Why Not Travel?

A week between our group’s awesome day trip to Toledo and the arrival of my parents to visit me, I’m wondering whether I should be taking advantage of being in the heart of Europe. Many of my fellow IES Abroad students have already made or planned trips to Morocco, Italy, Germany (for Oktoberfest–I’m jealous), and a bunch of other places. I never really considered traveling throughout Europe while studying abroad, but now that I’m here, why not?

When in the US, I’ve never even bothered looking into traveling by plane throughout the country because it is sure to be impossibly expensive no matter what airline (unless you are going to Florida in the summer). It seems like the most popular option for cheap European air travel is Ryan Air. If you check their website, their flight prices are unbelievably inexpensive–like I literally can’t believe that the company can make money on tickets alone. It seems like people in the program have had pretty good luck with Ryan Air, but I’ve read that they charge a lot of hidden fees.

Many of the Americans here are taking weekend trips to typical tourist destinations–Rome, Paris, and Barcelona to name a few. For a weekend trip, I really want to go to a place outside of Spain that I have never been to before. It seems like Milan is a pretty good option. A round trip flight is 60 EUR, and I’ve never been there before. So that fulfills two of my criteria. Also, I am dying for Italian food. After many failed experiences at pizza and pasta here, I can regrettably say that Spain cannot do Italian food.

My aunt, who has been to Milan many times, sent me a long email explaining to me why it is a great city to visit. My dad also told me I should go, which I did not expect. Now I just need to find someone to come with me.

Oh, and Happy Halloween!