Classes were quite chill this week and we even watched a movie in Italian class based on the violence and crime in Naples called Gomorrah. It was a very intense movie filled with blood and sensitive material that made you really realize that some parts of this world are truly horrid. Kind of a depressing thing to think about when in Italy, but hey it happens. In photography class I worked on my final project photos and did a lot of editing. I was in my zone for two and a half hours every day adjusting the colors, the brightness, the contrast, and the vignettes of my photos. I loved it. It allowed me to express my creativity and artistic style all while not trying to over edit the pictures and making them look natural. I was against editing the pictures in the beginning of this session because I didn’t believe that it was right to alter a photograph that showed what I saw at the moment I took it, but than my teacher said that you weren’t altering the image persay but rather enhancing it. At that point I was sold and knew that in order to make my pictures look awesome and digitally enhanced I had to learn how to edit and really use the tools in Photoshop to the best of my ability. I started window shopping for gifts in between stopping at wine bars and walking around the city.
A few friends and I decided to take a different approach this week in regards to exploring Florence and its cultural characteristics. We sat around outside to listen to concerts and went to local wine bars to experiment with a different nightlife scene. I was definitely more into this relaxed and mature Florentine life because bars and clubs were definitely getting old and prohibited me from spending time amongst locals and truly immersing myself in the Italian culture. Speaking of that...
On Thursday I called the lady that lives in Florence to plan a time to visit her and she ended up inviting me over that night. I got ready and my friend and I walked about 35 minutes to her house on the other side of the Ponte Vecchio in the residential section. It was quite a ways from the center of the city but the area was so peaceful and very different. The walk was treacherous because the sun was beating down on me and by the time I got to her house I was a big sweaty mess, which tends to happen every day walking around the city- damn valley. She had a gated entrance to her door and she welcomed us into her house with ease and although she was sickened with some sort of disease, she seemed to have a sort of fire in her that kept her going strong. I happened to be wearing a purple skirt and she commented on how it was the color of the soccer team in Florence- pretty cool eh? and so funny of her to make that comment. She kept the conversation going with questions about my experiences in Florence so far and she randomly brought up world issues and stories to talk about. I understood about 90% of the stuff she said to me but some of it was jibberish and I would have to ask her to repeat it for me. I got to practice a lot though and it felt good to visit her and give her the package that my new friend back home sent with me. I was so curious as to what was in this mysterious package and the second she opened it I couldn't help but laugh. I was expecting there to be a long letter, maybe pictures, maybe some other special memorabilia but really the envelope had catalogs and calendars and stuff from a few months ago for her to read. Ah. A journey to deliver catalogs! It was very nice and sweet and a bit odd but who's to judge.
The weekend started with a late night festival that my friends and I stumbled upon out of nowhere. We somehow ended up on an outdoor dance floor in a huge festival where people from all over Florence came to party. It was such a great time and what made it better was the fact that circles were formed around old drunken men dancing and parading around as if they were 21 again. Priceless images.
The weekend started with a late night festival that my friends and I stumbled upon out of nowhere. We somehow ended up on an outdoor dance floor in a huge festival where people from all over Florence came to party. It was such a great time and what made it better was the fact that circles were formed around old drunken men dancing and parading around as if they were 21 again. Priceless images.
Come Friday morning- like really early Friday morning- like 5am early- two friends and I headed for the train station to catch a ride to Venice.
Venezia! Finalmente- sono andata a Venezia! The train ride was a bit long. We kept falling asleep but tried to stay awake so that we wouldn't miss our stop to change trains. I couldn't wait to get to Venice and break free of the train system. Something so coincidental- five Spanish guys were on the train to our first stop and than switched to the same train that we took to Venice, so basically we took the same route and before we left Venice to come home we saw two of them pass right in front of us. How funny! Out of all the trains and places to be! Not like we talked to them but it was still cool. ;)
Once we arrived in Venice we hopped on a water bus. Well I went to the Tabacchi to buy a bus ticket and I asked for the bus on water, but the guy said with an Italian accent of course "Here in Venice, everything is on water." Well in that case...it was funny but a bit rude at the same time. The city was so weird! Waterways where normal streets would be and buses, taxis, police vehicles- all on the water! I had to take a double take sometimes and once we hopped on the water bus we got to sit and take a tour down the Grand Canal to our destination of St. Mark's Square. On the way the three of us sat separately and after a few stops I had two seats available next to me, but they were quickly filled by two young people.
