Homecoming

Homecoming Weekend was just the most wonderful, sleep-deprived two days of catching up with friends, basking in the gorgeous weather (do you see the sky in all these photos?!), and stuffing my face with Bodo's. This work week has been quite the bummer in comparison haha. Bye UVA, you were wonderful and I miss you a ton. 

Do:

Hike Humpback: We completely failed at our original plans to wake up for sun rise, but the hike was still great. NYC has deprived me of grass and trees and I couldn't get enough of being out in the mountains.

Go Wine tasting: There are all kinds of wonderful vineyards in the Charlottesville area. It's a great excuse to get out, get a drink, and drive among the beautiful farmland.

See:

UVA Grounds: The campus ain't a UNESCO World Heritage site for nothing :) I took a run to The Lawn early Sunday morning and it was just perfect. I had it all to myself and proceeded to geek out at how pretty the campus is. 

Eat: 

Bodo's: PSA - Order the pastrami sandwich from Bodo's. It'll rock your world. My go to is the pastrami sandwich on everything bagel w/ provolone, horseradish, lettuce, tomato, onions, and sprouts.

Cookout: Cookout is disgusting, but when it's 3am after a night of drinking, the chicken strips tray is what dreams are made of. 

Travel Diary: Milan

1. Random street // 2. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II // 3. Il Duomo // 4. Stained Windows in Il Duomo // 5. Interior Il Duomo // 6. Stained Window in Il Duomo // 7. Italian Desserts // 8. Gelato // 9. Piazza del Duomo // 10. Top of Il Duomo // 11. View from top of Il Duomo // 12. Milano Central Railway

These pictures are from the last day of Liza and I's trip to Italy and Switzerland. At this point, we were beat from running around the whole week so we resigned ourselves to a pretty lazy last day in Milan. It was a gorgeously clear day so my highlights were: napping on the top of il Duomo and dining al fresco with some gigantic glasses of spritz. Till next time Milan, ciao!

Do:

Walk around. I find European cities just so gosh darn charming and the only way to do them justice is by feet. Stroll through the beautiful light streaming into the Galleria Vittorio. Get harassed by hawkers and pigeons in the Piazza del Duomo.  Go window shopping on the Via Monte Napoleone. 

See:
Il Duomo.  Do a few loops around and inside to admire this spectacle of Gothic architecture. Pay extra euros to take pictures of the interior and climb the 250 steps to the top. Lay out in the sun and take a nap, you deserve it.

Eat:

Spritz. Try out this Italian cocktail made of wine, Campari and sparkling water. 

Gelato.  Eat it. This is a completely biased answer because Liza and I are gelato monsters and ate gelato literally every day we were in Italy. 

Aperitivo. It's like happy hour on steroids. Kick back with a glass of spritz and enjoy the free spread of stuzzichini (appetizers) that bars lay out. Shout out to the sweet bartender that gave me a whole plate of salami. You made my day.