Where in the world is Rachel

We finally figured out how to use the

metro system and hoped on the train. We

got dumped out at Duomo, which is this beautiful Cathedral in the middle of the city really. We got bombarded by these guys claiming to give us "free bracelets" and giving us corn to feed the disgusting pigeons...of course they conned us into giving them money for the "free" stuff. Worst part of the day really.

Once we got over the shock of being bombarded by these men, we headed out into the city. We walked around and found the cool stuff to see. Again a lot of the time was spent finding something on the map and just figuring out how to get there. It was a lot hotter here than in Ireland or England, so we were DYING after just a little while. Luckily we found this ideal castle that had a big fountain out front. Apparently, it was okay to walk through the fountain and dip your legs in it...something that would be frowned upon in the states. Thankfully this was allowed because we were in desperate need of some cooling off!!

After a few hours of hanging out in the city, we contacted our host, Valentina and Mauro. This

was going to be my second couchsurfing experience and I was a little more excited for this experience than the first since I was going to be with a friend instead of by myself. We were trying to figure out how to get to their apartment when we randomly run into them on the street!! We were right outside their apartment building but we didn't really know that.

They had three of the cutest dogs in the entire world!!! I loved playing with those dogs!! Valentina and Mauro welcomed us into their apartment and showed us such a friendly and warm welcome. I loved staying with them!! Their apartment was really very nice and very big, especially for Milan!! Valentina works as a costume stylists for a TV show and Mauro is a photographer/website designer. They were by far what made me like Milan the most. After freshening up a bit, they took us on their scooters to El Castello. This was a castle with a big park in the back where a big screen was set up to watch the Spain v. Portugal match. We met some of their friends there, one girl, Adriana, was from Spain so naturally we cheered for Spain!!

After a great match, Spain won!!!! Afterwards we all headed down to this square where apparently all the locals gather. It was interesting because there were a TON of bars in the square but everyone would buy their drinks and come sit in the square, not in the bars!! :) I loved meeting everyone in Milan and hanging out with the locals. Milan would NOT have been a great destination for me had I not stayed with Valentina and Mauro and hung out with their friends. The day was long and we were VERY tired but it was a wonderful experience.

The next morning we headed out of Milan to Lake Como!! That's an entirely different story on it's own!!!