Week 5 19th-26th Feb (Personal)

 Rachel, Daniel, Samantha and I, lost in Amsterdam.

This week was a public holiday in the Netherlands, therefore we had no classes. We thought we would begin our week off with a trip to Amsterdam. Samatha Jobb (a close friend from our class in Stranmillis) flew out to meet us in Amsterdam along with her fiancé. We had a ball of a weekend. We visited the Anne Frank museum which I found extremely interesting. We managed to get lost a number of times over the weekend, which was expected as over the first five weeks of our trip we’ve concluded that Rachel, Daniel and I all have a terrible sense of direction. However getting lost has lead us to rather interesting places for example the red light district. Interesting as it was, I can happily say I’d rather not visit that area ever again but it was an eye-opener for sure!

 Having fun in Amsterdam

When we arrived back at Nijmegen we had a couple more visitors at our door. Daniels cousin and her fiancé had arrived for a couple of days. We celebrated their arrival by making pancakes for pancake Tuesday. They landed in carnival week which was the perfect time to take them out and join in on the carnival celebrations in Nijmegen.

Rachel and I making pancakes, dressed as cats to celebrate Carnival.

Rachel and I had booked a trip to Milan from Wednesday to Saturday. Daniel decided not to join as his cousins where still visiting. We were worried that Daniel might starve when we where away as Daniel cooking skills are perhaps not the best. Daniel has even found difficulty when micro-waving beans. No doubt his diet over those few days would consist of rich tea with jam, an odd but strangely yummy food that we have grown to love in our time in Nijmegen.

Daniels cousin Victoria and her Fiancé come to visit

When we arrived in Milan the sun was blazing and the temperature was 17oC . It was lovely to soak up a few sun rays after the terrible snowy and cold weather we have had in Nijmegen over the last few weeks. We stayed in Hotel Amadeus which was a budget hotel. However, it was ideal and only 3 minute walk from the central station in Milan. Milan was amazing the architecture of the buildings was outstanding and the shopping (or window shopping in our case) was incredible. The amount of designer shops was indescribable. Italy is world famous for its ice-cream, and Milan boasts some of the most reputable ice cream parlours in the country with almost one in every corner. In addition, the pasta and pizza was unreal. Italian food is without a doubt my favourite type of food.  

Rachel and I standing infront of the Duomo Cathedral in Milan

We visited most of the main sites such as the Duomo Cathedral which dates back to the 14^th century and the Santa Maria delle Grazie Church where Da Vinci painted his masterpiece the ‘Last Supper’. We also visited the Naviglio della Martesana which is the canal area of Milan that was originally constructed with the chief purpose to provide the fields of the area with water. Later, it was also used as a method of transportation between Milan and Bergamo, Brescia, and the Adda Valley. However, nowadays it is lined with fine Italian restaurants and bars that were enjoyable to visit. We had a fantastic time in Milan and I would love to visit again, preferably next visit I will have more money so I can treat myself.

Having a splendid time window shopping in Milan.