Getting Here & The First Few Weeks
Europe is one of the continents I have been to the most, particularly Southern & Western Europe, but never for work. It's always been for school, vacation or to visit my family here in Italia. I've always aspired to work overseas, even when going to school I wanted to get my degree in International Business with a focus in Marketing until my school took the program away before I could graduate. To think that one day I would be here actually doing exactly that feels like a dream.
I still can’t believe that it’s already been 3 weeks since coming to Southern Europe! Allora, let’s recap where I’ve already been thus far:
- I first flew from Chicago to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines for a connection to Venice
Ok pause. Theresa…why did you fly to Venice, when you’re first stop was Paris? Wouldn’t it have been easier/smarter to fly directly there first?
Ah – yup! And without going into the long and boring story of it, I had to use a ticket I had previously purchased months ago for a vacation with my friends where we were originally starting in Venice. It was easier and more financially responsible to get reimbursed for a flight I had already purchased than trying to purchase a brand new flight to Paris. Ok…and so next:
- After staying one night in Venice, I took an early flight to Paris
- That very same night, I took the Eurostar train under the Channel from Paris to London
- Then after one night in London, I took the Eurostar train back under the Channel from London to Paris where I stayed for 9 straight days
Pause again. Theresa! This isn’t a European tour, why are you going all over the place?!
Yeah, again, so I had a meeting in London for work and because I was in Paris, it was pretty convenient since the train is only 2 hours. The next day (Sept. 18) I needed to be back in Paris because there was supposed to be a conference that I needed to attend; however, due to strikes in Paris, that conference ended up getting cancelled. E così, we continue:
- I took a flight from Paris to Milan! This will be the main city I live in for the next couple of months (maybe)
- But! I only stayed one night here, because then I took the train down to Viareggio to visit my Nonna’s side for the weekend
- Finally, I took the train back and have been in Milan for this past week!
Needless to say, the last few weeks have truly been a whirlwind and I’m not even sure what I’ve done. Definitely shopped, ate, visited some landmarks, and took all forms of transportation: taxi, bus, train, tram, and planes! And it’s not over yet! Tomorrow, I’ll leave for Madrid that was supposed to be for one full week, but due to that Paris strike, I’ve been asked to go back to Paris for one day to attend that rescheduled conference. Then when I come back from Madrid, I’ll have 5 days in Milan before I go on my 17 day vacation.
Ahhh – I wanted to get into what my daily life has been like and what it is like working overseas in Europe. I’ll have to save that for my next post 🙂
