This might be hard to do in a paragraph but I just want to go over what my trip was like in a nutshell.
My favorite parts:
-My boyfriend
-My new friends
-My new lifestyle/surroundings
-Being on my own
-Becoming more comfortable with my Spanish
-Learning about Europe/Culture
-Traveling to so many different places
-Botellons en la playa
My least favorite parts:
-Cockroaches/Medusas
-The Euro
-Being so far from my family
-My bedroom in my flat
-Leaving everyone
I had the most amazing trip and made so many new friends. The thing about my program is that I got to meet people from almost every country in Europe and learn so much about each one. I loved the language barriers (probably my favorite part of having friends who don't speaking English as their first language). I got to travel all over Europe and see beautiful places that pictures cant do any justice. I've tasted foods that I've never tasted and learned a few words from different languages. I've met an amazing person and even tricked him into being my boyfriend ;) Just kiddddinggg! But most importantly, I've learned a lot about myself and fell in love with Europe and all of it's diversity. Unfortunately this is my last blog because, let's be honest, who wants to hear about my travels to Boone, North Carolina or how I'm living the dream in Cary right now until it's back to school. Thought so. :) :) :)
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Venezia
So...sorry it took me so long to post my Venice blog but as you can imagine, I wanted to spend most of my free time with all of my friends during the last few weeks of my trip. But I will recap you on some things Koen and I encountered and did while we were in Venice for a few days!
June 4th--
We arrived at Marco Polo airport around 5:30 pm and had to take two buses to get to our campsite, Fusina. We didn't really know what to expect when we got there because some said it was a "backpacker's paradise" (whatever that means) and others didn't like it. Well it turned out to be like one of those sleepaway camps you go to when youre a kid. Tolerable. Tiny cabins with separate bathrooms and showers 30 yards away. However, it didnt really bother us because we werent planning on spending much time there anyways. Because sitting in a cabin our first nice in Italy would be too depressing, we bought a 3 day boat pass for the trip and hopped on the shuttle boat to the island. It was about a 20 minute ride and the sun was setting right as we were driving over there so it was beautiful. When we got to the island, naturally, my camera died immediately so I didn't get to take too many pictures. But we decided to walk over to San Marco square and surprisingly, it was pretty empty. The one thing I didn't like about this area was that it was swarming with guys selling roses. I mean this one guy came up to me telling me the rose was free (probably seeing me and Koen hand-in-hand was a promising sale for him) and then proceeded to follow us after I took it and asked Koen for money--ugh Indian Giver!! So i just handed it back to him and from then on, avoided eye contact with those guys. (They were more obnoxious than the ones in Alicante and I was beginning to think that was impossible). Then, because the last boat was leaving the island at 10:30, we started heading back to the dock and got some delicious gelato for the ride back. Good first day for how late we got there!
June 5th--
Today we woke up a little earlier and hopped on the boat to Venice. Because we had already seen St. Mark's the day before, we decided to navigate our way to Ponte di Rialto (one of the famous bridges) and Koen and I both being geographically challenged, made it there about an hour later. The good thing about Venice is that if you get lost, it's not so bad. There are cute little streets and bridges everywhere--great photo opportunities and birds are everywhere. When we finally made it, we got some very overpriced pizza by the Grand Canal and sat down near the water to watch the boats go by. Very relaxing. The bridge itself was crazy because it was full of tourists. Im not even sure why it's so famous because in reality, that bridge was not that great. It was funny because it was flooded with mostly Americans who were taking bazillions of pictures of themselves. You'd think you'd run into a lot of Italians while in Venice but to be honest, it's quite the tourist attraction. I mean, I'm thinking that when I ask this old man behind me to take a picture of me and Koen, he's going to hesitate and try to understand what I just said in English while I'm playing a game of charades and holding up my camera to act out what I want him to do. But he and his wife are just some couple on vacation that are from South Carolina. Boringggggg, but made the whole situation much easier. When we finished here, we made an attempt to reach a bridge called Ponte degli Scalzi where we could take a boat from the top of the canal to San Marco. However, we once again got lost a few more times in the San Polo area. When we got to the bridge, we took a break and had some slushies by the bridge ("slushpuppies" as Koen likes to call them). The other funny thing about Venice is that it's not