Walk to School With Me

This is my daily trek...

First, down the stairs. Yep, all 85 of them. Like going down. Hate going up. 

This is my new bike! Love it but haven't been able to ride it since I got sick over a week ago. But, come tomorrow it will start racking up the miles again. 

Who takes a picture of their trash cans? This is where I sort all my trash. I have a sorter in my apartment and bring down bags divided into paper, plastic, glass, and regular trash. They're pretty big into recycling here, which I love. 

Just walked out of my building, turning right toward the metro stop. 

Yes, we do have graffiti. Some places are worse than others. I think this is the only place on my street. At least it could be philosophical like it is in Germany. From what I can tell, all this is is some guy expressing his non-committal, PDA-laden, and ultimately shallow love for his girlfriend. 

One block and I arrive at the metro stop. The location of my apartment is perfect. The metro is one block to the right and the tram is one block to the left. (PS, that is the first mini-hummer I have seen here...) 

They pass out these magazines at the entrance of the metro. I usually get them to warm up my italian and try to catch some news. 

Pagano is my stop. Interesting, my zone means pagan and my street is "cherubini" which means angels. 

Metro is here. And it's full...ugg. You learn quickly how to pack in and get over B.O. 

This is my metro pass. I just scan it in when I go on any public transportation. I have money on it to last me for the year and it is much, much more convenient than buying the paper tickets. 

Made it to Cairoli, which is the stop closest to my school. This is my view to the right. 

And to the left. The Castello (castle) is down that way a couple blocks. 

This is a wanna-be. You can always tell the difference between the real models and the wanna-be's. Still anorexic though. And somehow smoking cigarettes is supposed to make you 60% cooler. 

This is a big Armani sign. There has always been a picture of a really neat man-purse that, were I a guy, I would totally carry. This morning, however, it was changed and there is a picture up of the Armani Jeans Basketball team, which is Milan's pro team. They went all the way to the final game in the play-offs and lost by one point. Regardless, our friend, Jobey, was the star of the season. 

Jobey is the fourth from the left. 

Love the flower boxes. 

After about a mile, this is my turn. Via Brera. This section of town is the really artsy part of town. It comes alive at night with gas lamps glowing outside the trendy restaurants and shops. They also have artists outside displaying their work. It's probably my favorite "place" in the Milan night-life. 

This is the sign for Milan's art museum that has many famous pieces but I have yet to check it out. I think I might go with a girl from my language school sometime. It is not even one block from my school. 

Via Brera. This is the part with more of the shops. Down the street the restaurants and cafe's start. 

Bike riding is very common. Though, I have to say, riding on the cobblestone is not very comfortable! 

Yea, Laura didn't make it in Milan...

This is the sweet lady that "portiera" or door keeper. She is so sweet and always greats us when we walk in. 

Really pretty gate at the entrance of the building. The courtyard behind it is nice too. Most Milanese buildings are set up like this. My apartment has a little courtyard like this too. 

My school. 

Walk up more stairs. This building actually has an elevator...but I never take it. 

Arrivo! 

Ready for 4 hours of cramming! 

And then, I'll do it all over again tomorrow!