Barcelona and Finals

Barcelona is my new favorite city in all of Europe. What an incredible place! Imagine New York city, all the hussle and bussle, people and businesses but now imagine all of that lying on a beach. Not just any beach but a palm tree clad, white sand covered clear blue water beach. That, in only so many words, is Barcelona. The architechture was like nothing I had ever seen, it was so beyond anything we have back home. But I think that was what I like the most about it. It was all so new, so clean and so familiar. Plus it surprised me to see how much Spanish I actually knew ;).

It reminded me of home so much more then the ancient ruins that lye in Rome. It was so different and incredible, I was looking for every excuse to not leave or even just stay for one more day. If anyone has a chance to visit, please do, I have every good recommendation you could possibly need, but GO, it will be well worth it for even only one night.

Besides my epic journey to Barcelona, I am making my way to Naples (the pizza capital of the world) this week as well as the Amalfi coast which is arguably one of the most beautiful places in Italy. I can’t even tell you how excited I am for both of the trips, it should be great! Naples is also known for having incredible jewelry (I’m trying to get Italian horned amulet) this will supposedly ward off the evil eye or in other words, if someone is thinking ill of you or envious it allows their thoughts and curses to not effect you. An interesting idea.

I’m sorry that I haven’t been keeping up very much, I would love to write to all of you more but it is now coming to the end of the program and everything seems to be picking up some speed. We have two of our final projects due this coming week, both of which I have a lot more work to do on. Besides the work load, knowing that my dad is only days away from being here with me. I can’t wait for him to come so I can show him all of my favorite places and we can munch on some serious pizza Bianca. The idea of finally having some family here makes everything seem a bit easier.

Being away from my family for this long just reconfirms how important they are to me. I have always considered myself a family person, I love being with them doing nothing, surrounded my family all the time, I love it, I live for it. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to have gone to school far away now, I hate being away from my mom and not talking with my dad. I miss you guys so much!

Unfortunately, now I must go back to writing a paper about immigration and another paper about trestevere. Pray for me because the stress is definitely building! I love you and will write again after I return from Naples and Amalfi.

xoxoxo

Venezia

Venice is now my second favorite place in all of Italy. It was incredible! I am so glad that my mom convinced me to make the trek up north, in the cold and familiar rainy weather because every moment was worth it.

When you arrived in the Venice airport you have to take a 5 Euro, 20 minute bus ride to get to the edge of the island you arrived on. From there you take a 45 minute boat ride to Lido (which is where we were staying) or a 35 minute boat ride to Saint Marc (the main piazza where all of the Carnival festivities were held.) The plane trip was only 45 minutes long, so all in all it wasn't to bad of a trip. Except of course the fact that Conner and I were completely unaware of the rules for the size of carry on's. After a few sneaky moves, some running and arguing we both were able to avoid the 45 Euro fee...THANK GOD.

Our hotel was cheap and fabulous and nearly 600 degrees, cooling down was not an option. Considering how cold and wet it was outside though no one was complaining. We checked in at around 12 but couldn't go into the rooms until 2pm. Therefore we had two hours to waste in a torrential downpour. Not as hard as you would think though. We found a Chinese ran burger joint, interesting but delicious. We ate, walked around and visited Saint Marcs for some serious Masking.

I was able to find a beautiful one for my wall at home. I'm beginning to envision a "abroad" shelf I plan to create with photos from Venice, next to photos from Florence, and obviously Rome! The Mask is held up my a golden stick with red tassels swirling around it and fringing at the bottom. The face area covers the eyes and moves up in a swirling motion to about 3 1/2 inches above my head, its wild. Its covered in gold gems, glitter, red fabric and all kinds of knick knacks, not so much for wearing definitely for decoration.

When we finally made it back to the hotel we settled in, got ready, took a nice 3 hour nap, grabbed a nice authentic Venician dinner (spritz, wine, thin turkey*, bread sticks, pasta) then off we went to brave the rain. We made it SM but since Carnival didn't start till Saturday we had the night to roam. We walked about 20 minutes crossing bridges, running through alleys, and escaping into restaurants to dry off for a few minutes. We finally met up with another group of UW students and enjoyed a fun night of Spritz. In case you didn't know, spritz are the official drinks of Carnival and they taste awful! They are a mix between a gin and tonic and a grapefruit soda, add some lemon juice and your getting pretty close to what it is. Needless to say one is enough.

The next morning rolled on similarly. A late lunch full of pizza's and wine and then the festivities began. The city was alive with thousands of people that seemed to have arrived overnight. Costumes so intricate that you could barely see where one piece ended and the other began. Wigs, glitter, masks, pirates, pilgrims, witches, popes, gamblers, cards, queens, kings and even the oh so common "carnival crazy" which was something between a witch and a queen of glitter. The masks made you feel invisible, like you were someone else and could get away with anything. I wasn't scared to laugh out loud at the stupid plays being shown on the center stage in the piazza and have people think I was an annoying American, they had no idea who I was or where I came from. I was a stranger in my body and it was a little fun, but two days were enough.

The following day was sunny and a sad day to leave. Carnival had really just began. The sun was high, the water was at peace and the rain had finally stopped...but we were on our way home to Roma. I wasn't sad, but I wish I could have stayed a bit longer. It was a magical place and I can imagine myself returning one day.

Now I must prepare myself for Barcelona!!!! I leave tomorrow night and return two days later, I can't explain the excitement I have. Of all the places I have visited so far, I have heard the best things about Barcelona. I love you all soooo much, Dad I am counting down the days till I get to see you and don't forget to pack light...you may be taking a lot more home with you ;). See you all in my blog in a few more days with stories from Spain!

Photos....