So This Is What I Call A Full Load

Monday 03/01: So have you all just been dying to find out what crazy adventures went down on Monday? See, I thought so.

So let’s back track…I went to bed Sunday night ready for an early rise and that’s exactly how Monday started. I got myself up and out of bed, did the morning routine, and stepped out into the most beautiful sunny day I could have ever asked for. We are talking the warmest weather I have experienced thus far in Milan and sun shining from every which way. As I’m sure you can imagine, I was ecstatic. Could hardly contain myself even. I jovially walked down the cobblestone streets, weaving in and out of the human traffic cluttering my pathway.

Class was so-so. We had a speaker but I’m not so sure the Italian speakers know how to entertain their students. It was more or less a lot of blah, blah, and some more blah. After class ended, I managed to do a few things on my computer before walking home to get some lunch. I had needed to stop into the Vodaphone store because my dang Internet key was still out of whack but go figure they were closed. Oh Italy and it’s retarded closing of stores during the world’s most random hours.

So I ran home, grabbed food, did some more stuff on my computer and jetted back to class for round 2. Fashion management is always interesting but Organizational Networks and Entrepreneurship literally makes me want to rip my hair out! That woman talks like a zombie and while she may be brilliant she hasn’t a clue what it means to teach a class. Only 2 more weeks left and she’s going on sabbatical. I’m not complaining.

I was in an especially good mood because Brittany, my friend from UNC, had decided that she wanted to come to Amsterdam with me!!! I was thrilled! First of all, I’m always up for company on a trip and what better than someone who actually wants to go with you? As much faith as I had in my boys, I knew they’d slack it big time and probably never call me. We shall see. On top of that, the two of us were trying to plan going to Venice and Bologna together. We were hoping to make dinner at her place and finalize plans but I wasn’t 100% sure I could get everything done before making the 30 minute tram ride to the dorms. I was hopeful, though.

After class ended, I had plans to meet up with Carolina and Mercedes (my beloved Portuguese goddesses) to go shopping. Too bad they ditched class early and finished their fun before I got out of class. They ended up meeting me at the Vodaphone store where I battled to explain my situation and end in some resolution. The guy was semi-helpless and couldn’t seem to understand what the problem was. How about the Internet does NOT work mister! I’ve come to the conclusion that Italian technology and I apparently just aren’t in love.

Carolina wanted me to come over and hang out for a little so, of course, I said yes. She and Mercedes live with the most amazing Greek girl named Alex. The lucky ducks overlook Bocconi and are set up in a beautiful apartment that has all new appliances. They did, however, have to buy all the furniture so it may or may not be as amazing as my first impression told me. The three of us spent time hanging out until Mercedes decided to take a little nap. From then on, Carolina and I spent some time hanging out in her bedroom trying to plan trips together. Alex, being an absolute sweetheart, made us some coffee and tea so we all sat around in the kitchen with steaming cups in hand. Soon enough, their friend Leandro showed up. I had met him the other night at Lukas’s apartment but hadn’t had the opportunity to really get to know him. There’s no better time than the present though. After a great conversation, I deemed him incredibly nice and super easy to talk to/hang out with. He’s planning on joining in the birthday celebration upon my arrival back to Milan.

I unwillingly had to leave the girls’ house in order to make my way up to WIND to see if I could FINALLY get this dang cell phone issue worked out. On my way out, I noticed I had a missed call from an unknown number. So, logically, I called it back. It was Claudio! Recall that Claudio was the elder gentleman/designer from Fashion Week who had so kindly made friends with me. Enter bout of amazingness. He had called to tell me that a) he had sorely missed seeing me at his fashion show that morning and looked all over so that he could give me front row seats (I had class! Damn you Bocconi!) and that b) he had spoken to some people about me and was adamant about making me into a “star.” Haha I was beyond flattered and he insisted that he take me to lunch next week to discuss my “big future plans.” I mean wow! I can’t believe this guy, on his own will, bothered to see something in me and put forth the effort to do something about it. I’m honored to say the least.

I walked along the streets feeling a bit bubbly inside. The mini-rush, however, was interrupted by a giant mob of people throwing some sort of riot near the Duomo. Of course I couldn’t get through any of the shouting people so I wiggled my way across the street so that I could try to make it to WIND. Despite my success, I still ended up having to take a little tiny side street where this rando guy goes, “girl! What’s going on?” I was on the phone at the time so I turned around and said, “Yo, I’m on the phone!” He starts laughing and as I continue to walk away starts yelling after me, “Gorgeous, where you from? I wanna know yo’ name!” Oh God. He then proceeds to run after me until he can talk to me face to face, all while I am still on the phone. He told me he would find me again and that we would get to know each other. Apparently he wants me to know about Africa, which is where he’s from. All right, bud.

WIND was another fun experience. Guess who was there? Same girl with the same bad odor (pee-yew). We called the customer service people like 5 times only to find out that I would have to wait until the end of this month’s plan to get reimbursed. Joyous.

At this point, it was way too late to have dinner with Brittany so I headed home to make some din and kick it casual style. I was down for sweats, a shower, some food, and some nothingness. But the mellow evening vibe was interrupted by the appearance amazingness #2. One of the people I met at the Missoni show, named Yigit, “friended” me on Facebook. He’s this really amazing guy from Turkey who was sent here by Versace to get a fashion marketing degree at Bocconi. He defines the term Fashionista and is extremely well versed in both the fashion and upscale social world. But that’s not to forget the most important factors: he is both incredibly kind and fun to know. So anyway, we get into conversation about all the work he is doing here in the city with fashion P.R. and designers (such as D&G) along with his past fashion history in Turkey. I was so impressed he was managing such a glamorous life while still keeping up with his Bocconi schoolwork. Impressive. As we continued our interesting conversation, which at this point had touched on Milan Fashion Week, he suddenly throws out the world’s most amazing comment and tells me that had he met me earlier he would have booked me for the shows! Say what?! You have got to be kidding me! I couldn’t believe it. I told him that had I known him before, I would have accepted the offer with pride. But to make a long story short, he wants to make me his little muse and turn me into a working girl here in Milan. Yigit, you are far too kind and I adore you! Looks like the fashion world is sending me some signs to hop in!

