Episode 15 - Milan 🇮🇹 + Geneva 🇨🇭
Gorgeous Alps, delicious pasta, and a drink in a shoe 🥾
Y’all lucky dudes and dudettes are treated to 2 blog posts, IN THE SAME DAY! How tremendously exciting! We are currently on the train from Geneva to Lyon, loving the mountains, and about to head back to the land of baguettes. Yummy adventures await us soon!
Thursday 11/2/2023
We got off the train in Milan around 4 p.m. and headed straight to a sandwich shop because we were STARVING! The train station was grand, vast, and beautiful. Probably my favorite train station in Europe so far.
The sandwich shop was called All'Antico Vinaio and was absolutely amazing. Delicious Mediterranean sandwiches, extremely cheap prices, and even Donnarumma ate there. That place deserves a Michelin star! We ate under the cover of a random building because it was pouring rain, then walked over to the hostel to check-in.
The hostel was super sketch. Rude front desk staff, blocky keys, and horrific reviews on Google Maps. We’re talking bed bugs and stolen belongings.
Clearly, Joe did some amazing background research before booking the hostel. Thanks, Joe!
There were no bedbugs that we could find (Emma checked very thoroughly) and we deposited our things in the room. The beds were very creaking, the mattresses were smaller than the bed frame so things kept falling off, and it was overall just a very strange vibe.
Joe and Emma left to go explore Milan while I took two calls to prepare for some upcoming interviews.
After that, I read a chapter of the waiter book, then left the hostel to meet up with Emma and Joe. We were supposed to return our keys to the front desk before leaving, but after hearing the stories of stolen belongings, I walked out the back entrance to ensure the key to my locker would stay firmly in my pocket.
I walked over to Bocconi University, a uni in Milan that is highly ranked for business. 3 years ago, I got into USC’s world bachelor in business program, which is where ~60 students study at three different universities (USC in California, HKUST in Hong Kong, and Bocconi in Milan) before graduating in 4 years, armed with a bachelor’s degree from each program.
I ended up not doing the program, but it was crazy to think that if I had, I would studying the year at Bocconi in Milan at this exact time. It’s crazy to think about that. The campus was alright but didn’t wow me. I considered how completely different my life would’ve been if I did the USC program, and did some deep reflection sitting on that bench in the middle of Milan while it was pouring rain.
I found that I’m extremely happy with where am I in life now. My friends back home, experiences studying abroad, all the trials and tribulations of freshmen year, to my different internships and travels in the US, all have led me to where I am now, on a bullet train on the way to Lyon, on the great adventure that is life.
Looking back, I wouldn’t change a single thing. We take what life gives us, and move along the best we can. You can plan a grand future, but it never turns out the way we expect or hope. All we can do is make the best decisions we can, as often as we can, and know that it will all work out in the end. It is all we can hope for.
After checking out Bocconi, I headed to the tram station to meet Joe and Emma in northern Milan for dinner and drinks. I waited for the tram for 20 minutes, and it never came (despite Google Maps telling me that it should’ve come twice in that time). At least it wasn’t like Joe and Emma’s trip, where they forgot to take the correct exit, and ended up exactly where they started 40 minutes later after doing an entire loop around Milan on the tram.
That’s what happens when your chief navigator is not with you, I guess!
I took a different tram to the center of Milan, then decided to walk the difference. Public transport in Milan has not been the best so far. Along the way, I spotted the Duomo, the huge cathedral in the center of the city!
I met Joe and Emma at a nice Italian restaurant, where there was a guy literally making pasta in the entrance as all the tourists were looking at him. The waiter successfully convinced us to order a more expensive bottle of wine, and we all ordered some amazing, freshly homemade pasta. It was world-class. Lovely. Exquisite. Truly divine!
The dinner ended up being 107 euros. Holy shit.
After that, we walked half an hour across Milan to a bar Emma’s local minted friend recommended called Nottingham Forest. The bar was super cool, with lovely decorations, and the drinks were served in very strange containers. Mine was served in a glass that lit up from a light underneath in a strange wooden box. Emma’s was served in a fancy handbag, and Joe’s was served in a literal shoe.
A shoe. Wtf
Emma and Joe ordered fruity drinks that were quite lovely. I ordered a bitter drink that was the most disgusting thing I have ever drunk in my life. Joe took one for the team and drank mine (he’s British), then we walked all the way home across Milan at 1 a.m. while saying “Mussy” in ever-increasing volumes. We got back and instantly crashed, needing to wake up at 7 to catch the train to Geneva, then Lyon the next morning.
Friday 11/3
We woke up at 7 to catch the train to Geneva, then Lyon. This is the day we return to France! It was quite sad that it was the last time it would be just me, Emma, and Joe, but we were all quite excited to see the rest of the gang in France!
We packed up our stuff from the strange voodoo hostel and departed as quickly as possible to the train station. It was pouring rain, we took the tram to the central train station, and before we knew it, we were off to Geneva!
Along the way, I was writing my Venice blog.
But most importantly, I finished the A Waiter in Paris book! It made me super excited to return to Paris. So much history. So much culture.
There was spotty service the entire ride to Geneva, but the most amazing views I’ve ever seen. It was even better than the Dolomites!
Grand mountain peaks, covered in snow and skiers. Dramatic alpine lakes, dotted with boats and villas. Swiss wineries and peaceful towns. It was truly stunning.
We made it to Geneva around noon, and had 45 minutes before our next train to Lyon. We walked down to Lake Geneva, I bought myself a Swiss mug and flag, we looked at the extremely cold lake, turned around, and called it a day.
I wanted to go “fuck up some Conventions” (meaning visit the UN row of flags where the Geneva Conventions were signed) but there wasn’t enough time to do so. The lake was too cold to jump into, as well as it being illegal. Before we knew it, we were back on the train, heading off to France!
Along the way, Emma slept some more (she was effectively asleep the entire way from Milan, and I finished up my Venice blog, started this one, and listened to lots of Italian music.
Before we knew it, we were back in Lyon. A quick Five Guys lunch, and then a short Uber to the AirBnB. Lara and Anna were there. HOORAY!
Thoughts on Milan, Italy, and Geneva:
The musicality of Italian is lovely. However, speaking French in Geneva was very nice. I’ve quite missed it!
The Alps are absolutely gorgeous. Almost as beautiful as my beloved Sierras in California.
Must-dos in Milan: All'Antico Vinaio sandwich shop, Duomo. Nottingham Forest Bar and Osteria Da Fortunata - Brera get honorable mentions as well.
Must-dos in Geneva: Honestly can’t say much here because we were there for 45 minutes only lol. The lake was lovely!
Some more pictures!
