Ciao! So Saturday was super fun because Tiantian came to visit! She was an exchange student from China 2 years ago and now she’s going to college here in Milan. Saturday was also fun because it was my friend Beatrice’s birthday party! The party was at a restaurant in Intra, and Tiantian came too which was fun! We ate pizza and pasta and had cake afterwords. There was even a live band that played music!

Sunday we went to Milan with Tiantian! On the drive down we stopped by Alda’s (my host mom’s sister) house to eat lunch. The Moroccan lady who cares for Alda made a special Moroccan couscous for us! Apparently it takes 2 hours to make, but it was so delicious!!! We took it home afterwords for leftovers. After lunch we got back on the road and drove to Milan. We first stopped to visit Tiantian’s apartment and we met some of her roommates. Than we rode the metro to the “downtown” part of Milan. I’m calling it “downtown” because it’s the modern part of Milan and because the buildings remind me of Downtown Phoenix in a way. It was SO beautiful with modern buildings surrounding a nice fountain that has paths you can walk on! I’d have to say that it was the most modern part of Italy I’d ever seen! I also finally got to see the Duomo, the Teatro alla Scala, the Galleria, the center “modern” part of Milan, and the flower festival that happens every spring! It was a pleasant day as well because it didn’t rain, and it wasn’t too cold outside :)