Maybe, just maybe, everything these people have to say is true and something works out. Only time will tell…

Tuesday 03/02: Oh how I love my Tuesdays! I can sleep in ‘til all hours of the day (class doesn’t start until 04:15 pm), just catching up on whatever it is my little heart desires. Don’t we all love days like those? I think so.

I spent the mass majority of the morning sleeping and woke up around 12:30 pm. I hopped up starving and made myself some breakfast. I finished cleaning up the kitchen and then got to travel research for my spring break and the rest of my time here in Europe. As I’ve said about a million times, I want to try to visit as many countries as possible and hop from country to country, city to city, and town to town. Why not make the best of every minute here in this beautiful continent? There’s no rebuttal to that one.

I finished being lazy in bed and got ready in time to head to class. We had a really interesting consulting simulation, in which our professor acted as a client and my group and I would have to put together a proposal based on his predicament. It was really cool and I was looking forward to what I could contribute to the team effort.

After class, Gaetano bumped into me and we chitchatted a bit about my birthday and how he is absolutely adamant about getting me wasted drunk. Silly boy, he doesn’t know me too well does he! I may have a glass of wine or champagne for traditions sake on my birthday but that certainly doesn’t mean the classic Katie Wile is disappearing. While we were arguing back and forth about the extent of my future drinking in life, I saw my Australian friend, Daniel. The poor guy had fallen on his bike in one of the tram tracks and was cut up everywhere! I was there to the rescue, though, and cleaned everything up with my handy dandy sanitizer, tissues, Neosporin, and band-aids that I keep in my backpack. And to those of you who are thinking, gosh Katie is a dork, the answer is duh I am. He and I talked a bit before I needed to head out but we agreed to hang out that evening because I was making my way down to Arco Boleno (the dorms) to do my laundry and plan Venice with Brittany.

After I had eaten something and grabbed my giant suitcase filled with laundry, I headed for the the tram and made my way towards Brittany. Laundry was a MUCH simpler process this time and Brittany and I got pretty far in planning Venice, Bologna, and the addition of Verona (had to throw that in for my one and only Aunt Mel!). We also talked about Amsterdam and how incredibly excited we both were to finally go!

To even better the evening, I met up with Daniel and he came and chilled with us in Brittany’s room. This kid is so legit, incredibly nice and down to earth. He ranks high on my list of people that I have met here in Milan. I think the two of us are going to try to make it to Morocco in a few weeks or so. Would be so sick.

I left around 10:30 pm so that I could get home at a decent hour, have something to eat, shower, and get ready for bed. 10:30 am class lingered the next morning.

Wednesday 03/03: Only one more day until I leave for Amsterdam!!! Can hardly contain myself. I have heard the most amazing things about how absolutely charming and gorgeous the city is. I’m thinking I did a rather key picking of location for my special weekend.

Okay so what happened Wednesday? I had my early class at 10:30 am, which I had to rush to because I was a total bum that morning. I did, however, make it on time but had to coyly sneak in and around the back.

My second class was boredomville again but I decided to talk to the professor about her presentation and what she might be able to do to make the course 1) more engaging, 2) easier to understand, and c) well organized. I tried to be as polite as possible and I think I managed to succeed in helping her understand that she needs to switch up her crap learning style and try something else. We shall see on Monday.

After class it was major errand running time. I took a little detour and walked in and around a few different areas. I was putting together another package to send back to the states because round 1 failed epically. Apparently Italian mail hates me too? So I was in and out of different stores searching for the various items I needed in order to make the package a success and get it off in the mail. I also ran to the grocery store to pick up a few more things I could eat before I left the fridge empty for traveling.

I got home around 07:30 pm, finished writing my letter, and made some dinner. The girls decided that they would go to Ava’s friend’s house together for dinner so I was home alone. I whipped something up quickly and tried to get some homework done. Valiant attempt but I got side tracked. I packed and organized a few things. The night ended up taking a turn for the not so great and the tears made an appearance. Tomorrow was a new day and I was headed off to Amsterdam. How could I not wake up in a better mood?

Thursday 03/04: Busy day to say the least. Finished packing in the morning, had breakfast, cleaned up my area, and made my way to school. Class one was down and I hadn’t listened to a word because Brittany and I were sitting in class together way too excited to finally get out of Milan and do some international traveling.

Class ended, I made my way home as fast I could but still had to run a few important errands. Then I realized I was getting a little pushed for time and had to put myself into high gear. I had a chance to talk to my mommacita before getting dressed, ready to go and onto the metro.

I met Brittany at Centrale (the central station) so that we could grab the Malpensa Express Bus to the airport. The ride there was filled with incredible conversation and realizing just how well we get along. By the time we arrived, our friendship was that much better than it had been 45 minutes earlier. We made our way through check-in and after a seriously long, hot wait in the security line we found our gate. It wasn’t long before we boarded and I managed to fall right asleep.

