Ahem. After I actually made it to Como after my quick vacation in Switzerland, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
It’s funny because I was just talking to my friend about how nothing significant has really gotten in the way of our travels and we just seem to have the best luck when taking our weekend excursions.
Of course then my trip to Como was plagued by rainstorms the entire time we were there. I could be a super optimist and pretend like I really loved the view of the lake withstanding the downpour or discuss the beauty of the empty streets, watching people take cover.. but I won’t because it kinda sucked just a little.
Come on, this is Lake Como! We go for the sunny skies and hikes!
But in the end, Eryn and I still made the best out of the situation!
For the first few hours it was disgusting outside. It was pouring, gray, and cold. Kind of everyone’s ideal vacation. So we took refuge in a café and hung out for a while waiting for the storm to pass. Then we met up with my friend from high school, Alex, and we went out exploring the lake together! The weather had generously cleared up and we walked around half the circumference of the lake, taking in the gorgeous water and the view of the mountains hitting the lake from all sides.
I endured wet feet for some of these pictures, so please enjoy! I realized I’d never seen a swan in person (that I can recall).. so yay for the little “first times”!
After our journey around the cute town we headed back to our hostel. Our hostel is on a mountain so we had to shuttle in which was a little bit of a drawback. The upside? Our hostel was on a mountain. As soon as we got back we decided to take full advantage of the sunshine that had magically appeared out of nowhere and we went for a 30 minute hike up a path that had the most breathtaking panoramic view of Lake Como and the surrounding mountains.
We headed back to the hostel and got there just in time for dinner. As you may have come to realize, my favorite part of my travels have been the people I’ve encountered.
This hostel was an incredibly unique experience because it was so homey and small, and was lodged on top of a mountain. It was a little chilly out, with the rain drizzling again, and it was just cold enough to wear my sweatshirt. I think I had one of the most perfect evenings in Europe just sitting at a big table with the 10 of us that was at the hostel (Again, that’s what made it so unique. There were only 10 of us sleeping in the whole joint). We had homemade Italian food and there were new friends from New Zealand, Australia, Germany, California, and Brazil. Conversation and food were flowing and it was just a moment of peacefulness during an otherwise insanely fast paced vacation.
The next morning Eryn and I woke up a quarter to 5 with our new friend Tess and hiked back up the mountain to watch the sun rise. Wow. On the list of things I never thought I’d see in my life? Watching the sunrise on the mountain range between Switzerland and Italy. It was a perfect start to a fun day.
After an hour of beautiful weather in the morning, the rain took its position and started ruining lives.
So the general consensus amongst 2 Australians, myself, Tess, Eryn, and Alex was that we should just head over to Milan for the afternoon and then that night we would set out for Cinque Terre.
We all set out on the train together and for an hour I tried to explain the greek system in the universities in America. Yeah, that one didn’t go over too well with them.
After we landed in Milan Tess, Eryn and I headed out to grab some lunch while the others checked into their hostel.
I am finally embracing my redundancy because obviously I’m onto something when it comes up so often.. but I think it bears repeating: I love these people.
Tess is in the medical field and she just finished a year long working visa in England and is off to find work elsewhere but in the meantime she’s traveling.
Over a glass of wine and a pizza per person we dove into conversation about her work in the medical field, her favorite places to travel, and everything in between.
I think my favorite point in this conversation is when we all were discussing how travel has given us a lot of hope for our generation. When you travel you meet people from all over the world and who represent a bulk of the population they are from. What you can see from meeting people from 50 countries is that we all want a peace and some kind of solution to the big issues. We might not agree on how to achieve that, or at what cost, but at the end of the day, the normal joe, the kid who goes home to a family, work in the morning, and has bills to pay, just wants a healthier world and a happier future.
From traveling you lose this feeling of “Oh, that’s Australia.. India.. Brazil.. *Insert any country here*” and instead you think “Oh, well Tess, Uri, Sam..” and you can finally humanize the other 7 billion people we share space with.
Maybe other people caught onto this lesson without having to travel across the world to learn it, but it was such an exciting realization to have that I am not alone in America and should I just reach out, there is an entire international community with similar objectives and aspirations.
After one of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve had in Europe, we headed back to the Duomo to meet our friends before Eryn and I headed off to Cinque Terre.
We said our goodbyes and Eryn and I hopped on a train headed straight for the most beautiful place in Italy!
Running in Rome 
Where is the Sun?
https://romeandadventures.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/img_2503.jpg?w=304&h=406 Not terribly bright but it’s there!
Oh yes there it is! Nice indeed, have you been to Clooney’s house in Laglio?
No – We didn’t realize he lived there until we were on our way out!