Buongiorno! I cannot believe I have been in Italy for exactly 3 weeks now. It feels much longer and much shorter all at the same time.

This past weekend I traveled with some friends to Venice and Verona! We began by train from Santa Maria Novella in Florence to a connecting train in Bologna. Here we had a 30 minute “layover” and accidentally ended up on the wrong platform so we just nearly caught the train to Venice (with a running pace). We stayed at the Wombats Hostel in Venice (Mestre) which I HIGHLY recommend. They Hostel was beautiful, very clean, and the staff was very friendly. The Hostel had a bar where we received a free welcome drink and sang karaoke at night. We even made a friends from Australia who joined our adventures! (she was very curious about prom, sororities, and politics, all the American confusing things obviously).

After settling in, we took a train to the main island (about 10 minutes ride from the main land) and explored Carnival a bit. It was lovely- masks and people dressed in the customary outfits throughout the city. We were even fortunate enough to catch a beautiful sunset over the Adriatic Sea. We found some Valentine’s Day festivities for the evening where a dance company performed on a stage lit up in pinks and reds. The walk back to the train was a series of hanging lights from the buildings and crossing the many canals.

On Saturday morning, we enjoyed Wombat’s 5.90 euro breakfast buffet and then checked out to explore the island once again. Wombat’s even had a luggage room where we kept our belongings for the day so we didn’t have to lug them around (thank you Wombats!). We took a leisurely stroll through the more residential parts of Venice, past the pastel colored homes and shops, and over (again) many canals. Finally we came across a gondola service that had no wait time! Six of us hopped into a gondola on the Grand Canal and ventured with our gondolier, Daniel. He was very kind to us, and even sang at our request. Although the gondola was a bit rocky at first, I enjoyed it very much.

We walked around a bit more after the ride and found the Ponte Rialto (very crowded). Brooke and I did find very cute bracelets with glass blown beads at a shop on the Ponte Rialto- only 5 euro and a great souvenir. We then basked in the sun for a few moments before heading back to the hostel to grab our belongings and catch the train to Verona. I definitely will be back in Venice one day- it was my favorite place so far!

We arrived to Verona around 6 pm Saturday night. We stayed very near to the town center by the river. It was charming with hanging plants from the balconies and pastel yellow paint coating the buildings nearby. We walked around the “Love Fest” and then found a place for dinner. I ordered a type of pasta that I cannot remember, with pesto sauce and a Pink Spritz. The dinner was good, but our conversations even better. It was nice to relax with friends after a long few days of travel. We then sampled some limoncello and honey Brandy from a stand near the center of the festivities.

Sunday was more relaxed- we walked past the marathon runners to a bakery across the river to grab a much desired bagel. (Italians don’t really eat bagels sadly). The shop even had “American” desserts and small platters like french fries, onion rings, and shakes. After we filled up on bagels (I even got one to go), we ventured back to the main strip where Juilette’s balcony was. The space was crowded there, but we managed to get a glimpse of the Shakespeare’s inspired architecture. The rest of the day we spent wandering the city and various shops. The train ride home was long and tedious, but I was happy to see my bed in Florence at the end of the day.

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The only problem with traveling so much on the weekends is that I am exhausted come Monday morning when I have to go to class! So, this weekend I am staying here and hoping to explore what I have yet to see- which is A LOT- as well as get caught up on some group presentations that are due in the next week or so. Oh, Friday I will be going to a hot springs in Tuscany with Smart Trips which is a type of travel agency for students and I am super excited about that!

It can be tricky to balance everything as I am traveling, finishing my undergrad classes, deciding on grad school, keeping in contact with friends at home, and making the most of what is right here in front of me, oh and grocery shopping (which is hard here bc Italian). However, I think balancing is a challenge that makes you realize what is most important and how to live life to its fullest despite the constant demands.

I am excited to continue my adventures and keep growing along the way!

Ciao for now, xoxo