The flight was easy and not long at all. As we were getting off the plane, I noticed two girls that I had seen earlier that day on the metro when trying to make my way to the train station. I asked them if they lived in Milan and one of the girls answered yes and the other two were just visiting from Venice and Florence. Turns out that one of the girls, whose name is also Katie, goes to Bocconi as well. Her two friends were studying abroad in Italy but they all go to BC and had decided to take a trip to Amsterdam for the weekend because their buddies would be there. Hmmm…sounded interesting seeing that my buddies were from BC and going to be in Amsterdam that same weekend. I asked if they happened to know Kirk, Taylor, Eddie, and Ryan. The answer: “Holy crap, ya!!! We’re hoping to meet up with them!” This world is really too small. We all laughed over the situation. But it got better. Then the other girl, Emily asked where I went to school and I said SC, to which she responded, “Do you know Lexi Aiassa?” Of course I know her and love her to death!!! Apparently, Emily and Lexi are best friends along with Emma Fish, who is another amazing girl from USC. I was so excited! What are the chances that I bump into these girls on the metro then see them on our flight then find out that one goes to Bocconi and that they all go to BC, know Kirk and the boys, are going to hang out with them too, and know my friends from USC?!! Umm I’m going to take a wild stab in the dark and say pretty slim. We swapped BBM pins (finally people with blackberries!) and agreed to meet up at some point during the trip. I was beyond stoked.

So after that amazing realization, Brit and I were off to grab our bags from the belt. Too bad there was some crazy package all tied up in Brittany’s stuff and we couldn’t figure out what in the world it was. We opened the giant bag-like thing to find a huge folder/envelope. We decided to take it to the KLM counter and found out that it was a special mail package for KLM. Random much? Luckily, the gentleman at the counter was super friendly and we got directions to the train and from there to our hotel. Dutch people are the nicest!

Brit and I found the train ticket office with ease and again bumped into Katie, Emily, and Dan. They had just grabbed Starbucks because they DO NOT exist in Milan or anywhere in Italy for that matter. In other words, they had died and gone to heaven.

Brit and I bought our tickets and snagged the train right before it was about to leave. The ride was short and soon enough we found ourselves outside the most beautiful train station I’ve ever seen. You’ll have to check out the last picture in my Amsterdam album on Facebook to get a feel.

Oh man was it chilly, though! I was freezing…one giant tall popsicle with a suitcase! We were debating getting a cab or stowing away on the tram. I voted for the stow-away option and convinced Brittany to join. It was perfect and my plan worked ideally. The conductor even helped us find our hotel. What a g.

We got to our stop and found our adorable little hotel tucked away on the corner, smack dab across from the Rijksmuseum. Talk about a sick location. We walked our way up a steep little set of steps and rang the doorbell. Someone let us in and what do we find? The STEEPEST dang staircase you will ever see. I am talking some serious hiking upwards. I was cracking up, especially because we had our bags and it was going to be some serious fun trying to get up these bad boys. Brittany was wearing heeled boots so I can only imagine the excitement she was experiencing.

We made it safely up and rang the bell to check in. Mind you it’s about 11 something at night. The girl, Nina, who came to the desk was super nice and immediately asked, “So which one of you is the birthday girl?” That would be me!!! She had written a bunch of recommendations for us and listed all the things we should do and go see. She even busted out a map and had circled the places so we would know where to go. So thoughtful of her. We thanked her for her help and she sent us up two more windy, backbreaking steps to reach our quaint little room. It was adorable.

Once we got ourselves settled in, Brit and I agreed that we were in serious need of food. We asked Nina if she had any places for us to try out and she suggested a Greek place. We called. They were closed. She said that pretty much all the restaurants in Amsterdam close their kitchens at about 10, sometimes 10:30 pm. Dang it! We were dying of hunger. She sent us in the direction of the popular Leisenplein to check out places and said we would have a lot more luck finding food.

The walk was only 10 minutes or so and we found a restaurant called Pancake Corner and called it a day. We walked right in and were immediately greeted with a waft of marijuana smoke. It’s so funny that you can just smoke whenever you want, wherever you want. I wasn’t fazed, however, because I was too hungry to even think about it. We literally sat down and checked the menu out without thinking twice about it. After 5 minutes we both looked at each other and agreed to get our own entrees and split another. That’s right people, 2 girls, 3 entrees. Be impressed.

After stuffing our faces, we took our tired butts back to the hotel. Before we did, however, I saw a little stand that had snacks, postcards, and things of that nature. I wanted to pick up some fruit to have with breakfast (it wasn’t served apparently). The fruit stop turned into much more when we found some seriously provocative postcards. I took pictures and almost died laughing at one particular postcard. All I have to say is that the Dutch have a serious love for jokes about the vajayjay. In addition to potty talk, we were greeted by some marijuana paraphernalia. While taking a picture of Brittany, the most random guy pops out of nowhere and joins in. Then he demands I take a crazy picture of him with two bananas. Awkward. Then he insists on taking a picture of the two of us. He reaches for the camera in my hand and starts to try to take it before I snapped it back and said, “we’re okay but thank you.” Come on buddy, I may be blonde but I’m not stupid. Don’t think you’re getting away with stealing my camera.

Brittany made some purchases at this special little stand and we hurried back to the hotel. Before we made it back, though, we spotted a kitty in the window of a restaurant. At first, I thought how adorable but then I started thinking about it and gross!!! That cat was up on the table that people eat on and had probably been roaming around the kitchen earlier. For sure not eating there anytime soon.

We made it home safe and sound, made the hike up our stairs, and plopped into bed. I was exhausted. Brittany was exhausted. And all we wanted to do was sleep so we could wake up and start out first day in this amazing city.

Friday 03/05: I woke up earlier than my alarm and was pumped and ready to go. I sprung out of bed and immediately started getting ready. I opened the curtains to find a beautiful sunny day and an even more beautiful view. Mom did a pro job of picking this location. Thanks momma!!! We soon headed down to a cute little breakfast nook for a classic breakfast of fresh Dutch brown bread, jam (Nutella, peanut butter, or honey), a small glass of orange juice, tea or coffee, a soft boiled egg, and a piece of ham and cheese. We both skipped the ham and cheese but most certainly enjoyed the rest. The orange juice was fresh as fresh could be, the tea was perfectly brewed, the egg was absolutely delicious, and the bread…holy crap the bread. I could have eaten that stuff all day it was so good. Seriously contemplated buying a loaf and bringing it back to Italy.

