Italia

After a rather long, slow start the week in Italy ended rather nicely. Firenze, unfortunately, was predominantly cold. We spent the week in a friend's apartment (a very generous friend), which had easy access to a grocery store and a gelateria. It was also close to a bus line that ran downtown. My friend Heather joined us on Sunday, and we had a good time sharing stories. We only went downtown a few days, due to Easter, but that was enough for me. We saw the Duomo, which was beautiful, and visited museums with gorgeous, interesting, and often famous works. One of my favorites, though, was a collection of elaborate antique keys, locks, and door handles. I want my door to have a mini castle on the handle!

Venizia I liked much better. Part of that had to do with it being warm and sunny, but part of it was just the town itself. We exited the train station Thursday at mid-day, and immediately two things happened. The first thing that hit me was the heat. Not just "oh-this-is-pleasant" type of warm, it was HOT; it was wonderful. Second, and equally wonderful, was the smell of salt water and fish so typical of a sea-side town.
We made our way through the windy streets and over one bridge (not fun with suitcases) and found our hotel in a back alley. Yes, it looked pretty sketch at first, but it ended up being pretty nice. We had lunch overlooking the canal out in the sun with a bottle of water, pizza, and a waiter that spoke four languages, including French (Heather's language), but not including German. We did, however, end up seated between a table of French-speakers and a table of German-speakers. That happened a lot in Venice, actually. After lunch we wandered around the city for about three hours, getting lost in the process. Venice maps are not to scale, and a lot of the street signs are worn away. But it was warm and pretty and we didn't mind too much. Around six, though, exhausted, we stumbled back into our hotel room where we all took naps and then ran around the corner for take-out pizza to finish off the night.

Friday was equally exciting, consisting of lots of walking intermingled with chillin in piazzas soaking up the sun. We also managed to soak up some culture, visiting more beautiful cathedrals including St. Mark's, as well as famous bridges and sculptures. We also watched gondolas go by and sat for a while looking out at the grand canal. And Alydia and I danced in the street by the water as people promenaded by. What did you expect?
That evening we walked to the Jewish quarter which was literally right around the corner from where we were staying. There was an open square with lots of children playing. Alydia joined the fun, and quickly made friends. Soon there was a band of girls running up and down the courtyard chasing pigeons. (Pigeon chasing has become one of Alydia's favorite pastimes.) We finished out the night with gelato on the pier.

Saturday morning we headed out to Milano. I had written the directions to the hotel that were on the website, but they were terrible and we were lost. My Italian was good enough to say "va a...?" or "are you going to...?", but when they said "no", we were stuck. After asking several people, one finally said "si", and then started prattling off in Italian. After a confused look from me, she paused and I asked "English?" "No." she replied, "Italiano, Français." Quickly, I pointed at Heather, and we were able to successfully make it to our hotel. We went and checked out the Duomo, which was gorgeous again. I had been there just over a week before with my parents, and the second time was just as breathtaking. It'll get a separate post soon. The day was another perfect sunny day, and the sun this time shone through some of the glass in the Duomo and painted the pillars and the floor.
After that we went back to the hotel and Alydia spent about an hour playing in the park just outside the hotel and making a whole new group of pigeon-chasing friends. We ended the day at a restaurant close to the hotel. Again, we ran into the "no English" problem, but fortunately one of the waitresses spoke German. This time, it was my turn to save the day. Also, the menu was in Italian and English...go figure.
I ordered a seafood calzone, but never dreamed I would get what I did. I cut open a corner only to see little suction cups graze the side of my knife. Three whole cooked bay squid were waiting inside. Heather was nice enough to pull all of them out but I honestly couldn't eat much more after that. Lesson learned --always ask what's in the mixed seafood.

Overall, though, the trip was a good one. Seeing Heather was fabulous, the food (with the one exception) was yummy, and the sites were amazing. As added bonuses, I was taken for a German by Italians on three separate counts, and I managed to get a tan.

This week is the first week of classes for semester two --wish me luck!