Ciao!
So this post marks my first blog regarding my big move to Italy to be an au pair! I’ve been thinking about how I want to structure my blogs in a sense that will be interesting but also manageable for me (I am already behind, because I’ve been here for almost 3 weeks now… whoops). But ultimately I’ve decided that I’m going to do weekly blog posts with everything that I did within that week. Some weeks will obviously be more interesting and action packed than others but I am more so just doing it for myself to remember everything that I did with my time abroad and for those that care to know about what I am doing on a daily basis.
In addition to these weekly (however, knowing me they will not actually be posted in a weekly fashion) blog posts, I also want to do posts just on my experiences in general. The good and the bad. I don’t want to just post about how amazing Europe is, I also want to be real, especially regarding my experiences being an au pair. I’m still settling in and getting the hang of living with a family that I had never met before coming here, so these posts will likely come a little later into my time in Italy. However, hint: I’ve already started a list of random things that I’ve already learned while being here and the list just keeps on getting longer. After all, my overall goal of living abroad for a long period of time is to grow as a person, become more comfortable with being alone and to do more things that scare me!
Okay wow, I am struggling already to remember what I did just TWO weeks ago.. I really need to start keeping a journal for each day – so I am going to start doing that as of now, so just bear with me while I work out everything that I need to do to make these posts as engaging and descriptive as possible for my whole 12 subscribers.. Crazy I know right!😂
YYZ ➡ MXP (Monday May 6th-7th)
My journey to Milan Malpensa airport began on May 6th from Pearson airport. My flight was originally scheduled to take off at 8:30pm and arrive the next day in Milan at 10:30am, however, it was delayed about an hour and a half and we did not make it to Milan on May 7th until around noon. From Malpensa, I had to find my way from the airport to Milano Centrale and then to Verona. Luckily, on my flight I was sitting beside two guys, one of which was from Italy and the other was a solo traveller that was also going to Milano Centrale from the airport. The guy from Italy helped us get our tickets for the train that goes to Milano Centrale and then we headed on to the train (it’s about a 50 min ride into the centre of the city). From there, I struggled to figure out how to purchase my tickets for the train to Verona, it is such a busy station and it was quite overwhelming but I finally figured it out once I connected to the wifi and was able to get help from my host-mom, so then I was on my way to Verona on the fast train (only 1 hour and 15 ish minutes).
May 8th:
Today I got my first glimpse at beautiful Verona! My host mom took me into the city centre for a couple hours to show me around. Verona is about a 15 minute drive away, and a 30 ish minute bus ride and it is the cutest little city. Although, it is quite touristy – most commonly known for the setting of Romeo and Juliet! You can even go to “Juliet’s House”, where there is a mock balcony similar to Juliet’s. My favourite place in the city centre (so far anyways) is Piazza Delle Erbe, it is a square with lots of restaurants and market stalls. See below for some pictures of the city… don’t worry I will be back here lots.
May 9th:
Today I just had a slow morning and relaxing day to try and finally fully recover from my full day of travel (I was still tired and kind of jet lagged), I made pasta for the girls for lunch and then just hungout in the evening.
May 10th:
I decided that today I was going to do a day trip to Venice! The guy that I met on the plane was there and I decided that it would be fun to have a travel buddy and explore Venice for just a day (because it is just an island). I caught a relatively early train into Venice and the trip is only about an hour and a half, so I was right in Venice around 10:30am. My first impressions of Venice were: WOW. It really is as beautiful as all the pictures that you see online. It is so unique and different than anywhere else I have ever been. The water taxis are an excellent way to get around and definitely faster than walking the island. However, the my favourite part of the day was not even Venice, it was the islands that surround Venice. Before coming, I had no idea that there were other islands around Venice that had buildings and whatnot on them. Murano and Burano are two separate beautiful islands that you can get to via water taxi. Burano was my favourite – all of the pastel coloured buildings and winding canals through the cute little town made it look surreal.
However, I did also really like Venice in general too. It was fun to wander through the tiny streets (important note: Google Maps literally does not work here haha) and just get lost. St. Mark’s Square and the Basilica were amazing – we were lucky to be there on a sunny and warm day. However, as a result of this, it was quite busy with lots of tourists, but apparently this is typical for Venice especially in the spring & summer months. Overall, I think Venice is a great day trip, you can definitely see all of the major highlights in that short period of time. Next time I come back, I will do the less touristy things and try to live like a local.
May 11:
Today I went into Verona city centre and met up with some other au pairs that are also in the area. We went to an Asian food restaurant and it was quite good and cheap! It was called “Ristorante Chinese La Pagoda”. All the other au pairs are great and it is so fun meeting other girls from literally all across the world (Mexico City, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand & South Africa). If any of you guys are reading this – you are awesome & I’m so lucky to have met such cool girls as soon as I got here! Special shoutout to Kiara and Julia who live in my area outside of Verona, so we call each other the “outsiders” 😂
May 12:
Today I went to a town near Verona called Vicenza with some other au pairs, the train ride was about an hour to get there! Unfortunately it was raining, however, we brought our umbrellas and we were ready to explore. Kiara and I headed in before the others because we had to be back by a certain time in order to catch the last bus back to our town (it is very annoying because on weekends the last bus comes around 7pm🙄 Despite the rain, we had a great time in Vicenza and I thought it was a super cute (much less touristy) typical Italian town. We found a little random hidden restaurant and got a late afternoon lunch, where I had the BEST pesto pasta I’ve ever had (I swear I’m not even being dramatic ok – see below for a picture). We also stopped for a cappuccino and a brioche in the morning and walked around the town quite extensively before heading back to the train to head back to Verona! Overall, I liked Vicenza and will definetly come back for another day trip on a sunny day and apparently there is lots of other cute towns close by too so it would be cool to explore those as well.
Thanks for reading my first Italy post! Sorry for it literally being three weeks late, I am currently also working on my next two so they should be posted within the next couple of days since I have a relaxing week at the house ahead of me.
Ciao for now,
Wanderlust morg xx
