Venezia

Last weekend, my roommate Jasmine, our friend, Nick, and I all went to Venice. None of us had ever been before and after the monsoon that had hit Rome Thursday, we were more than ready to get out of town!! We flew out Thursday evening and got into Venice around 9:30p.



As everyone knows, transportation is done almost entirely by boat in Venice - it was still kind of cool to see how we were to get to our hotel for the weekend.



Of course, as you can see from the pictures, it was dark when we got in, so its not like we actually got to see anything. The next morning we got up fairly leisurely and headed out for a day of exploring the historic island of Venice. (For those of you that may not know, the city is comprised of multiple islands, the historic center is on but one of them.) We were staying on Lido, though, so first we had to catch the vaparetto (a bus in any other city) to the main island.



While it had been quite nasty when we left Rome, we were extremely lucky with the weather in Venice. It was cold, but absolutely gorgeous, not a cloud in the sky!! I think one of the coolest things was actually being able to see the Alps from the Vaparetto. Not only was it a good reminder of just how far north we were, but it reminded me of one of the things that I love, and all too often take for granted, about home - the mountains!!



We started in what seemed like the only logical spot - Piazza San Marco. While piazzas are definitely becoming more and more commonplace to me, there is always something unique about each and every one. It was still early enough in the morning that it wasn't overly crowded yet, which made for a good inaugural experience. Of course, amidst all the vendors and lines of tourists were people (more tourists) feeding the pigeons - it seemed oddly fitting. So Jasmine and Nick took their touristy pictures just before we went inside Saint Mark's Basilica. (I'm happy to say that with the way my friends take pictures, there is no need for me to carry around my camera - I just steal theirs!! So thank you for the pictures everyone!!)









After we had fully explored the basilica and, to some extent, the piazza, we decided to get to know the city. I have come to learn that the best way to truly experience a new environment is to explore and, sometimes, even get lost - so that's what we did!! We had no map and no real idea of where we wanted to go, so we just wandered the paved streets of Venice all day - it was great!! I have to admit that I have heard mixed reviews of Venice, but Nick and I both agreed that it is by far and away, of the places we have been thus far, our favorite place in Italy. Mixed somewhere in between the combination of paved and water streets, there is just something about Venice that is incredibly beautiful and romantic, in spite of all the tourists. Of course, it is also nice that the historic part of the city is only open to pedestrians - it was slightly surreal to not have to worry about vespas popping up out of nowhere or listen to the incessant sounds of traffic.



(Little did we know that Venice has its own leaning tower. Slightly easier to understand in a city built on the water, but it is rather funny how difficult it seems for the Italians to get anything straight - a list of some sort seems to be par for the course.)



Eventually, after having tracked down some lunch (I forged ahead with my mission of experiencing truly Italian pizza), we made our way over to the Ponte Rialto. Nick really wanted to see it as it is the point from which a lot of pictures of Venice are taken as it spans the grand canal. There were way too many people and we basically had to fight our way through, but it was worth the effort - quite the view!!



After the Ponte Rialto, it was getting into late afternoon at this point and we'd been going nonstop all day, we decided to head back to the hotel for siesta, (seriously, probably one of the best ideas the Italians have ever had!!), before heading back out later for dinner. We all agreed that it was quite nice to be able to rest for a little while - being touristy is not super relaxing.

Anyway, we decided to take the opportunity to do some research on restaurants before leaving since we had no idea where to start. Of course, at this point, Jasmine realizes that she left her Rick Steves' Italy book at home, something that could have been quite helpful at this point in narrowing our search. (We were kicking ourselves over this for awhile.) There are a bajillion websites of course, but that required lots of sifting and none of us felt too excited about that. In the end, we found a place with little effort, but the moral of the story - if you have one, bring your guidebook, for reference purposes if nothing else.

I digress. Saturday we decided to start with Doge's Palace before exploring the islands of Murano, Burano, and Torcello. As it turns out, the decision to start early with Doge's was a good one, we got in before the majority of the tour groups. There is no real getting away from them, of course, but it was definitely better than had we started later. We walked right in when we got there and when we left there was a rather significant line - no lines = winning!! Anyway, it was quite impressive - definitely something to be seen if ever in Venice. The one slight disappointment of the weekend was that the Bridge of Sighs was covered in scaffolding (looked like it was under renovation or something), so we didn't get a good view of it. With that being said, we did get to walk across it and explore the prison itself - all I can say is dark, cold, and dank. For those who may not know, the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of the outside world prisoners got on their way to the prison (hence the sighs) and, on a completely different note, legend has it that if lovers kiss under the bridge at sunset they will be together forever.