I was talking to Liz about how we lost our other friend on the bus (we didn't really lose her though) the guy that was sitting next to me started a conversation with me and we didn't shut up for the whole 30 minute ride to St. Mark's. Apparently he was traveling with his sister and they were from Ottawa Canada and were in Venice for the day. We were talking like we'd known each other for 10 years and it was quite interesting to have a conversation with random people on a water bus in Venice. We never ran out of things to talk about and we shared stories of our experiences in Italy. Eventually I invited them to walk around with us because neither of us had a plan for the day and it would be fun to explore Venice with new friends. When we got off at St. Mark's Square we walked around and made it to a sandwich shop to reenergize ourselves with some pizza and calzones. Yummy bruschetta vegetable pizza. The streets in Venice were ridiculously narrow and tiny and were like being in a maze. It is so easy to get lost in the city and unless you follow the signs on the street corners it is very hard to find your way to big sites. We were all getting to know each other while trying to get to know the city. Of course I ended up with the map and somehow turned into the tour guide in front leading us everywhere. It usually ends up being like that but I'm really not complaining about that. I enjoy it. Maybe it's even worth turning into a career- hmm...
After stopping at some main sites and than seeing some churches and sites totally off course we took another water bus to the Rialto bridge. We got off and walked to the bridge that was insanely crowded. I realized that a lot of the people well about 75% of the people on the streets were tourists and I was curious to see some real residents of Venice. I wonder how it feels to live in a city like Venice. Non stop water, narrow alley ways for streets, tourists everywhere, etc. I would be overwhelmed and overcome with confusion and annoyance with all the people in such tight quarters. Everyone was very nice and welcoming though, so I guess it doesn't affect them too much. We got lost quite a few times and somehow found our way through the streets to a cool Jazz Cafe Bar with bras hanging on the ceiling and great music playing to set the mood. I had the best milk free dark chocolate gelato I have ever tasted. We got cones of gelato and I think I was in love with my gelato for the three minutes I was eating it. I couldn't believe how rich it was! I went shopping for some Murano glass and wandered the streets with our new friends Tim and Leanna. We ran out of things to do so after seeing the main sites and stopping for food about every 25 minutes, we made our way to the train station. Our day in Venice was slowly coming to an end and I still couldn't wrap my brain around the set up of the city. I would've loved to go on a gondola ride but they charge so much money for a ride! I heard one guy give a price of 120 euro for a ride. No thanks- I want to be able to eat the rest of my trip!
The three of us separated from Tim and Leanna and caught a train back home. The train ride to Bologna was nice and smooth, but than in Bologna we had a long layover, so we left the station and walked the city for a good hour. Once we got back to the station we looked for our train but it was delayed and every ten minutes it would get delayed more and more. Luckily we were entertained by two army boys stationed in Italy for three years, however they were only about a few months into their service and were not really feeling the whole Italian experience. I tried to convince them to give it some time and live it up!
Venezia! Finalmente- sono andata a Venezia! The train ride was a bit long. We kept falling asleep but tried to stay awake so that we wouldn't miss our stop to change trains. I couldn't wait to get to Venice and break free of the train system. Something so coincidental- five Spanish guys were on the train to our first stop and than switched to the same train that we took to Venice, so basically we took the same route and before we left Venice to come home we saw two of them pass right in front of us. How funny! Out of all the trains and places to be! Not like we talked to them but it was still cool. ;)
Once we arrived in Venice we hopped on a water bus. Well I went to the Tabacchi to buy a bus ticket and I asked for the bus on water, but the guy said with an Italian accent of course "Here in Venice, everything is on water." Well in that case...it was funny but a bit rude at the same time. The city was so weird! Waterways where normal streets would be and buses, taxis, police vehicles- all on the water! I had to take a double take sometimes and once we hopped on the water bus we got to sit and take a tour down the Grand Canal to our destination of St. Mark's Square. On the way the three of us sat separately and after a few stops I had two seats available next to me, but they were quickly filled by two young people.
