Milan and Trento: Long weekend & Roman holiday

Four days, three trains, too many metro rides later, and we made it back to Rome after a long weekend spent in Milan and Trento. These towns have so much to offer that pictures don’t do them justice, but ill take a shot at explaining them.

After the stress of getting to Termini train station on the day of a public transportation strike, my friends and I made it to Milan a couple hours later, amazed by the quietness of the city compared to Rome. After dropping our stuff at our Airbnb apartment, we headed to the World Expo where we got to explore exhibitions by 140 countries. Each country has a platform to present their ideas about environmental sustainability, innovation, creativity, and offer their signature food and drinks. We ate dinner in China, desert in Italy, drank on a ferris wheel in Holland, watched live music in Germany, and explored many others. 

The next day we spent touring as much of Milan as we could before we had to catch the train to trento. My boss recommended a Navigli to me, which ended up being one of our favorite parts of the Milan trip. We ate a delicious Milanese meal and then made our way to the metro headed towards the train station.  

In Trento we arrived at our next airbnb pretty late, and got ready for our full day of hiking on Sunday. We spent 10 hours hiking up the Dolomites (Monte Bondone). Locals live in the mountain range, so there are winding roads running through the trails. At one point, we followed the road and turned down a path with picturesque houses looking down on all of Trento. We sat down, ate the lunch we brought, and talked for a while, just sitting on the ground on the small street. 30 minutes later we woke up- somehow all six of us fell asleep. The best part is how we were woken up; not by a car, but by an old Italian man who lived in one of the houses on that street. He had gone and picked roses for Jessie, Katie, and I. He tiptoed up to us, pointed and said “for the girls”. We adored those flowers, and started to realize how genuinely nice people in Trento are. Nothing against Roma, but there is a different atmosphere in Trento. This was definitely my favorite memory of the trip. Im starting to realize that the memories that I cherish most are the ones where my friends and I are off the beaten path, enjoying each other and taking in the view.

Palermo, Sicily

In Sicily, I realized how diverse each part of Italy is. Comparing Rome to the weekend trips we have been on, to the island of Sicily, I feel like I have traveled to different countries each time. For me Sicily stood out because of its food. Here I had the best dessert that I have ever eaten: deep fried ricotta cones (cannoli). 

Teatro Massimo

The largest theatre in Italy and the third largest in Europe. This was special for me because of a surprising run in with the Teatro Massimo Ballet Company. As we were on our tour, I heard a piano so I followed the sound and found them practicing. Amazed by their strength and grace, I stood there staring for a while. It felt like a little piece of home right here in Italy.

Sight Seeing:

These trips with my friends have given us an unexpected bond. No pictures of these weekend trips could truly do them justice- there are just some things that have to be experienced to be understood. They will always be “somewhere only we know”.

Location: Palermo, Italy; Trento, Italy; Milan, Italy