We finished breakfast and headed off for adventure #1. We had planned on doing a Free Tour of Amsterdam (yes they give free tours!) at 11:15 am so that we could have the rest of the day to do whatever it is we wanted. Brittany and I wanted to do some looking around as we made our way towards the National Monument to meet with the tour so we left early. We meandered in and out of the cute shops, taking pictures left and right. We spotted quite a few places that we wanted to come back to. I mean if I spot frozen yogurt, you better believe I’m going back. Come on now! So as we made our way down the main street, we couldn’t stop gushing over the gorgeous canals and majestic architecture that lined them. I was falling in love every step further. Amsterdam is a seriously beautiful city; so full of charm.

When we arrived at the National Monument, we found a man with a giant sign that read “FREE TOUR.” We got our little ticket stubs and roamed around until they would call us back. While looking around and losing ourselves in the amazing side streets, my camera made the executive decision to die. NOOOOOOOOOOOO! How could you die 10 minutes before I was about to take a tour of the city?! I was not happy.

Seeing that it took me as kind of pointless to take a tour of the city without the ability to capture memories of the experience, I asked Brittany if she would be willing to rain check (totally applicable usage…read on) the tour until 1:15 pm that day (the next time it was running). The trooper she is, she agreed and reminded me that it was MY birthday weekend and we could do whatever I wanted. I was super duper thankful and really glad she understood. I would have been so bummed out had I not gotten some great pictures.

The two of us headed back towards the hotel to drop off the camera. Before we did, though, we continued our exploring of little streets and taking detours here and there. We finally got back to the hotel and I sprinted up the mountain (aka the stairs) to charge my camera. We were going to the Van Gogh museum and I most definitely didn’t need my camera there…it’s prohibited. Prohibited eh? Too bad I had my blackberry and was planning on sneaking some photos when the opportunity presented itself.

We found the Van Gogh museum and quickly immersed ourselves into the work of one of history’s most talented artists. Gosh was his artwork incredible. The simplicity of his brush strokes is truly fascinating and you sit there baffling at his ability to create such images with little swipes of his brush. His use of color is beyond impressive and you wonder where his inspiration and imagination all came from. I obviously had to try to snag some photos after seeing such spectacular pieces. I busted out the phone and pretended like I was writing an email. I figured I was in the clear because the person next to me was actually using a camera. Dumb. But nope, I was wrong. The security guy decided to yell at me, not the camera peops. How does that make any sense? I convinced him that I was just writing a message and even showed him a fake one. He brushed me off and Brit and I moved on. We made our way through about 15 paintings before I tried to snap another one. I looked to make sure the coast was clear and I was golden. Wrong again. Before I know it, the same guy is behind me shouting and shaking his finger, warning me that he is going to have me taken out if he sees it again. I convinced him that there was no way I had been taking a picture and showed him another message I was in the midst of. He walked away. Phew close call. Can you imagine if we had gotten kicked out? Brittany would have killed me.

After we finished seeing the museum, I thought it would be fun to have lunch in Vondelpark. Too bad it had started to rain so sitting out on the grass was no longer an option. I remembered that when I had asked the receptionist at the B&B, she had mentioned this cute little place in the middle of the park that she claimed to love. I was down to give it a shot. Brittany and I walked our way into the park and walked around it before finally finding the café. It was cute, quaint, and had a simple menu. I was starving and everything looked delicious. I ordered a hummus sandwich that had cucumber, lettuce, tomato, hummus, and this spicy chutney-like spread on it. I added chicken to the sandwich to get some protein in there. That one was for my daddy…he’s always all about me and protein intake. I need to build up these scrawny, child-sized arms I have going on. Anyway, when they brought my food out, I was excited to find the most delicious seedy roll filled with all the good stuff. Literally, BEST SANDWICH OF ALL TIME! I’m drooling just thinking about it. I may or may not have ever had anything quite as delicious. I want to go back now. Brittany agreed that her choice was the most delicious thing she had ever had as well. We sort of contemplated coming back again the next day for my birthday.

We left the café so happy and continued to walk around the park until it got too nippy and we needed to grab a tea and hot cocoa to warm up. We ended up having tea at the very top of a department store that overlooked the city. Despite the rain, it was amazing. After we had regained feeling in our hands and feet, we were ready to shop it out. Amsterdam is filled with great shopping areas and we had the best time looking in and out of stores. I bought a couple cute things but nothing too big. I did, however, find an ice cream/sorbet place called Australian (apparently a really well known place in Amsterdam) that had drawn my attention earlier that day. Despite the cold, I insisted on getting some and I tried the passion fruit and strawberry. That was all I needed. Didn’t want to go anywhere else, not even the fro-yo place. (SHOCKING!) If Milan has passion fruit flavored sorbet gelato, tell me where you’re at so we can fall in love and share in each other every day. It could be magical.

Brittany and I walked back to the hotel for some rest and downtime. We had been walking around in the rain for hours and were pretty pooped out. We had missed the tour and decided to go the next day instead. Our warm room and comfortable beds were calling our names. The beds in our hotel were like heaven on Earth. You would sit, sink, and fall into the embrace of a soft, super sleep friendly mattress. I couldn’t wait to get back.

We napped and rested for a while until we both agreed it was time for dinner. I had been recommended by a friend here in Milan to try out a place called Bazar. It was a Moroccan/Indonesian style restaurant, of which Amsterdam is especially well known for. I had never really tried too much Indonesian food but I was up for trying anything new. We contemplated whether or not we wanted to go there for my birthday instead but agreed to follow our gut and stomachs and go tonight. So happy that we did.