So having gotten our fill of Doge's we decided that it was time to move on to the other islands, starting with Murano. Quick side note, when I first booked this trip I emailed a professor of mine back at SMC, she's fully Venetian, her family still lives there, to see if she could make any recommendations. Of course, she said there's so much to see that it's hard to point to anything specifically, but she did recommend the islands, so away we went! Murano is known for its glass and this was our first stop. I figured everyone had at least heard of Murano glass before, apparently I was wrong. Oh well, we all walked away with a very good understanding of the craft. We started with a demonstration by a glass blower (very cool) and then explored the surrounding shops.









Having explored the first island, we decided that it was time to move on to Burano and find a place for lunch. Burano is known, primarily, for its lace, but also for its distinctive color scheme. While the product itself may not have done a whole lot for me, there is definitely something to be said for its quality and beauty and it is pretty neat to be able to see someone making it by hand - talk about painstaking! Otherwise, Burano was really cool because of just how colorful it is - quite unique and fun!!







Our last stop of the day was at Torcello, considered to be the oldest continuously populated region of Venice. My professor recommended it for the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, apparently one of her friends was lucky enough to get married there. Torcello is pretty sparse now, but the Cathedral was beautiful and after all of the population we'd been immersed in all weekend, it was a nice break to see a slightly slower pace.





Finally, we got back on the vaparetto to Burano in order to transfer lines and make it back to Piazza San Marco where we were looking forward to dinner and wine. Perhaps the biggest difference, at least in terms of lifestyle, in Venice is the lack of any real sort of nightlife, everything starts closing up around 10p. Definitely quite different from Rome where most things really start opening around 10p, but it was also nice - it's funny how much Rome makes me miss the quiet, slower paced lifestyle.





Overall, it was a great weekend and I loved Venice!! I look forward to being able to go back and spend more time there one day - great city that I would definitely recommend (that is, as long as you're okay with boats - this is definitely not a city for anyone that gets even the slightest motion sickness).

Okay, time to refine my studious skills, so that I can play more!!

Ciao, ciao!!

A Weekend in Paris

Admittedly, last week sucked. Not only was the weekend, minus Friday and the Vatican, incredibly sad and tough, but I then had a week full of midterms. Boo!! Three midterms in one week, two on one day, Thursday - what a way to end the week. Suffice it to say, I was beyond excited to be spending the weekend in Paris. I needed a break and what better place to go than the eternal city!!

One of my roommates left Wednesday night (taking the night train), two more left early Thursday morning, and my last roommate left Thursday night - so I was the last to arrive Friday morning. I flew out bright and early and, as with just about everything in Europe, was a good twenty minutes late into Beauvais and hour late meeting up with my roommates. 

When I finally got into the city though I was almost euphoric. I love Paris and for the first time in more than six weeks I lost all feelings of anxiety - I've been to this city, I can speak in this city. I felt like I was home. 

They say that you come to Paris to fall in love, and 11 years ago I did just that, I fell in love with Paris. There is something absolutely magical about the city of lights where romance hangs in the air redolent of days gone by. J'adore Paris!! 



Friday, after meeting up with my roommates Jasmine and Camille at our hotel, we went walking. It was a beautiful, crisp, fall day and we wanted to get out and enjoy it!! We stayed in the heart of Montmartre (the red light district, for those of you unaware), just around the corner from Moulin Rouge, so first up was the Champs-Élysées et l'Arc de Triomphe. We did not go to the top of the arc, but the girls (as with everything) did take lots of pictures. 









After stopping for lunch we made our way over to the Tour Eiffel where, again, lots of pictures were taken. It is after all Paris and this is what the city is perhaps best known for. Jasmine wanted to go up, but Camille and I were both exhausted (she hadn't slept well and I'd been up since 3a) and the line was insane, so we decided against it. From there, Camille and I decided to head back to the hotel to rest while Jasmine went off to the Musée d'Orsay. 





That night the three of us went to dinner before the girls went to a show at the Moulin Rouge. I chose to pass as I just couldn't justify it to myself. Instead, I hate to admit it, but I went back and fell asleep - apparently that's what 3 hours of sleep will do to you. 



Saturday was another full day. We started out with breakfast and Sacré Coeur. I wanted to go back as I remember going before, but not really caring all that much. Not to mention that, if memory serves, it was being cleaned/restored when we were there before. We were there during mass and it was absolutely beautiful. 