I was talking to Liz about how we lost our other friend on the bus (we didn't really lose her though) the guy that was sitting next to me started a conversation with me and we didn't shut up for the whole 30 minute ride to St. Mark's. Apparently he was traveling with his sister and they were from Ottawa Canada and were in Venice for the day. We were talking like we'd known each other for 10 years and it was quite interesting to have a conversation with random people on a water bus in Venice. We never ran out of things to talk about and we shared stories of our experiences in Italy. Eventually I invited them to walk around with us because neither of us had a plan for the day and it would be fun to explore Venice with new friends. When we got off at St. Mark's Square we walked around and made it to a sandwich shop to reenergize ourselves with some pizza and calzones. Yummy bruschetta vegetable pizza. The streets in Venice were ridiculously narrow and tiny and were like being in a maze. It is so easy to get lost in the city and unless you follow the signs on the street corners it is very hard to find your way to big sites. We were all getting to know each other while trying to get to know the city. Of course I ended up with the map and somehow turned into the tour guide in front leading us everywhere. It usually ends up being like that but I'm really not complaining about that. I enjoy it. Maybe it's even worth turning into a career- hmm...
After stopping at some main sites and than seeing some churches and sites totally off course we took another water bus to the Rialto bridge. We got off and walked to the bridge that was insanely crowded. I realized that a lot of the people well about 75% of the people on the streets were tourists and I was curious to see some real residents of Venice. I wonder how it feels to live in a city like Venice. Non stop water, narrow alley ways for streets, tourists everywhere, etc. I would be overwhelmed and overcome with confusion and annoyance with all the people in such tight quarters. Everyone was very nice and welcoming though, so I guess it doesn't affect them too much. We got lost quite a few times and somehow found our way through the streets to a cool Jazz Cafe Bar with bras hanging on the ceiling and great music playing to set the mood. I had the best milk free dark chocolate gelato I have ever tasted. We got cones of gelato and I think I was in love with my gelato for the three minutes I was eating it. I couldn't believe how rich it was! I went shopping for some Murano glass and wandered the streets with our new friends Tim and Leanna. We ran out of things to do so after seeing the main sites and stopping for food about every 25 minutes, we made our way to the train station. Our day in Venice was slowly coming to an end and I still couldn't wrap my brain around the set up of the city. I would've loved to go on a gondola ride but they charge so much money for a ride! I heard one guy give a price of 120 euro for a ride. No thanks- I want to be able to eat the rest of my trip!
The three of us separated from Tim and Leanna and caught a train back home. The train ride to Bologna was nice and smooth, but than in Bologna we had a long layover, so we left the station and walked the city for a good hour. Once we got back to the station we looked for our train but it was delayed and every ten minutes it would get delayed more and more. Luckily we were entertained by two army boys stationed in Italy for three years, however they were only about a few months into their service and were not really feeling the whole Italian experience. I tried to convince them to give it some time and live it up!
Our train came about an hour and a half late, but it came. We went on the sleeper train and I was completely delirious. I don't even know if I was alive at that point and I put my headphones on and kept dozing on and off and going in and out of conciousness. The people in my sleeper car all spoke Italian so I smiled and responded every so often, but really all I wanted to do was go home! I wanted my apartment in Firenze ASAP. Gosh what a long ride and the three of us were split up on different carts. We found each other eventually and headed out to catch a cab, but after calling the cab a bus drove by instead. Even though the cab driver was calling me and wondering where we were, we hopped on the bus and took it home for a much cheaper price.
Home sweet home. Time to sleep.
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