The restaurant was a bit of a walk a ways but worth the treading through the rain. We arrived to a tall building with blue and green lights outside and a huge sign that read Bazar. We walked inside to find an awesome atmosphere, beautiful mosaic walls, and tons of people. And we all know that where there are lots of people, there usually means good food.

We were seated immediately upstairs, right next to the railing so we could see all the way around the restaurant. Our waiter came over and handed us two menus in Dutch. He undoubtedly heard us speaking perfectly clear English when we came in and thanked him for seating us so why would he bring us Dutch menus? He disappeared in a huff so I found a nice waitress to replace them. The food on the menu all looked so tempting. I was in the mood for chicken but the dish that really screamed at me was what was being served with a shrimp kebab. I figured there was no difficult in swapping chicken in lieu of the shrimp. Yeah, not as easy as I thought. Our douche waiter couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t just order the chicken dish and kept telling me to order the one I DID NOT want. What don’t you get buddy about not wanting the chicken dish but wanting the other one that has all the good stuff? We had to ask for another waiter because he just couldn’t get it. I explained to her what I wanted and she complied.

The food issue doesn’t stop there, though. We also ordered a huge plate of hummus to share as an appetizer. The plate came with pita but no crudités. I figured that we could pay a little more to have them add crudités as well to make it a true hummus platter. These people didn’t understand the concept of raw veggies, pita, and hummus. At first they brought us a salad, which I had to explain wasn’t the right thing. Thank goodness when round 2 arrived, it was sliced bell peppers, another kind of pepper, some tomatoes, and cucumber. There we go people, now that’s exactly what we were looking for. It hit the spot.

The dinner was absolutely delicious and I cleaned my plate clear. If you want proof, see pictures in the album. Brittany and I were so content and ready to head home before making our way out. In just 2 hours I would officially be 21 years old!

After touching ourselves up, we were ready to leave. Too bad all the boys who I had come to see in Amsterdam were completely across town and not ready by any means to meet up. Oh how boys will be boys. I figured we wouldn’t actually end up seeing them until way later on because let’s be serious, boys in Amsterdam will do what boys in Amsterdam do and that could mean for a VERY different state of mind if you know what I mean.

Brittany and I gave up waiting and made our way towards the Leidseplein area again. It was raining so we found an overhang and jumped under. Suddenly, a guy asks us why we hadn’t gone into the bar yet. Adam was from the UK as was his friend Chris. They were also with their friend, who I’m just going to call Steve because I don’t think he ever told me his name, who was from Scotland. They insisted that we come into the “best bar in Amsterdam.” I said if they were so adamant about us coming in that they could do something about it. And they did.

The Watering Hole was the name of the bar and it was more or less a dive bar with pool and things of that nature. Nothing too special in my opinion. The music was decent and there were a lot of people but that was about it. The guys were nice though and excited to celebrate me turning 21. They insisted that they were going to get me drunk but I reminded them that no one, not even the people back home, have been able to do that thus far so they had about .00001 chances of making it happen. 5 minutes before it turned 12 am, I had to rush to the bathroom. By the time I made my way back through the crowd, it had already turned 21 and Adam was waiting there with an opened beer for me to chug. I understand that when you turn 21 you’re supposed to take a drink or whatever but it did NOT feel right by any means. I was actually really uncomfortable and I wasn’t so cool with the fact that they had opened the beer without me being there. Granted they seemed like nice guys but I knew them for a mere 15 minutes. Seemed kind of sketch and I didn’t want any of what they were sending my way. I thanked them for the gesture but refused the drink. Sorry boys!

We stayed at the bar for a little until I figured it would be fun to move on to the next place. I went to grab my coat check ticket and…it was gone! I had a mini panic attack and ran back to the bathroom to see if it had fallen out of my pocket. The woman manning the restrooms was a total bitch and dismissed me as if I were some idiotic child. I ran back to Brittany and explained that it was gone. This is where the night takes a major hit.

I walked up to the woman at the coat check and explained my situation. Essentially she didn’t give a rat’s ass about it and told me to get away from her counter and to wait until 04:30 am to pick it up. No way, not happening. I tried to discuss the issue with her until she finally said, “You stupid American girl get the hell away from me and wait until the bar closes. Rules are rules.” Now I’m pissed. A) don’t call me a stupid American, b) its my damn birthday, and c) I’m not about to sit here for another 4 hours waiting for a jacket that is so distinct and doesn’t look anything like anyone else’s. Before I knew it, the bouncer has his arms around me and is physically moving me from the counter. I was literally looking for my phone because it was ringing and was in the midst of turning around when captain tool bag decided to pick me up. I explained my situation and asked if he could please help. He said, “Nope! A rule is a rule girlie.” Tons of bystanders felt really badly for me and were trying to talk to both the bouncer and the coat lady to see if they could help me out. Not a chance in hell. I decided that my last hope was to try the water works and plead with him to get my jacket. Oh was I wrong. Bouncer guy says, “you can cry all you want bitch but you ain’t getting your jacket.” Ahhhh, birthday celebration part 1 = epic failure.

Finally a nice guy that had overheard the situation, found my ticket on the floor, handed it to me, wished me happy birthday, and with that I wanted to get the heck out of there. Adam said that he would take us dancing so that made me feel a little bit better. That was until he took us to the nastiest dance bar I’ve ever seen. It was so smoky that after 15 minutes of being inside, I already had a raspy voice. I didn’t want to say anything, though, so I sucked it up for about an hour until I looked at Brittany and said all I wanted to do was go home. Turning 21 blew big time and I was over the night.