really like most of the cities I've been to in Europe where there are several hot spots you "have " to make it to while you're there. It's just a very relaxed place where you take a stroll and eventually run into a pretty bridge or hidden piazza where there aren't tourists everywhere you look. That's probably why it was my favorite place....the peacefulness. Anyways, we decided to hunt for a certain piazza that was on the map named Piazalle Roma but to this day, I still don't think it exists because we could not find it if we had to save our lives. So we, being the lazy people we are, got on a watertaxi that we thought was supposed to take us to San Marco where we could eat lunch or have a drink. (Keep in mind this was 6 euros) About 8 minutes into the ride, we dock at one of the stops and the boat driver tells everyone they have to get off--we got on the wrong boat and were back at Ponte di Rialto. Dummies. So we made the best of it and walked to San Marco on foot. Once we were back at the square, we came upon a flock of pidgeons and oh my gosh! We got to both have one land on us. We call it our "love bird" because one of the birds who was brown (while the rest were black/grey) landed on both me and Koen. Everyone says they're really dirty birds and it's not sanitary but that was one of my favorite things--because how many people can say they've been to Venice and went to the famous piazza and had a bird land on them!!?? So cool. We did some more walking once the birds realized we were pretending to have birdseed and wouldn't fall for our tricks anymore. We got some delicious milkshakes and watched these hilarious Italian men in action. This guy apparently was going down the wrong canal with his boat and he and the gondola driver were yelling at each other Italian-style with their hands in the air and everything. So naturally, I took a picture. Finally my favorite part of the day came--dinner by a canal. I told Koen we had to eat at a cute restaurant right by one of the canals just so I could make my mom jealous and have some scenery. We ended up eating at a very overpriced restaurant by a canal and had some delicious carbonara pasta, I believe it was. Yummy.
When we got back to the campsite, we thought it was too early to go to bed so we went over to the campsite's bar and had some beers which were also very expensive and people-watched as the Americans pretended they were at the club inside wearing their Venetian masks and listening to Lady Gaga. I didn't feel like I was in Italy at this point but oh well..
June 6th--
Today, we went to Lido Beach, an island near Venice that is supposed to be beautiful and the ideal location for beach-goers. What did we get? A rainy, deserted island with lots of thunder and confusion. We arrived on the island and followed the 4 other couples who didn't look like they knew where they were going either and walked over to the main beach where we found deserted tiki huts and foldable beach chairs stacked up all over the place. It was rainy a little and lucky for Koen, I packed my rain jacket AND my flimsy umbrella from freshman year that wouldn't stand a chance if a gust of wind were to blow by. We heard thunder so we hopped on the first bus we saw and just rode it until we saw civilization. It was a very odd island for being a tourist attraction because there really weren't many restaurants nearby or places to hang out. We got off where we saw a coffee shop and ducked in there to wait for the storm to pass. It was fun to sit there with our little espressos and see people frantically riding by on their bicycles (soaking wet) caught in the unexpected hurricane!! Once it finally stopped raining, we walked by some shops and found a cute little cafe further downtown and had sandwiches and a beer. This the was what we did for the majority of the day until we realized we were probably pissing off the waitress who was just watching us sit there and people watch with no food in front of us, nursing our beers. So we walked some more until we found a place to walk on the beach and although it was raining, we didn't wanna sit in the cafe again so we just went out there and walked on a little jetty to take stupid pictures. Still raining, we waited for a bus to come and headed back to where the boat would pick us up. We, of course, got there a little too early and bought some beers over by the 24 hour store and sat by the dock and watched the sun finally come out!! Hurrayyy!! Once we were back, we changed into some dry clothes and took the bus to the train station to check out any other restaurants that might be cheaper than the one at our campsite. Another thing about Venice, everything pretty much closes down around 11 and there's no nightlife. Booooo. So we found a cheap little pizza joint, had some pizza and wine and walked back to the bus stop. It was an experience because it wasn't the nicest area of Italy I'm guessing and there were some pretty suspicious people around us (it was nighttime too so I was on edge) and I saw my first hooker. I'm sure Koen enjoyed my reaction to this because him being from the Netherlands it probably doesnt phase him when he sees one. They're an interesting breed...
