From that day on, if I was ever going somewhere, I was running!

After studying Italian for a few solid hours I felt the urge to get outside and do something. After all, when you’re in Italy, why would you want to waste a beautiful 30 degree day (86 degrees to us) inside? 

My fellow students in the apartment were spending the day at museums or recovering from their fun nights at the clubs that brought them in at 5am.

So, feeling a bit lonely, I decided to attend to my "alone time" routine: run.

The famous River Po is a quick 2 minute walk from my apartment with a running trail that winds all the way down to the city. I pulled a Forrest Gump and ran until I didn’t feel like running anymore.

A ways down the path, I stopped and looked up. What did I see? 

Oh, just a giant castle towering above me.

That’s the kind of thing that happens here. 

You just have to get up, get lost, and you’ll find something that you never expected.

And that's the fun part about life's surprises, you can't look for them, you simply stumble upon them.