Milano with Mom

This weekend was just what I needed to get away from the cold and depressing Scandinavian weather. As soon as Mom and I arrived in Milan, I looked up at the sun, spread my arms, and prepared myself for a sunburned face. It was wonderful! The weather was beautiful, everyone walking around had these big beautiful dogs. I can't wait to get one! I'm thinking maybe a Great Dane named after my Danish friend Thorsten! The people here are so affectionate with each other too. They definitely aren't shy about their PDA. But I really loved the romantic side to the city. The language is beautiful also... so beautiful that it swayed me to take an Italian class next semester. I will definitely be traveling to Italy a couple more times in my lifetime. The first day we walked around Sforzesco Castle. It was where I fell in love with the Italian atmosphere, music, oh! and I also have a new boyfriend from Senegal (Africa). Ha, well apparently that's what my new bracelet means. They have a lot of peddlers from all sorts of places selling stuff from India, bracelets, and one even attacked Mom with pigeons, then had the nerve to ask for money. Poor mom. I'm taking a picture of the Duomo. I turn around and a guy is trying to take Mom's camera away from her while pigeons are sitting on her head. It was crazy... but so amusing!
Mom and I got really good at navigating the subway. We were also able to use our city sightseeing tour bus as transportation throughout the weekend. While it was expensive, it was way worth it. We learned so much from the bus tour. Apparently, the Milanese re-name all of their statues. Most of the time it is a rather ugly name too. We were also introduced to Happy hours. I loved them. It's where you pay 8 euros or so and it includes a drink of choice and an all you can eat buffet. It is so cheap compared to Oslo. We also tried the pizza which is paper thin crust. Seriously, we had to fold it to eat, because even when we tried with a fork and knife it was just too thin. But I really enjoyed it, and I'm wondering if that means it was healthier for us...
Coffee over here is a totally new experience also. It was so small of a mug. I guess you could compare it to a mug in the form of a shot glass. It tasted like coffee grounds. I don't see how they do it. Mom didn't expect it either, and you could tell it from here face.
While waiting on happy hour to start, of course Mom has to go into all the toy shops looking for things for Coop and Finn. (Ok maybe I'm still a tad jealous, but I'm improving!) But we got to meet this really cool artist. He draws these ant cartoons, and he was there in the shop signing autographs. So he asks, what's your name and what do you like to do. So, I said well recently, I've been traveling quite a bit while studying abroad. He drew a really cool picture of me with a suitcase and map running by the Duomo. Fabio Vettori It was really cool though because Mom told him she was a nurse and teacher. He drew her delivering babies without her even telling him that she was a labor and delivery nurse. Crazy!
Anyways! Now that we are back, it's on to production mode. Mom has been spoiling Christina and I. We came home yesterday and she had a Mexican chicken casserole prepared along with delicious pastries she'd saved us for dessert. Not only did she cook, but she did what all moms do and cleaned. I didn't recognize our bathroom. It's so nice to have my mom around, even if it is only for a week. I'm really glad she got to come. She still has 2 days left in Denmark. I think we may try and find something to do together tomorrow in the city. I'm planning on skipping school and trusting Kiesha and Christina with the final touches of our assignment. We finished our rough draft tonight!