Ok, so I have sort of forgotten about this whole blog thing and so I’m behind….like really behind….like 3 months behind. So, be prepared for a lot of posts!
So studying abroad in Rome you soon learn one fact: everyone leaves. There’s not usually classes on Fridays, which means a 3 day weekend, and traveling around Europe is relatively cheap. Some people were gone nearly every weekend, and while I did not travel quite that much, I did a fair amount of traveling, especially at the beginning.
At the end of January, 3 of my roommates and I took a train to Venice for the weekend during Carnevale, which is essentially their Mardi Gras. We booked an Airbnb (which, by the way, are amazing! I definitely recommend using it especially if you book a decent amount of time in advance and/or do it with a lot of people. It can be very cost efficient, and if you rent an entire apartment you don’t have to share a dorm with strangers and in our case, it was actually cheaper per-person, per-night!).
We went around the main island of Venice on a gondola tour, and our gondolier even sang to us! We went to my favorite mask shop (Ca Macana) and I bought another mask (that makes 4 or 5, I’ve lost count, but they’re gorgeous!). We also went to the island of Murano, which is famous for its glass. However, the other Venetian island that we visited was Burano.
I have been to Venice before but never Burano. This tiny island is notable for two things: lace and colorful houses. While the lace was not as wonderful as we had thought it would be (my roommates had hoped that this translated into streets lined with lingerie stores), the houses were AMAZING. We wandered among the narrow streets and canals for hours trying to choose our favorite houses and colors.
Speaking of wandering, we were told that the best thing to do in Venice was to get lost! Unfortunately, I do not do well at being lost, and I spent my time subtly (and not so subtly) directing my roommates using my not-so-great Italian and glitchy google maps.
By our last day there (Sunday) I was determined to see some of the famous Carnevale costumes. We had seen some before: a family of Mario and Luigi’s (the video game characters, I’m not stereotyping) photo-bombed two of my roommates’ picture in Piazza di San Marco. Through some “brilliant” (sarcasm) idea of whatever official was in charge of controlling foot-traffic, much of the streets were closed that Sunday and police officers were redirecting people to the Piazza di San Marco along what seemed to be the most round-about and inefficient way possible. Eventually we gave in to the press of people and found ourselves where I had hoped to be all along: surrounded by amazing costumes.
Venice was amazing, and was a great break from the hectic feel Rome had to it at the very beginning. It remains my favorite city in Italy and I would definitely would go back (and in fact I plan to do so during my summer travels).
Until next time,
Ciao!