Road Trips: European Style

One of the greatest things about living in Milano is the location. Within one hour I can be on the beach, in the mountains, or basically anywhere in Europe (if I fly). So the past couple weekends I have taken advantage of that benefit and traveled. First was Gorgonzola for the gorgonzola cheese festival, then Parma for the prosciuto and parmeggiano, then I went to Munich for Oktoberfest. All three were great trips, but some were better than others.
Gorgonzola is a sleepy town about 45 minutesnorth east of Milano by train. If Gorgonzola was not invented there, I would probably never have gone. There is not much there, basically one church and a couple houses and basta. During the sagre (festival), it is supposed to liven up a bit, but as you can see in the picture there were still only a couple people. The cheese was great and I had tons of gorgonzola themed dishes like gorgonzola lasagne and risotto. Even though the town is lack-luster, it was a great experience.

Next up on the Euro road trip is Parma!! Parma is a beautiful classical

Italian town. It is the town where parmiggiano reggiano and prosciutto di parma come from. Ther

e are a couple really cool churches, but besides them, I think you only go there to eat and enjoy the atmosphere. Everyone rides around on bikes and looks like they love life. I hear they have a very high standard of living, and it is visible when you walk the streets. In Par

ma, Nick and I ate a 24 month aged parmiggian and some delicious prosciutto crudo. Man that stuff is good!

Finally on the trip was Munich. I went to Munich four years ago in a drinking binge that was Oktoberfest. We were literally there for no more than 12 hours, so I didn't really get to see the city. This time I planned better and spent 4 days there. I drove up with a fellow MBA student who is origina

lly from Munich. We drove up through the snow capped Alps of Switzerland and Austria. It was such a beautiful ride that I decided I have to go back there with my Girlfriend when she visits... Anyway, On Friday morning I received a tour of the city from my friend, and man, that is one beautiful city! Everything about is so clean, organized, and beautiful. The buildings are of a classic German architecture (or what I imagine to be classic German style). I really enjoy the culture that they have worked to maintain, for example, drindls (the dresses women wear), beer, Oktober

fest, and public gathering locations. After the tour, the remainder of my time was spent at the fest. In the fewest words possible (as not to incriminate myself) it was FANTASTIC. I had a blast.

I love living here in Milano and I cannot wait to travel more. I have a feeling I will be exploring the alps quite a bit this winter. I found out today our MBA ski cup will be held in st. Moritz and there will be about 400 MBA students from around the world taking over the town to ski and meet eachother.

Until next time!