Milan & Bergamo, Italy

Sam was going to be in class all day so I decided to take a day trip to Bergamo, Italy. It only took an hour to get there by train and was quite lovely. One of Sam’s classmates recommended it and I was really glad I went. I got there a little after 11 and bought a map right outside the train station. I just started walking and found a cute little market and eventually found the funicular, which is a train car that takes you up the side of the mountain. There are two parts to the town, the lower part which is a busy city, and the upper part which is very old and beautiful. The roads are narrow and the architecture is beautiful. My map had a walking tour that I followed and wandered around the city while I was there. I did go to the top of their bell tower, but there was elevator, so there was only a few flights of stairs to climb at the top. It sure was beautiful from the top. The cathedral was built in 1137 and filled with frescos. I ate lunch at a place called Alberto’s. I wasn’t planning on going to a sit down restaurant, but I was so cold that I needed to warm up a bit. I had ravioli filled with bacon and covered with butter. It was really good. I tried to make the 3pm train but I missed it by only a minute. I had to wait a long time to ride the funicular back to town. I spent my hour waiting shopping in the lower town. I got back at 4:50 and we were meeting some of Sam’s classmates at 5pm to go to dinner.
I did get myself ready pretty quickly and was only a little late to the hotel lobby. We had gotten tickets to Serata Bejart, a ballet performed at Teatro alla Scalla the famous opera house. We had a wonderful dinner beforehand. I had risotto, veal, tiramisu, and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was more like warm putting and very good. Going to the ballet was incredible. We had box seats and there was a room just for our box to hang our coats in. There was also a fireplace. It wasn’t being used, but I guess it was a source of heating for when it opened in 1778. The box seats that lined the theater were really neat. The ballet was contemporary and the dancers were really good. When we got out of the theater they were doing a light show on the building. At one point it looked like a ship was passing by the windows and then it looked like people were sitting on the ledges. We really had a nice night out.