June 7th--
Next morning, we had to check out at 10 am, however our flight was at around 4 or 5 so we really didn't know what to do. Hangout at the campsite or hangout at the airport? We chose the campsite, plus it was the perfect place to start writing my rough drafts for my blogs and for Koen to play endless games of bowling on my iphone. He's a nerd. We waited about 2.5 hours and caught the bus back to the airport.
June 4th--
We arrived at Marco Polo airport around 5:30 pm and had to take two buses to get to our campsite, Fusina. We didn't really know what to expect when we got there because some said it was a "backpacker's paradise" (whatever that means) and others didn't like it. Well it turned out to be like one of those sleepaway camps you go to when youre a kid. Tolerable. Tiny cabins with separate bathrooms and showers 30 yards away. However, it didnt really bother us because we werent planning on spending much time there anyways. Because sitting in a cabin our first nice in Italy would be too depressing, we bought a 3 day boat pass for the trip and hopped on the shuttle boat to the island. It was about a 20 minute ride and the sun was setting right as we were driving over there so it was beautiful. When we got to the island, naturally, my camera died immediately so I didn't get to take too many pictures. But we decided to walk over to San Marco square and surprisingly, it was pretty empty. The one thing I didn't like about this area was that it was swarming with guys selling roses. I mean this one guy came up to me telling me the rose was free (probably seeing me and Koen hand-in-hand was a promising sale for him) and then proceeded to follow us after I took it and asked Koen for money--ugh Indian Giver!! So i just handed it back to him and from then on, avoided eye contact with those guys. (They were more obnoxious than the ones in Alicante and I was beginning to think that was impossible). Then, because the last boat was leaving the island at 10:30, we started heading back to the dock and got some delicious gelato for the ride back. Good first day for how late we got there!
June 5th--
Today we woke up a little earlier and hopped on the boat to Venice. Because we had already seen St. Mark's the day before, we decided to navigate our way to Ponte di Rialto (one of the famous bridges) and Koen and I both being geographically challenged, made it there about an hour later. The good thing about Venice is that if you get lost, it's not so bad. There are cute little streets and bridges everywhere--great photo opportunities and birds are everywhere. When we finally made it, we got some very overpriced pizza by the Grand Canal and sat down near the water to watch the boats go by. Very relaxing. The bridge itself was crazy because it was full of tourists. Im not even sure why it's so famous because in reality, that bridge was not that great. It was funny because it was flooded with mostly Americans who were taking bazillions of pictures of themselves. You'd think you'd run into a lot of Italians while in Venice but to be honest, it's quite the tourist attraction. I mean, I'm thinking that when I ask this old man behind me to take a picture of me and Koen, he's going to hesitate and try to understand what I just said in English while I'm playing a game of charades and holding up my camera to act out what I want him to do. But he and his wife are just some couple on vacation that are from South Carolina. Boringggggg, but made the whole situation much easier. When we finished here, we made an attempt to reach a bridge called Ponte degli Scalzi where we could take a boat from the top of the canal to San Marco. However, we once again got lost a few more times in the San Polo area. When we got to the bridge, we took a break and had some slushies by the bridge ("slushpuppies" as Koen likes to call them). The other funny thing about Venice is that it's not really like most of the cities I've been to in Europe where there are several hot spots you "have " to make it to while you're there. It's just a very relaxed place where you take a stroll and eventually run into a pretty bridge or hidden piazza where there aren't tourists everywhere you look. That's probably why it was my favorite place....the peacefulness. Anyways, we decided to hunt for a certain piazza that was on the map named Piazalle Roma but to this day, I still don't think it exists because we could not find it if we had to save our lives. So we, being the lazy people we are, got on a watertaxi that we thought was supposed to take us to San Marco where we could eat lunch or have a drink. (Keep in mind this was 6 euros) About 8 minutes into the ride, we dock at one of the stops and the boat driver tells everyone they have to get off--we got on the wrong boat and