As we were walking home, all of a sudden I see a familiar face. KIRK! I ran through a crowd of people and jumped into his arms. Finally! I was so excited to see him and what was even better was that Ryan and Eddie were there and oddly enough my two amazing friends from USC, Shaun and Will, were also there in Amsterdam and happened to know Kirk’s best friend, Taylor. I was beyond overjoyed to see them and said screw going back to the hotel. We stayed out with them for a while just catching up and hanging out until it got pretty late and Brittany and I realized that we had to be up somewhat early the next morning.

I walked home with a huge smile on my face and was so glad that the night had turned around. Thank you God for looking out for me and giving me a perfect pick me up at the end of the night. It was a much better start of my actual birthday day.

Brittany and I got home and wreaked of cigarettes/weed from all the bars we had been in. Having both forgotten perfume, we hung our clothes outside the window and tied them to the railing to air out. Ingenious plan we thought. Then we both agreed we were in need of showers. Too bad the showers are in the hallways and not in your room. She took the big shower downstairs and I took the little one upstairs. The light didn’t work however so I had to leave the door open and just hope that no one could see through the closed glass shower door. It would have been one heck of a shower for our neighbors.

OMG that reminds me! That same night before dinner, we asked for directions to the restaurant. There was a couple at the front desk and while I was talking to the receptionist, the guy asked Brittany if she would join them that evening. She looked a little confused and asked, “What?” He said, “Will you come sleep with us tonight?” Again she looked confused so I butted in and said, “Excuse me, are you asking her to have sex with you?” Not to my surprise, he and this girl nod their heads in agreement. Dude, what the heck! Brittany was pretty creeped out and I just thought the whole situation was nasty. The guy was a total creep both mentally and physically. I made sure that their room was NOWHERE near ours.

So anyway, Brittany and I finished showering and are clean and ready for bed. We both sunk into our heavenly twin beds and dosed off. Birthday day was just a couple hours away.

Saturday 03/06: Today is officially my 21st birthday!!! I woke up in a great mood and got myself ready to go. I was having one of those, “ugh you look hideous” days but I dismissed it and reminded myself that today was going to be great. We headed down for breakfast and enjoyed the same deliciousness from the day before. From there on out, we were in for one seriously busy day.

We decided to take the 11:15 am tour so that in the afternoon we could see whatever we hadn’t seen earlier that day. While the sun was shining, I kept debating whether or not I should bring an extra sweater with me. Brittany reminded me that we would be walking around and could easily get hot. I thought to myself, yeah she’s probably right. Yeah no, I was totally wrong. The entire time we were on the tour I was shaking with utter frost. I could barely stand still and had to run into two different coffee shops throughout the tour just to get hot water to attempt to warm up. It had gotten to the point where all the muscles in my arms had tensed up, my feet were so frozen that it hurt to walk, and my fingers could barely bend. I was such a joke. I kept laughing at the situation because outside it was so beautiful and the sky was blue, sun was shining, and here I am shivering to death during this incredible walking tour of the city. I am such a handful sometimes.

Overall the tour was great and we got to see a ton of interesting parts of the city. Our tour guide, Amy, was from Australia and was incredibly fun, lively, and helpful. She and I talked for a large portion of the tour because I was always in the front. Keep in mind I walk sometimes faster than people can jog. She even laughed at how fast I moved due to how long my legs were.

After 3 hours or so, the tour ended and Brittany and I decided to go visit the Nine Streets, which are these little side streets that run perpendicular to a number of the canals. They are scattered with cute cafes and restaurants, tons of interesting stores, and beautiful buildings. We made our way up and down a number of them before getting pretty hungry. I had read about this amazing little placed called Café Nielson. We had been looking for it as we walked around but still hadn’t found it. I was about to give up and had just finished saying, “I really hope we find it soon!” when all of a sudden, I turn around and there it is.

The food and people were wonderful and it ended up being the most perfect little birthday lunch. I was happy. We continued our street exploring until we reached the Westerkerk and the Anne Frank House, which is what we had really been looking for. We waited in line for about 20 minutes until we finally reached the ticket counter and were let in. The museum was really incredible and I’m so happy that we went. I had wanted to go all along but Brittany was worried that the lines would be really long and that we should skip it if so. Luckily when we went, they weren’t too awful. The wait was worth it though because the story of Anne Frank is simply amazing and being in that house, seeing the pictures, getting a true feeling for what they were trapped in for 2 whole years was really remarkable. It was 10 Euro very well spent.

After we finished spending our time revisiting history, Brittany and I agreed that we needed to see the Red Light District a little more up close and personal than the tour had given us. We ended up getting lost going over there and were roaming around in the freezing cold until we found the main canal. The getting lost, however, did bring us to Rembrandt Square and a couple other of cool places that we hadn’t seen yet.

We really wanted to explore the Red Light District because Amy had told us that it would be shutting down in the next 5 years. Amsterdam wants to have it completely eradicated by the year 2015. Thus, we had to see it. The area looks like the rest of Amsterdam but there are windows rimmed with red lights with red curtains, in which the women stand. Let me tell you, there are women of all sorts. Big, little, old, young, you name it. The oldest prostitute in Amsterdam is actually 83 years old! Guess some grandpas out there still need to get some.

We explored the area, the absurd shops, dealt with snide comments on the street and weird people until we looked at our clock and realized it was getting late. Guess no down time today. Brittany still wanted to get her brother a gift so we made our way back to the main shopping street near our hotel and tried to find something she liked. While she shopped, I wanted ice cream again so I found another Australian ship and satisfied my craving. By the time she had finished and I had finished, it was a good 7:20 pm. We hustled back to the hotel to defrost and get ready for my big birthday dinner.

