad it was the world’s most boring class. The course is called Organizational Networks and Entrepreneurships; a topic I thought might be interesting. Well my professor takes that potential away. She is sooooooooooooooo dang boring. I’m talking monotone voice, poor English, and she reads directly from the slides. Sucks. And on top of it, she kept pronouncing entrepreneur as interpreter. Haha My friends, Eddie, Ryan, and I were dying. Max is in my class, too, so afterward the four of us kicked it for a while before leaving campus. I ended up walking with Ryan and Eddie to the tram and after telling them about my weekend adventures with the family, managed to convince them to try Grom. Based on my description they wanted it right then and there so I lead the way. They absolutely loved it. It’s pretty much a given that as soon as you try it, you fall in love.

Anyway, I chilled with them and we talked about plans for the week. Pretty sure we’re going to get together and grab dinner and go out to a club or something. These boys are the best. They want me to come to Amsterdam with them the weekend of my 21st birthday (they’ve had plans to go for a few weeks). I’m thinking I’m going to go. Me and 8 boys sounds like way too much fun. Granted they think they are going to get me hammered (wrong) but I’ll probably do them the satisfaction of a drink at my birthday dinner. For tradition’s sake of course!

The boys took off for the tram to get home and I was supposed to be meeting my family in front of the Duomo. My sister, being amazing, was waiting for me. My parents, on the other hand, decided that I wouldn’t be there on time and chose to walk around. My sister and I sat huddled and freezing until 15 minutes had passed and they showed up. We were all supposed to climb to the top of the Duomo to see the view together. I had waited when the roommates went up because I wanted to save it for my family. Looks like I’ll be waiting for someone else. We walked over to the stairs to buy our tickets and they had just closed. It was 5:03 pm and they closed at 5 pm! I begged in Italian to have the man let us come up but he wouldn’t budge. Major bummer. My parents decided to head back to the apartment so they could get ready for dinner thus I was going back to my apartment.

After a hot shower, I got all dolled up and headed down to the restaurant I had chosen for our last dinner. There is this little neighborhood restaurant right on the corner of a little street right near my apartment. Every time I pass by, the place is packed. It’s impeccably set up and all the windows are adorned with giant wine bottles. My dad, being a wine connoisseur, was bound to like the place.

I showed up right on time but had to wait for the late ones. While I waited, however, I made friends with our waitress, Sofia. She has to be, without a doubt, one of the sweetest women I have ever met. She had a warm face and an even warmer heart. She kept laughing at our difference because she was quite tiny and well, we all know I’m not. She realized that I was working on my Italian because I kept asking for certain explanations about the menu. She, too, was working on language but in her case, English. It was a match made in heaven between the two of us! I would talk to her in Italian and she would try to respond in English. When my parents arrived, she spoke all of the Italian to me so that I could then explain in English. My dad, who speaks some Italian, was butting in, of course, but I know he just loves to practice his languages. Anyway, Sofia was amazing and helped add to what an incredible night it was. The menu was rather small and hard to understand because it was all in pure old Italian. This usually means that the food is going to be that much better. And it was. Everything from the bread on the table to the appetizers and salads to the main dishes were extraordinary. It was without question that this restaurant ranked super high in my book.

In addition to good food, the company couldn’t have been any better…well it would have been nice to have my brother there (love you Machu Pichu). We took pictures, cracking up one after the other because either my mom had crazy eyes, dad was laughing, Alli looked Asian or I was just heinous. I’m sure everyone around us wanted to take my camera away but we didn’t care because we were having too much fun. We sat around reminiscing on old vacations and funny memories, poking fun at our goofy times. I think we all went around the table sharing some story or another and ended up laughing hysterically story after story. Looking back at our past and all of the fun, amazing, and silly things that have gone down makes me truly count my blessings. I forget how incredibly lucky I am to share such a beautiful relationship with some of the world’s greatest people (at least I think so). We just know how to have a good time together. Nothing has to be too serious because life is too short to take it so seriously.

After dinner, I really wanted to make sure that my parents met the roommates. We hadn’t been able to do dinner together because the girls originally had plans to be gone all weekend so I made reservations early with that in mind. I decided that Grom, which my parents hadn’t tasted yet, would be the perfect answer! We all met at 10 pm and enjoyed the bliss that is Grom. My family and the girls and I talked for a while inside until we decided to head back to the apartment so that my parents could see my set up and then say our goodbyes.

As expected, my parents loved the apartment! Although the living situation is an interesting one, the apartment truly is a gem and the location is so flawless that every minor “uh oh” about the place is eradicated. My mom, who defines the word creative, kept thinking up all these cool things to do. Had the place been mine, I would have hired her to do the job. After they got to see the apartment and feel comfortable with my living arrangements for the next few months, it was time to say goodbye. I was sad to give hugs and kisses but I remembered that it’s all part of the adventure I signed up for. I know what its like to be on my own for long periods of time so its nothing new. But then again, I just love having my family around so its never fun to say “see you later.”

Tuesday 02/16: Round 2 of classes. Thank goodness they didn’t start until 04:15 pm. That meant for some serious sleeping in. I didn’t wake up until about 12 pm but I needed the sleep. Something was rubbing me the wrong way and rest is always the best remedy. I got up and had breakfast but hopped right back in bed because I really wasn’t feeling too great. I did lots of stuff on my computer writing wise and did a little reading. By the time I actually got up and ready it was getting close to the time I needed to leave. I got out the door just in time to make the tram and get to school before class started. To my surprise and contentment, I found out my friend Rachel was in the class and was sitting with an empty seat next to her. Yay! On top of that, two minutes later, our mutual friend, Cherie, came in and sat right with us. Lecture was interesting and at the end we had to figure out our teams for the big class project. The three of us plus Cherie’s friend, Luke, from Australia agreed to make a team. We still needed 2 people and while we asked Gaetano and Renato, they had two other guys they wanted to be with so it was a no go. We are currently in the search for our last two team members.

After class, I wanted to get on the internet because I knew I wouldn’t be able to when I got home. I took care of the necessary but while doing so stumbled across the good, the bad, and the ugly. It took my day from a no good one to an “I just got the wind knocked out of me” kind of day. All I wanted was to head home for music and sleep.

I was supposed to go out with the girls but I was beyond over it plus there was an issue with space in the car so I took it as a sign not to go. I’m currently sitting in bed, BBMing with some of the world’s most wonderful people, listening to music, and watching Entourage. Tomorrow is a new day and time to start things fresh.