Ciao a Tutti e Benvenuti! I plan on documenting my travels throughout Italy and Europe on this blog from time to time. Please feel free to check it out!
Well, I went to the bank yesterday and exchanged U.S. Dollars for Euros. The Euro is an interesting currency. It almost is too hard to believe that it is actual money. Euro bills are much smaller than American Dollars and are designed very differently. They have an holographic boarder on one side of the bill which is something the American Dollar doesn't have and of course they have watermarks just like U.S. bills also. The currency itself is spit into bills of 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100. The 1 Euro are not bills, but coins. I have seen these before, but as of right now, I do not have any. I received 5, 10, and 20 bills, but I will post a picture of one anyways just to show what they look like that I found from the internet. Each 1 Euro coin has a different picture of a country within the European Union on it, but they are accepted anywhere within the European Union.
5 Euro Bill
10 Euro Bill
20 Euro Bill
1 Euro Coin
I had also purchased some outlet adapters online so the American plugs will be able to fit into European outlets. I purchased a few of these for Continental Europe and some for Great Britain if I decide to go there. Compared to U.S. plugs, European plugs are very small and have two thin prongs. Plugs from Great Britain and Ireland, however, are very large and look very monotonous. They have three large prongs.
That's all for this post. Until next time...Arrivederci!
Well, this is my first post on my first blog I have ever created. I am very excited about my trip I will be taking for my study abroad experience to Milan, Italy. I have so much to do and so much to look forward to. I will be leaving in 11 days. The wait is really going to bother me. I have already obtained the essentials for any traveler (i.e. passport, student visa) but have a lot more to do. I am planning my schedule while at my stay at UCSC (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) which stands for the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart. So far, my schedule is looking pretty good, and of course, NO FRIDAY CLASSES!!! which I am really looking forward to.
UCSC Courtyard
My flight journey will be a long one. I will be going from San Antonio to Houston, Houston to London and then London to Milan. I can't wait to see my great aunt Zia Laura and my cousin Michele, who I haven't seen since I was five years old. They live in Biella, which is a town about an hour away from Milan. I will be staying with them until my classes start on February 1st. Hopefully I will be able to go see their mountain homes in Piedicavallo, which is a small town about 3-4 hours away from the French Border. I have memories of that village from when I last visited them as a five year old. Even after fifteen years, I can still remember it very clearly.
The Town of Piedicavallo
I will try to figure out how to post additional pictures and I will put up some of UCSC and Piedicavallo to show what they look like. I will definitely put up some more pictures when I actually get to Italy of the real thing. I might be experimenting with the blog outlook also so don't be alarmed if it looks differently the next time I post.
Well...until the next post, Ciao a tutti e buon fine settimana!!!
