Ciao
By Sophie. Filed in Uncategorized |
Anne Staeheli is an Arts & Sciences junior studying abroad in Europe this semester.
Anne (center) wearing a mask in Venice.
Ciao Ciao!
Well, I actually did not make it to Paris due to some things that came up, but instead I did some Florentine festivities last weekend. For the most part it was a very relaxing weekend, which was much needed after the trip to Amsterdam. We got to see a lot of Florence that we really didn’t expect. We did a Firenze bar crawl starting at noon and ended around 11 p.m. This kind of tour was seemingly more fun if you ask me (kidding…sort of). I can truthfully tell mom I only ordered half-pints of beer at the bars, which was more economical and “safe” for me, however, “half-pint” became my nick name for the day.
We left for Venice early Friday morning with the whole school and arrived at our campsite around lunch time. Immediately, we all jumped on the next ferry to arrive at the famous Carnevale. Our priorities at this time consisted of finding masks and food. It was definitely one of the most expensive cities we have travelled to, so it was cheap i panini e gelato for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I unfortunately left my camera in Firenze.again, but many of my friends promised to tag me on face book in all of the photos. On Friday night, we all just wandered around aimlessly; trying not to get lost…that was a bust. We walked for hours trying to find the train station, because every person we asked said, “just over the next bridge.” When we got to the train station, we realized we had no idea where the campsite was located, naturally. Then, someone had the brilliant idea to take a bus back. We found the bus station, just over another bridge, and hopped on the bus that we thought was headed in the right direction. Turns out, it was not. We eventually made it back to the transfer station, and were told to take a number 11.little did we know that there are two number 11s, naturally. Long story short, we ended up running (yes, actually running) from one bus to another, stopping traffic and so on. We made it back by midnight, which sounds great if you leave out the part where we left at 7 p.m. All in all, we got to see a lot of Venice so it really didn’t matter how lost we got. Did I mention we were all wearing masks? Picture that.
On Saturday, we got up early and went to Murano, on the right ferry, to see the famous glass blowing museums and art. This was my absolute favorite city so far. The crowds were no where to be found and the streets were wider, as well as walk-able. There were so many beautiful glass sculptures all around the city. Apparently these change all the time so every time you go back, it is always a different look. We went back to Venice for lunch and started to get ready for the big night of the Carnevale. The costumes were so detailed and intricate on all the people walking around. It was supposedly the most crowded day in Venice of the year. I believe this because I have never felt so claustrophobic in my life. You could not take your eyes off of your “buddy” for a second otherwise you would lose them for the rest of the day. I definitely needed a leash. We of course went to Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge to do some of the best people watching I have ever done. After wandering for hours, getting lost and finding il vino economico, we watched the costume contests and the dance performances. There was a parade and street dance afterwards, which everyone joined in on and created a large conga line. Costume or not, everyone did it. The music was fantastic and the people were just ecstatic. By the end of the night, the joke was that we all needed lifejackets (this may or may not have been true). It was just amazing and so much fun to be apart of. It put Halloween and prom to shame. However, I did break my awesome mask in the conga line (don’t ask), but I think superglue will do the trick. We eventually made it back to the campsite around 1 a.m. and woke up the next day to mosey the streets for the last time on Sunday. All three days we had perfect sunny weather so there were no complaints in that department. We made it back to Firenze around 7 p.m. to start studying for midterm week. Whose idea was it to put midterms during Mardi gras, seriously!? We’ll see how that pans out. I’m headed back to my homeland of Switzerland next weekend, hope all is fabulous back in the states!
From Italy with love,
Anne
Tags: anne staeheli, Paris, study abroad