This is where birthday celebration bust #2 comes in. Originally, all the boys, Brittany, and I were going to have a big birthday dinner together and we were going to order a ] champagne in order to clink to my first glass of anything. I wanted to do something simple and that seemed like the perfect, mellow, easy thing to do. I had no intentions of getting drunk or taking shots or doing anything of that sort. It hasn’t interested me for 21 years so what changed now? Nothing. So anyway, I wanted to do dinner at 08:30 pm but the boys said they were tired and wanted to rest for a bit. I waited until 09:30 only to find out that all the boys were bailing and decided to just nap instead. I wasn’t going to push the issue because it was there vacation too so I just agreed that Brittany and I would go out together.

Well we ended up spending an hour and some time roaming the streets of Leidseplein trying to find a place (long story as to why but its not to be included). Too bad almost all of the kitchens were closing and/or closed and the majority of the open restaurants were really touristy and not very nice. Freezing my butt off and starving, I finally just said, whatever let’s just pick anywhere. I walked into a place and sat down, only to have the waiter come over to take our order and tell us the kitchen was closed. Doom. I said, “Sir, it’s my birthday, we have been roaming around the streets trying to find a place, we’ve had zero luck, no one can give us any recommendations, so can you please help us.” Thank goodness he pointed us in the direction of a place across the street. I could hardly wait. Wrong. I would have to wait. The kitchen was closed there too and all they would make us was warmed up pasta from the fridge. I said I would pass.

At this point, I dismissed that it was even my birthday. There had been no singing, no candles, no true celebration and all I wanted to do was share in some delicious food with my amazing travel mate, Brittany. I found a Mexican restaurant and said, Let’s do it! Mexican has never tasted so dang good in my life and the diet coke I had (yup a diet coke on my 21st, thank you) hit the spot.

My stomach was satisfied and I had shared in perfect company so it was a huge success in that regard. We headed home around 12:30 am to climb into bed and prepare ourselves for a seriously early rise. We had to be out of the hotel by 07 am if we wanted to reach the train station and get to the airport on time.

My 21st Birthday had its amazing points and its low points but the celebration isn’t over. Just because it wasn’t filled with the usual birthday joys doesn’t mean that they still aren’t waiting in the future. Overall the time in Amsterdam was truly a wonderful vacation and I had an incredible time with Brittany. If you are reading this, thank you so much for a great weekend babe!

Sunday 03/07: Brittany and I got ourselves up and out of bed right on time, cleaned ourselves up, finished packing, and checked out. We waited for the tram only to find out it wasn’t working yet and thus, caught a cab. We made it to the train station in great time and found our platform. Weirdly, the train was sitting there but the doors wouldn’t open. As time passed by, larger and larger crowds of people were forming outside the train doors waiting to get in and get to the airport. After 20 minutes or so, I went to go ask because I was getting a little worried that it wasn’t in fact leaving. I found a woman at a help desk who told me that the train had moved platforms. Wait what?! I asked why there had been no announcement and she said that it had been unbeknownst to them. Well crap, now we had to wait until 7:59 to take off from the platform and hope to make it to the airport, check in, get through security, and board all before our plane left at 09:35 am.

Brittany was tripping out about the whole situation but I was totally calm. If worst came to worst, we would have to take another plane. I wasn’t about to worry about something that I had no control over. We would try our best to get there and make it work and if we didn’t, we didn’t.

As soon as we arrived at the airport, I jetted to find KLM check-in. We used the automatic machines and then started to wait in line to check our bags. Realizing that it could take a while, I spoke to a woman about our situation and she sent us to Business Class to have our bags checked. We rushed over and the woman kindly let us through. We then got stuck in another line where I talked to the woman in front of me and again explained our situation. She was extremely kind and let me go ahead. Success. Security was hardly as long as it had been coming so we got through that quickly. Within a matter of no time, we were at our gate waiting to board. And guess who we see? Katie and Emily! They were heading back on the same plane. Katie and I got to talking and started discussing the potential of traveling together because she was looking for someone she could do so with. I told her that I was more than happy to go anywhere and so we started listing off all the places we want to go. I think that this weekend we’re trying to work something out by hitting up Genoa, Pisa, and Florence. I’m super stoked about it, especially since she is such a cool girl and we hit it off immediately.

The plane ride home was really bumpy and I wasn’t feeling too hot by the time we landed. Brit and I grabbed our bags and bolted for the bus as soon as we could. We got on and immediately started to reminisce about the weekend. We honestly had such an amazing time together. Sometimes friends aren’t always the best to travel with but in our case we get along great. We both were cool with just doing whatever. We both love to eat and enjoy great cuisine. We both loved exploring the streets and walking around. And we both were really respectful of each other’s space and time in the hotel. We have tons of things planned out to do over the next few months so it’s going to be one heck of a semester.

Once we got to Centrale, we hugged goodbye and I thanked her for making my birthday weekend a special one. We set off in opposite directions and made our way home. I could hardly wait to relax.

I finally made it back to the apartment and waited for the girls because they had forgotten their keys in Madrid over the weekend. The two of them had been stranded outside for hours and had gone to a little café to eat lunch. They were more than happy to see me to finally let them in.

The rest of the day was spent unpacking, showering, running to the grocery store, and sleeping. I got to talk to my momma and she immediately started singing when I picked up the phone. I finally heard the birthday song, which made me so happy! It was a day late but a birthday song is a birthday song. We talked about my weekend and then she had to jet off to do mom things. I left to get on my computer.

Later that day I was really unpleasantly surprised with one of those things that just brings tears to your eyes and it most definitely did. I was emotionally exhausted and didn’t wake up for 4+ hours only to make dinner, do some homework, and climb right back into bed. Monday was looming, laughing at me with is 08:45 am class start.

Monday 03/08: Class was boring as all possible today. The speaker we had in my first class was a total dud, spoke poor English, and doesn’t understand the concept of being engaging. I could hardly focus the entire time.

