La vita è teatro. Tutti in maschera.

"Life is a theatre. Let's get masked."

So many of you were concerned about my last post. Understandable since you are not here and usually I would call half of you to talk about my problems, however since I cannot do that, I am challenged to face issues that arise head on (no, I am not blogging about a boy for those of you who assumed that, I am not THAT girly.) and I am really thankful for the challenges because I feel as if I am growing closer to myself, both emotionally and spiritually. So please, do not freak out, but I told myself I would blog my experience abroad, so that includes the good days, the bad days, but not the ugly days because I don't want pictures taken when I feel gross. (I hope you can sense feel my humor and are laughing)

Allora (that means "well/so" it is equivalent to saying "okay so/umm") on Friday the 10th I actually met up with one of my sorority sister's who is currently studying abroad in Rome for dinner with the group of friends she traveled to Florence with for the weekend. We had a lot of fun at dinner and it was really nice to get out and enjoy a fun meal with a group of girls. Jessi and Lainey spent the night at our apartment after dinner since we all were going to Venice together and the buses left at 6 am on Saturday the 11th.

--Venice-- (I'll break the trip down the best I can)

Saturday, February 11th 2010
6 am--Buses left Firenze. It was not easy waking up at 5 am to walk in the cold to go to where the buses were meeting, but the worst part was sitting for 3.5 hours. We drove through the mountains and countryside, which was really pretty but completely covered in snow! It was nice to drive through different parts of Italy since all I have really seen so far is just Florence. Also, two teachers were our guides for the weekend, Franco and Stefano. They bicker and talk like a married couple and Franco has the funniest accent when he speaks English that I just can't but smile and giggle when he talks. He is also very intelligent and I always made sure to walk close to him so I could hear all about the history of basically everything we walk past over the course of the weekend.

Piazza San Marco

10am-- Arrived at the boating dock where we had a boat take us from the mainland to Venice. Venice is completely surrounded by water (hence the gondolas) so getting to Venice and the other islands happen by boat. Once we got to Venice, we went to Piazza San Marco, the most iconic scene of Venice. (the large open square where all the pigeons are) Sadly, I did not get my pigeon picture due to the large amount of people celebrating the opening weekend of Carnival, which officially began on Sunday the 12th. (During my study abroad experience there are two pictures I want: one, a picture of me running through a large group of pigeons and two: storming the beach at normandy (probably won't happen so it has transferred to my 'bucket list') There is a church in the Piazza, Basilica di San Marco that we got to go inside of and I was in awe by the outside, but my mouth hit the floor the second I stepped inside and looked up.

Inside the Basilica di San Marco

The entire ceiling was done in a mosaic (the Italian's love their mosaics) and it took 5 centuries to complete. The tiny glass pieces that appear gold in color actually had gold in them, added during the glass making period. It is unbelievable the amount of detail, dedication and perfection artists had back then and they would start projections they most likely wouldn't see the end result of, unless you managed to live for hundreds of years. Renaissance and Gothic style are the two most common styles in Italy, personally my favorites because I love the mass amounts of small detail and symmetry. In other words, Europe is simply beautiful and I am excited to travel to other countries and revel in the beauty that is there. After the church I had lunch with Alex (not my roommate but one of my sorority sisters), Aubrey (another Alpha Phi), Lainey (who is actually an Alpha Phi and is technically my 'niece' since her big sis is my twin, meaning we share the same big Chelsea...don't think too hard about that one), Jessi and Alex (my roommate). It was good, we all had pizza since it was the only thing under 10 euro...Venice is too expensive for its own good.

2pm--After lunch we walked back to the dock where the boat first dropped us off in Venice to get back on the boat to head to Murano, a small island famous for its handblown glass. We got to go inside one of the factories and watch them make a vase and a small glass horse, then shop of course. I bought Mom a pair of earrings (knowing how picky she is, I hope she actually likes them :]) and I bought myself a pendant to put on a chain. I figured it was small enough that I could always wear it and remember my trip to Venice.

Murano Glassblowing 

3:30pm-- Back to the boat and off to another island, Burano. Burano is famous for their lace work but more importantly the brightly colored houses. If you google Venice, a lot of the pictures that come up are of Burano because the bright colors make for wonderful photos. The island was very quite and peaceful. So far, Burano has been one of my favorite places because of the calming effect it has on the mind and body. Also, I wouldn't mind living in an aqua colored house...just saying.

Burano--my favorite place

4:30pm-- After a long and very freezing day, we were back on the boat to return to the mainland in order to get back to our hotel which was more in the countryside, around popular places for summer vacationing. We had to wait for the buses at the bus stop for about 25 mins and I swear we were all about to collapse from exhaustion and delirium from the cold. We all huddled up like penguins and sang songs with the word "sun" it in, thinking it would warm us up. To be honest, I think it worked only because we were laughing so hard at how crazy we probably looked to everyone around us.

6:30pm-- We got to the hotel and got our rooms and had about an hour before we would leave for dinner. I decided to put on an extra pair of pants since one wasn't enough.

