WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN?! Besides being one of the longest days of my life, it was one of the greatest days of my life. After practically pulling an all nighter with a few hours of sleep on the plane, we arrived in Milan at 8:30 am (2:30 am Floridian time). We caught a very nice train from the airport for eleven euros to central Milan, where an IES study abroad representative met us. She gave us our address, and we took a cab to our apartment, although it was difficult when the driver took us to the wrong location and we could not even communicate with him! Our Italian student Mia was awaiting us at our surprisingly large apartment.She is adorable! She is 25, and just graduated from college with a degree in Political Science. She made us a wonderful lunch of fruit, tomato with mozzarella, and a vegetable pasta. Next we ventured to the IES center where we will be taking our classes. It takes us about twenty minutes to get there by bus, but it's nice to get to see the city.

After being in Milan only a few short hours, we sped off to Sirmione on Lake Garda, which is an absolutely gorgeous quaint town. We could not figure out how to get the electricity on in the hotel room, and after calling the front desk and realizing nobody spoke English, we finally figured out that your room key has to be in a specific slot for anything to work.. That doesn't happen in the US!! We had a beautiful and delicious dinner right on the lake with breadsticks, tomato with mozzarella, pasta flavored with bacon and hot peppers (delicious!), and a chocolate cherry cake.

At about ten, we decided to wander the town. It's very small and does not take long to get around at all. We ended up at a small wine bar where we met an 2 adorable older Italian men (who were a couple!). We got to talking with them about Italy, and they treated us to wine and gelato. Afterwards, we hung out at the hotel with a bunch of kids in the program.

Talk about an action packed day right?! I am exhausted and have to get up tomorrow at seven o' clock for Orientation, although I would rather keep exploring this adorable town! At least today I learned how to say Hi/Bye, good morning, and than you.. That's a start right? I cannot wait to see what the rest of this month is going to bring!! I am sad to be missing Kelly's birthday at home today, but I can't wait to hear what she got for her birthday :) (although I'll have to wait until tomorrow with this time difference!).