What was the best thing about the city you were in?
Ivana: The incredible cultural history and beautiful architecture that surrounded me daily, the incredible food, Tuscan traditions, the friendly people, and the weather.
Hattie: The best thing about the city was aperitivo. Almost every bar in Milan does aperitivo, where you pay somewhere between 8€ and 15€ for a drink and unlimited canapés. Being such a fashion conscious city, some of the big fashion houses hosted glamorous aperitivo on occasion, which was exciting and something you definitely wouldn’t find in England.
And the worst?
Ivana: The never-ending stream of tourists (even in mid-December and January), and the amount of English speakers who had come to the city to study. It was really frustrating as I wanted to be surrounded by Italians constantly, rather than making more English-speaking friends!
Hattie: The amount of tourists in the business centre, which happens to be right by all the tourist attractions. It meant you could be queuing for half an hour for a sandwich at lunchtime.
We spoke to Ivana Scatola and Hattie Doble to see what they made of their time in Italy during their Year Abroad. Ivana spent her first term in Florence working for ‘Florence News and Events’ – a local newspaper, whilst Hattie worked for an international commercial law firm in Milan. Here is what they had to say:
DAI NOSTRI INVIATI