8:30pm-- I swear we got lost because it took us an hour to find this restaurant, but we finally made it! We had a delicious traditional Carnival dinner, four courses of course. The first course was a specially cooked radish with a cheese melted on the side, it has a similar consistency to brie. It was actually very good, I was a little nervous at first because I didn't know exactly how I would feel about this baked, cooked, I don't really know, radish but I was surprised by how yummy it was. It was flower shaped like an artichoke but tasted more like asparagus (in texture). The second dish was pumpkin risotto with smoked grated cheese on top. I was tempted to have seconds because it was unbelievable, but the two pairs of pants weren't very giving. The third dish, to be honest, I am not 100% sure what meat it was, it sounded like he said chicken, but I think it was stuffed hen to be exact, wrapped in bacon (obviously). Potatoes were served on the side and it was pretty yummy, but I was getting full since I am not used to having such large, long, filling meals. Dessert was tiramisu and fritters (pastries). Dinner didn't end until 11pm and I swear I lost my mind sometime during that period because I was so tired that nothing I said made sense. We all were just completely out of it and full. The second we got to the hotel, at midnight, I got into my pajamas and passed out.

---Carnival in Venice---

Sunday, February 12th.

7am-- Rise and Shine! We had a terrible 'continental' breakfast at the hotel and realized that our hopes of it being warmer were crushed by the sight of snow all over the ground. Oh well, the sun was out at least :] Never been so happy to see the sun before in my life.

10am-- Arrived in Venice to go to the Palazzo Grassi, which was a palace but it was bought in 2004 (If I remember correctly) by some very wealthy Frenchman who transformed it into a contemporary art museum. The pieces on display were very interesting, my favorite being a giant, metallic pink, balloon animal (a dog to be exact) and the artist's attention to the smallest details was mind-blowing. He got the tie on on the nose spot on and even included the ripples the balloon makes where the balloon-artist would twist to make the legs and head. Oh and the entire thing was made out of some very heavy, solid material...not sure what exactly...still impressive.

12 noon--After the museum we made our way back to Piazza San Marco to watch "Volo dell'Angelo" Flight of the Angel, which signifies the start of Carnival. A woman dressed in a traditional outfit was lowered from atop the bell tower down onto the stage on the other side of the Piazza. It was completely packed and the frenchman behind me was literally on top of me which his small child leaning on my head telling his dad all about what was going on. If I didn't love children so much, I would have been highly annoyed, plus he also had a cute little accent and spoke french. After, we all went to lunch at a caffe, had pizza again (I know, it's terrible) but it was amazing. It had brie and bell peppers on top of it and I was in heaven. The italian's really know what they are doing when it comes to cooking, except when they use too much salt. Alex and I ate at a restaurant right by our house and it was so salty that we couldn't finish our meal. I got sick after, I felt like I ate the ocean. But, the overall atmosphere of the city was amazing. Masks, costumes, laugher were everywhere. People were dancing and I was wearing my mask that I had bought in Burano. Funny story, a man was taking a picture and I thought I was standing in the way, when in actuality he was taking a picture of me and I just started laughing and he thanked me. :]

2pm--We headed back to Piazza San Marco to meet Franco and Stefano because the group decided that we all wanted to go inside the Palazzo Ducale, the Duke's Palace. The entire palace was done in Gothic style and I swear someone had to walk behind me and pick my mouth up so I wouldn't trip, the details and decorations were indescribable. From the grand entrance to the hallways to the CEILINGS, yes the ceilings were decorated more so than the walls. The purpose of the palace was not to only house the Duke but it was also used by the Senate and Grand Council. Venice was once a Republic, so the Palazzo Ducale is where courts were held (the court room was decorated with gigantic paintings, the central one depicting Christ) and it was also attached to the prison next door by a very tiny bridge that we were able to walk through and see the cells. Two rooms were my favorite, the first room had large maps (at least 10 feet tall and 25 feet long...probably bigger but we all know I am terrible at math and dimensions, just imagine GIANT rooms) on the walls and two giant globes in the middle of the room. The second room was the Grand Council, a room that could easily fit 2000 people and looked similar to the ballroom from Beauty and the Beast. I still am not sure how they did it, but the art work and decorations on the ceilings were jaw dropping. Seriously, it would bring tears of wonderment to your eyes to see every detail throughout the entire Palace, inside and out, it was beautiful.

Palazzo Ducale

Back row (left to right): Jessi, Aubrey, Franco, Stefano, Alex. Front row (left to right): Alex (alpha phi), me, Lainey

3:30pm-- We headed back to the hotel to pick up two girls who were sick and stayed there instead of joining us and then we headed back to Firenze.


Overall, the weekend was amazing. I loved Venice and although I was frozen, I enjoyed every second of the weekend. I felt amazing the entire time and I am happy to realize how positive of a person I really am. I love Florence, I love Italy and I am SOOOOOOOOO EXCITED FOR PARIS!!!! I cannot begin to describe how excited I am, I can't think about it because I'll start crying.


CIAO!


P.S.

I have had a lovely Valentine's Day so far. Alex and I went to Gusta's pizza which they made the pizza's into hearts and tonight we are having a girls night with Jessi and Lainey at our favorite restaurant.

Happy Valentine's Day from Firenze!! (Gusta's pizza)