After that class, which I share with Gaetano and Renato, the two of them and their friend Donatello, invited me to share in a coffee/tea with them. I gladly accepted the offer. We went to Taxi Blues and had a pretty deep conversation about graduating, work life, internships, and the potential of them ever being able to work in the states. I have a feeling that being as smart as they are, that they all have a decent chance of proving themselves worthy of working for a company in the US. They were pretty hard on themselves but I hope I gave them the encouragement to pursue their aspirations.

I had to run home to grab lunch before making my way back to Bocconi for another two boring courses. My Fashion class, which is usually great, was awful due to another bad speaker who again didn’t understand what it means to speak clear English or entertain a classroom. My Entrepreneurship class, which I’ve said is the world’s most boring class ever, was pretty bad, too. I had to sit in the front in order to charge my computer, which was a huge mistake because the professor kept asking me questions about the reading that…well, I hadn’t read. I tried to BS something but I don’t know how smart it ended up coming out. Oh well.

After class, I did a lot of work on my computer and made some important phone calls. I also booked a hair appointment!!! See I have been craving to have my hair done since it is in major need but was terrified to go to someone other than my amazing stylist at home. I had asked my friend who works in the fashion industry if she knew anyone in Milan that could give me recommendations. Luckily she did and the woman she put me in contact with (Arianna) gave me three different names to try. The first salon I called never picked up the phone nor responded to the emails I had sent a week ago. The second was a dang fortune. I am talking anywhere between 250-350 Euro for a cut and blow-dry. Okay no thank you. The third could fit me in that day. Bingo.

My appointment was for 6 pm so I came in just before hand so he could play with my hair and give me his thoughts. I was super nervous about it but he seemed to know what he was doing. Being the MOST particular person about her hair, I tried to explain as slowly and clearly what I wanted. The language barrier definitely causes a bit of an issue when it comes to hair explanation but we managed. I put my trust in him and let him go to work.

When it was all done and I turned around to look in the mirror, I was shocked. My hair looked AMAZING!!! I was beside myself, jumped up, gave him a huge hug and told him I wouldn’t be going anywhere else in the city for the rest of my stay in Milano. He had been incredibly kind, did an unbelievable job, made my hair look sex-worthy, and had given me the best head massage I may have ever had. The whole experience was heaven. I was hap, hap, happy.

I rushed home, though, because my best friends, Vincent and Flaca, were taking me out for a really special birthday dinner. Hence, this is why I wanted to have my hair done. That and it was way overdue for a cute. The little angels they are had booked a table at Corso Como 10, a really beautiful restaurant on the infamous Corso Como. They wanted me to finally be able to celebrate my 21st birthday properly. I was so excited to share my birthday celebration with them and even more excited because I downright love spending any amount of time with them both. There isn’t a moment spent with either of them where I think anything but great things. It’s how true friendship should be.

They picked me up around 09:45 pm in a cab, and I came down only to be greeted with lots of “oohs and aahs” over my hair, my outfit, and my overall look. The two of them looked gorgeous as always and kept wishing me happy birthday and building up the hype for the evening. I doubt they could have been any more amazing. I was feeling pretty special!

We showed up to our beloved restaurant to find hardly anyone there. It’s Women’s Day in Milan so all the ladies are at clubs with their boyfriends, girlfriends and friends alike seeing strip shows and probably getting drunk. Thus, the restaurant was pretty much ours. We were seated in a perfect little corner table that suited us just right. The restaurant is gorgeous and the outside patio area is even more impressive. Too bad it was cold otherwise we would have been sitting there. We’d al been here before during Fashion Week for an after party but none of us had dined in the restaurant. The menu was to die for and we had the hardest time picking our orders because literally every last thing on it we kind of wanted. We ended up ordering three entrée and two other dishes for the table. We figured it would be enough food but then again, the three of us all know what it means to eat and actually enjoy food so we figured we would have room for dessert too.

The three of us were sitting around the table chit chatting when our waiter brought us over some steaming hot bread, mozzarella cheese, and roasted cherry tomatoes. We all died. But then he brought us out a bottle of champagne that my two lovebirds had ordered for the special occasion! The bottle was popped, we were all poured a glass, and we raised our glasses. The two of them toasted to my first drink and my 21st birthday and showered me with lots of love. It was absolutely perfect.

The night only continued to get better and better as they brought the food. Our dishes were incredible. I mean simply incredible. I know I talk a lot about food, but it’s been a part of me since I was little. Ask my family. But yes…We ordered chicken in a yogurt, basil sauce, pappardelle pasta with mozzarella and fresh tomatoes, and Vincent ordered gluten-free (hahaha) spaghetti with tomatoes and basil. The restaurant serves only organic, fresh food so everything was heavenly prepared. We all shared our dishes along with the grilled vegetables and steamed broccoli that we had ordered for the table. Every last bite on each plate was cleared and we made a “best friend vow” to come once a month and order something different every time so that by the time we leave Milano, we will have eaten the entire menu. Best meal I have had in Milan, without question.

We shared in great conversation and I couldn’t get over how lucky of a person I am to have two such amazing people in my life. To treat me to such a special dinner for my birthday and compliment me with comments made me feel like a million bucks. I was truly touched.

Dessert came and we each ordered something. Between the three of us, we shared a bowl of fresh blue and raspberries, gelato, and a chocolate tart with red currents. We were there so long that we ended up closing the restaurant down and the owner had to finally tell us they were closing. Haha Oops! He clinked to us, though, and kissed me on both cheeks, wishing me a happy birthday and insisting that we come back and have dinner again soon. No worries, we will be.

We took a cab home and the two of them dropped me off, gave me lots of love and hugs, and sent me on my way. All in all it was the perfect night with two absolutely incredible friends. I’m an incredibly blessed person to have such people in my life. Amongst Amsterdam and Brittany, my new hair, all the love from my family and friends, and the best birthday dinner a girl could ask for, my 21st birthday was everything I had hoped for and then some.

Xoxo
Me