The Panther Newspaper: Ashley Tries a Romantic Weekend Getaway in Milan
I’ve always dreamed of meeting a handsome, posh British man to sweep me off my feet and continually hypnotize me with his sexy accent. I never thought that my lifelong fantasy would actually become a reality, even though the circumstances I had imagined weren’t exactly how it all played out (but then again, life is rarely what you expect it to be).
We met at a pub that was far from classy and I gave him my number even though I didn’t expect him to use it. A week later, we were sitting in a steakhouse discovering the uncanny amount of similarities we have — we even unintentionally ordered the same meal. This immediate, strong connection led to our relationship escalating rather quickly and we soon found ourselves booking a weekend trip to Milan after only two months of dating.
Even though our flight was delayed, it took us about an hour to figure out the Italian metro, plus the hostel we booked provided us with poor service and even worse living conditions, we were still overjoyed to be together in a country that was foreign to both of us and eagerly went out to explore.
We stumbled across a quaint restaurant where we sat outside on a surprisingly humid night to share slices of pizza and a few beers. Toward the end of the meal, I went to the restroom and returned to find that he had bought a rose from one of the “looky-lookies” who kept approaching our table trying to sell us various items such as flowers, cigarettes or light-up toys. I swelled with amorous bliss, as no one has ever given me a rose before, and it certainly set the tone for the weekend.
After dinner, we walked along the Naviglio Grande canal and came across a group of dancers who were reveling next to the waterway. We sat back and enjoyed watching their choreographed dances at first, but then decided to join in once a slower song started to play. We quickly learned that neither of us really know how to dance, but the laughter that burst through our lips as we tried not to step on each other’s feet made for one of the best memories from our holiday. Even going to a club the next night wasn’t as fun as that first experience dancing together — and Milan is known for its magnificent nightlife.
Most of our time was spent eating rich Italian food and drinking fine wine, with the amusing motif of us ordering the same dishes continuing for almost every meal. Time seemed to slip past us as we ended up being the last ones at every restaurant where we ate dinner — we would finally tear our gazes away from one another and realize that everything in the restaurant had been taken down, except for our lone table.
The funniest moments came when we would be presented with our bill, and I would be the one to pay. The waiter would always come back assuming that it was his card and seem quite confused when they realized that it actually belonged to me. I paid for the expensive meals (jokes about being his sugar mama ensued between us) and he paid for all of the little things throughout the day like transportation, alcohol and entrance fees. It all ended up balancing out, as we both spent the same amount of money. It just goes to show that romantic doesn’t necessarily mean that your partner has to pay for everything.