were back at Ponte di Rialto. Dummies. So we made the best of it and walked to San Marco on foot. Once we were back at the square, we came upon a flock of pidgeons and oh my gosh! We got to both have one land on us. We call it our "love bird" because one of the birds who was brown (while the rest were black/grey) landed on both me and Koen. Everyone says they're really dirty birds and it's not sanitary but that was one of my favorite things--because how many people can say they've been to Venice and went to the famous piazza and had a bird land on them!!?? So cool. We did some more walking once the birds realized we were pretending to have birdseed and wouldn't fall for our tricks anymore. We got some delicious milkshakes and watched these hilarious Italian men in action. This guy apparently was going down the wrong canal with his boat and he and the gondola driver were yelling at each other Italian-style with their hands in the air and everything. So naturally, I took a picture. Finally my favorite part of the day came--dinner by a canal. I told Koen we had to eat at a cute restaurant right by one of the canals just so I could make my mom jealous and have some scenery. We ended up eating at a very overpriced restaurant by a canal and had some delicious carbonara pasta, I believe it was. Yummy.
When we got back to the campsite, we thought it was too early to go to bed so we went over to the campsite's bar and had some beers which were also very expensive and people-watched as the Americans pretended they were at the club inside wearing their Venetian masks and listening to Lady Gaga. I didn't feel like I was in Italy at this point but oh well..
June 6th--
Today, we went to Lido Beach, an island near Venice that is supposed to be beautiful and the ideal location for beach-goers. What did we get? A rainy, deserted island with lots of thunder and confusion. We arrived on the island and followed the 4 other couples who didn't look like they knew where they were going either and walked over to the main beach where we found deserted tiki huts and foldable beach chairs stacked up all over the place. It was rainy a little and lucky for Koen, I packed my rain jacket AND my flimsy umbrella from freshman year that wouldn't stand a chance if a gust of wind were to blow by. We heard thunder so we hopped on the first bus we saw and just rode it until we saw civilization. It was a very odd island for being a tourist attraction because there really weren't many restaurants nearby or places to hang out. We got off where we saw a coffee shop and ducked in there to wait for the storm to pass. It was fun to sit there with our little espressos and see people frantically riding by on their bicycles (soaking wet) caught in the unexpected hurricane!! Once it finally stopped raining, we walked by some shops and found a cute little cafe further downtown and had sandwiches and a beer. This the was what we did for the majority of the day until we realized we were probably pissing off the waitress who was just watching us sit there and people watch with no food in front of us, nursing our beers. So we walked some more until we found a place to walk on the beach and although it was raining, we didn't wanna sit in the cafe again so we just went out there and walked on a little jetty to take stupid pictures. Still raining, we waited for a bus to come and headed back to where the boat would pick us up. We, of course, got there a little too early and bought some beers over by the 24 hour store and sat by the dock and watched the sun finally come out!! Hurrayyy!! Once we were back, we changed into some dry clothes and took the bus to the train station to check out any other restaurants that might be cheaper than the one at our campsite. Another thing about Venice, everything pretty much closes down around 11 and there's no nightlife. Booooo. So we found a cheap little pizza joint, had some pizza and wine and walked back to the bus stop. It was an experience because it wasn't the nicest area of Italy I'm guessing and there were some pretty suspicious people around us (it was nighttime too so I was on edge) and I saw my first hooker. I'm sure Koen enjoyed my reaction to this because him being from the Netherlands it probably doesnt phase him when he sees one. They're an interesting breed...
June 7th--
Next morning, we had to check out at 10 am, however our flight was at around 4 or 5 so we really didn't know what to do. Hangout at the campsite or hangout at the airport? We chose the campsite, plus it was the perfect place to start writing my rough drafts for my blogs and for Koen to play endless games of bowling on my iphone. He's a nerd. We waited about 2.5 hours and caught the bus back to the airport.
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