Next, we took the metro over to Notre Dame. Camille had to leave in order to make it back to the hotel and catch her train by 3p, so we wanted to make sure that she could see the cathedral - you can't go to Paris and not see Cathédrale Notre Dame. C'est magnifique!!





After we said goodbye to Camille, Jasmine and I made our way over to the Louvre for a bit of a power tour. Obviously, it is a monster of a museum, but also, we were quickly running out of time before it closed. So after I was forced to pay for admission (all EU citizens, which I am thanks to my visa, are allowed free admission, but only between ages 18-25...boo!!), I grabbed a map and we bee-lined for Mona Lisa. Along the way we stopped and took pictures of Nike, the Goddess of Victory - she is gorgeous!! Mona Lisa, on the other hand, is, just as before, very small and flocked by a hundred people. Next up was Napolean's apartments. I remember my brother mentioning when we were there before that they are definitely worth seeing, so I made a point of making it up there this time - wow!! Then, last but not least, we made our way to Venus di Milo - again, another beautiful statue.











Finally, Jasmine was on a search all weekend for macaroons, so after we finished up at the Louvre, we made our way back to the Champs-Élysées and Ladurée. They are known for their macaroons and after another 20-30 minute wait, we finally got our own. They were pretty incredible!!





Later that night we went out to Chartier for dinner, a restaurant that my brother had taken my parents and I to before. It was prime European dinner time, i.e. 9p, so we had to wait about 30 minutes for a table, but we both had le canard et chou chantilly, so it was well worth the wait. Jasmine was very happy that she finally got her true French dining experience. 



After dinner we finished our trip off with a bottle of wine in front of the Tour Eiffel. I told Jasmine she had to see it at night and she wanted to be able to enjoy it with a bouteille de vin. A great way to end a great weekend - c'était incroyable!!







We flew out bright and early Sunday morning and made it back to Rome by about noon. I will admit that it was nice to get back to the warmer weather, although I will, as always miss Paris. 

Jusqu'à la prochaine, Paris, je t'aime!!
À bientôt!!

Oh yeah, and while I was away in Paris, this happened . . . good weekend to be gone.

Vatican City

Ok, so I'm a little behind on my blogs, so I'm going to attempt to catch up so as to keep from getting even further behind this weekend.

A week ago Friday, my friend Nick and I finally went and explored Vatican City. We had been to Saint Peter's Square on more than one occasion, but had yet to venture inside the basilica or the Vatican Museum. So, after Tuscany, we decided it was time to set aside an entire day and get it done. I had been wanting to go to the Vatican before the parentals came anyway, as it will be a good thing for them to do while I am in class all day. As Nick said, there is so much to see and do there, it's like Catholic Disneyland.

I will admit that we did a bit of a power tour of the museum, but we still spent about 3 hours inside and saw a lot of incredible art. It was huge and incredibly awe inspiring. However, without having been there, it is difficult to put into words, so I'm going to leave you with pictures, which, of course, don't really do any of it justice, but are better than my inadequate attempts to describe it.







































Next, we moved on to Saint Peter's Basilica.

A slight, side note: we had to wait in line in Saint Peter's Square for probably about 10 minutes in order to get in. While we were waiting, it started to rain, a little at first and pretty quickly it was coming down fairly significantly. As I stood there in the warm, almost still summer, rain, I could feel my Washington blood come out as I laughed watching the hundreds of tourists scatter as if they were afraid they would melt at the slightest sign of rain. But, I digress.

We made it inside the basilica and it was amazing. If nothing else, the Catholic Church definitely knows how to get things done. Saint Peter's in an incredibly massive, marble basilica with more altars, confessionals, and statues than a person could possibly imagine. I'd say we spent at least a good hour or two exploring the basilica, including the crypt - hard to find something quite so surreal as being surrounded by numerous Popes.





















Finally, we decided to do the dome climb. I'd heard that the view from the top of the cupola is one of the best views of Rome. The rain had subsided, although it was still rather windy, so we hiked our way (no elevator, thank you) to the top. First stop, the inside of the cupola. Absolutely incredible.











After getting plenty of pictures we trudged on ahead towards the top. Despite the less than stellar weather, the trek was definitly worth it once we finally reached the dome. An unobstructed view of the city and Saint Peter's Square that can be found no where else.















All in all it was a very long, successful day. I'd been looking forward to Vatican City for a long time, so I was very happy to be able to finally explore it a little. A great day of incredible art and history, all lined with intense reflection and gratitude for such an opportunity.

Peace be with you.
Ciao, Ciao!!