Friday, February 28, 2014

Venice-Frankfurt-Paris

Hello from Frankfurt!
Yes, Germany. Only here for a bit though, I’m off to Paris to visit Natalie!
Long story short, after some miscommunication, Natalie and I had unknowingly been planning my visit for different weekends... luckily we realized late last night before I booked anything. Turns out the weekend I was planning didn't work for her BUT after some scrambling we found some reasonable flights for this weekend. Travel spontaneity like this isn't really out of character for me, but its usually Boston-New York, not to 2 different countries where I don't speak the language. The only downside to being so last minute  was that they aren’t directs but I really dont mind the short layovers. I’ve never been to Germany so I guess I can check that off my list now?

I’m definitely a little bummed to miss out on the second Carnevale weekend in Venice. Although the tourist crowds have been so crazy there this week, and its rumored to get worse. And the costumes? Think Halloween on steroids. People walk around the city in the most bizarre masks and costumes- and not just the touristy areas. I (literally) almost ran into a woman dressed in Renaissance attire right outside my apartment the other day. And I’ll see more of that next week. 

Well, I’m about to board my flight to Charles De Gaulle! Can’t wait for Natalie to show me her  version of Paris, I haven’t seen her in almost a year.


The weather was on my side this week

See what I mean?

Things get weird at night during Carnevale

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Sono arrivato!

I made it!

Just about a week ago, I said a sad goodbye to Boston and took off to North Carolina in the midst of a blizzard. 5 days ago I went a lifetime best time in my 100 fly at ACCs and ate take-out pasta with my teammates in a hotel lobby. Today, I woke up for my second day of classes in Venice and am currently soaking up the sun on the island of San Servolo, home of my university.

On Sunday, when I arrived in Venice, two of my roommates, Kento from Japan and Tianyi, a Chinese student from Duke, were kind enough to come meet me at the bus station to bring me to our apartment. From there, I took my first vaparetto ride to the city where we dodged the Carnevale crowds with my suitcases. Between all the narrow streets and bridges, theres no way I would've found the place on my own!

My apartment sits right on a canal and I have a cute little room with a beautiful view of it. There is, however, a ton of boat traffic throughout the day and night (boats are way louder than cars in my opinion!) My direct roommate, Nada, is from Germany and my fifth roommate, Emma, is a sophomore from Duke.

Much more to come... I've barely had any time for myself in these last few days, as I've been following my roommates around everywhere they go because A) I will absolutely not be able to find the way to the apartment on my own just yet and B) the university "lost" my key the week before my arrival, so I can't get in by myself. Fingers crossed that when the owner of the apartment meets with us tonight she remembers to bring an extra key...
Because of this minor inconvenience, I haven't had the time to explore the city much on my own (or had the chance to get gelato!) I'm not all that concerned though, I have 3 more months to explore!

 The view from my window
 finally a bed to sleep in!
San Servolo, where VIU is located 



Not a bad commute