25/05/09
After a decent night sleep we decided to meet up with my good friend and roommate next semester, Dan Klein, for lunch. We went out to the Duomo checked it out and went inside. Another nice looking church, but then again I have seen a million churches in the past 5 days. There we met up with Zak, David's model friend, and Dan. We went out to lunch at Dan's choice. It was true Italian food to say the least. The best noodles I have ever had, some pizza, a salad, and risotto. After lunch Zak and David had model appointments to make so me and Dan headed out to walk around and relax in Milan. Again it was upper 90's. I was pretty much used to sweating at this point of my trip; all day everyday. We went to their shopping district. Milan is apparently the capital of fashion currently. We walked by stores that I wouldn't even think of stepping foot in at this stage of my life. Stores that had clothes so expensive that you could probably by a cheap car in place of that new suit you bought. We then went to the park which was right next to the castle there. We ate some gelato and sat in the park under a shady tree and just talked and caught up with each other. Its always great to see a familiar face who knows and understands you so well; especially in a country that you have never been to. After hanging out in the park for about 2 hours Dan headed back to his dorm to finish up some school work and I headed back to David's to grab him and his roommate for the night. They got ready and we headed to Dan's dorm. His dorm is located in what used to be a hotel. A very nice dorm situation with balconies and a common area to cook and hang out. We then hung out and had a few beers outside and went to a bar where we got pretty happy and I headed back to the dorms and slept! Great relaxing day of not soo much tourism which is what I needed.

26/05/09
We started our day with McDonald's I got the McBacon and it was the worst tasting burger I have ever had in my life. Never again. We then got on a train and headed to a little city called Verana which is located on Lake Como very near to Belagio. The train ride was awesome in itself as the train followed along this lake. The cool thing about Italian trains is that you can stick your head out the window. So like a dog in a car I had my head out the window the whole time snapping pictures of the beautiful views. We got to this city and bought some gelato while walking along the lake. A very relaxing and tranquil area with the lake and in the background was the Swiss Alps. We found a VERY small beach. We were literally the only people on it and we jumped into the crystal clear water. The water was so clear that the girls were too scared to jump in cause the could see all the fish swimming around. We then dried off in the sweltering sun and walked around the city. We ran into the same people that we ran into at Cinque Terre which was pretty funny. We found a restaurant on the lake and relaxed and drank some slushy below freezing drinks to cool ourselves off. We then headed back to Milan. I didn't have much money nor did Dan so we decided to stay in for the night. We went to eat at an Apertivo which is you buy a 8 Euro HUGE alcoholic drink and then you get all the food you can eat from a buffet. There were salads, noodles, and pizza. We stuffed ourselves full each going up for 4ths. We then hung out outside on this big balcony with many other students that live in his dorms. We talked until the sun came up and watched the sunrise over the suburbs of Milan on the roof.

27/05/09
After not sleeping the whole night we went out for a sushi lunch. The sushi wasn't that good but whatever I tried sushi in Italy. Again another sweltering hot day. We walked the streets of Milan talking and just checking out the sights. There were a few canals, and apparently Milan was like Venice back in the day before it was built up and a city completely centered around the canals. We walked for a few hours and after sweating like a pig we headed back to Dan's dorms showered, grabbed my stuff and headed out to catch my 7:40 train to Barcelona. I didn't want to pay the extra 20 euros for a bed so I got a seat, but I was so sleep deprived I am sure I slept a good 4 hours or so. I was up every half hour/hour but I think I did sleep good because

28/05/09
I felt semi-rested when I got into Barcelona. I grabbed all my luggage which costed another 50 euros for leaving there over 10 some days. With all my bags in hand I headed to Madrid to grab my flight home! Got into Madrid around 4ish and dropped my bags off at a consignia again for a few euros and walked around the city of Madrid to say goodbye to Spain. I stopped at Eroski which is the main supermarket in Bilbao and grabbed a little dinner and ate it on a bench. I then stopped at a bar and had a drink. Met a man from the United States who has lived in Spain for the last 30 years of his life. Left the states around my age and raised a family in Spain and loves the decision he made. In my sleep deprived depressed mind it sounded like a great idea and something I would love to do, but lets see where life takes me. I then went back to the airport to sleep until my flight the next morning. I tried sleeping next to a security checkpoint since I couldn't check into my flight, but it was too loud. I then walked around for awhile when I found a cafe area with a ton of people sleeping around. So I grabbed myself a spot on the wall and was reading. I then started up a conversation with a nice lady from Brasil in which we ended up talking all night...... I was sleep deprived yes, but I love meeting people from new places.

29/05/09
The thought of Home had finally set in. It was a bittersweet thought. The sweetness of seeing my family and friends whom I haven't seen in 5 months and the bitter of leaving a life that I had grown to love and people that have literally made me their family. I was laeving with the feeling "Whenever you return to Spain, you have a home." When someone can say that to you, it brings a tear to your eye and a feeling of warmth to the heart. I made one last call on my Vodafone to say goodbye to a friend and turned it off for the last time. I was one of the first persons to clear customs and found a bench to sleep on and slept for an hour when I was awakened by chatter close to me. I realized it was some girl who was in the same line for the same plane as me earlier that day. I talked to her and she was a Spanish student doing the exact same thing I was doing Jan 12; heading to a country she had never been before, to stay with a family she didn't know and assume a new life. She was extremely nervous and I talked to her in Spanish and calmed her down and told her I would help out. We somehow sat next to eachother on the flight to Canada as I wowed her with stories about America. I helped her clear customs and make her flight to New York and she left me with "Whenever you come back to Alicante, you have a place to stay." I am now much more considerate of people visiting my country and those that have an interest in our culture, because I was once that person that was saying "What the HELL do I do." I grabbed another flight from Toronto into Chicago O'Hare and as I saw the sun setting on the skyline as we pulled into Chicago I felt a feeling of warmth in my heart and butterflies in my stomache.

Thank you so much Spain for everything that you have taught me about myself, I will return one day; maybe to live......

The first picture is of Me, Zak, David, and Dan in Milan, Italy. Funny that 2 kids you have known for years and years end up meeting you up in a random country.
The second picture is of BEAUTIFUL lake Como
The third is of me and Dan hanging out on a bridge over a canal in Milan.