It's been a busy past two weeks and there's lots to catch up on! I haven't done any big traveling in the past two weeks, but have gone to some nearby places for some fun adventures! Besides it was carnivale season, so there was always something going on.
The week of February 10-19, Florence held it's annual Chocolate Festival in Piazza della Repubblica. This outdoor sweet showcase brings vendors from all over Florence together for any chocolate lover's dream. There are probably about 20-30 different tents sent up all over the piazza each with enticing sweets just calling out for you to buy. You can find just about anything either dipped, covered, or made of (milk, dark, or white) chocolate. Top picks? Chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate drizzled funnel cakes, chocolate macaroons, waffle cones filled with melted chocolate, shoes/tools/toys made of pure chocolate, truffles (including pistachio flavored), Baccios (staple of Italian candy and absolutely delicious), and hot chocolate made with your choice of either dark, milk, or white chocolate. Is you mouth watering yet? Needless to say my roommates and I visited the festival more than once... a day :) Unfortunately they are gone now, but since they are all local vendors I hope to go find my favorites around town.
The same weekend of the chocolate festival, my roommates and I ventured up to Venice for the Venice Carnival! Before I say anything else, let me say that Venice has always been my favorite Italian city and the one I've wanted to visit the most. The first time I was in Europe a few years ago, I didn't get the chance to go so I was a little disappointed. Since being here in Florence and falling in love with this city, I thought that Venice had been knocked off it's first place pedestal. Well, let the record stand that even though I love Florence, Venice will always be my favorite Italian city. I can officially say this regardless of the fact that I only spent about 5-6 hours in the crowded city and had to push my way through to huge crowds of people. There have been few times when I've been in such crowded, almost claustrophobic conditions, but this one is definitely up there on the list. But even though I was fighting my way through the city every minute was completely worth it!
The day started pretty early when the train left at 8:30am. This was my first time on the train system and I was afraid of getting confused and/or lost. Oddly enough, even though the most of Italy runs backwards/crazy, the train system is reliable and easy to navigate. The train my roommates and I booked had one stop in Bologna, but we made it Venice around 1pm. We stopped to get a bite to eat before venturing into the city center, and then the fun began. First things first, we needed masks since we were at Carnivale! We went into 2 or 3 three shops then found one that looked good and the masks were original... so we thought. Turns out they are hand painted and "made in Italy" like the official looking seal on the back says, but they aren't traditional plaster masks. Oh well! I still love my light blue mask with feathers (halloween costume?!). After getting the right gear for the day, we headed out in search of the main square, San Marco. Little did we know, Venice is an absolute labyrinth of streets. Sure there were signs on just about every block pointing in the right direction, but the streets were so narrow, they twisted sharply (or ended nowhere), and were congested with people. It ended up taking about two hours to find San Marco, but it was this two hour period of basically getting lost in Venice that reminded me why I loved this city. Every curving street led to a brightly colored building or canal with gondolas that afforded a picture perfect scene. The view from canals was even more grand. Something about the whole city-- the buildings, the water, the bridges, the people, the weather, everything!-- just felt perfectly Italian just like I had always pictured. To think that one day this city might sink to the bottom of the water is a shame. I hope that I will be able to visit before then because I did not get enough of it. The day ended too quickly and before I knew it it was time to head back to the station, but not before seeing some of the most extraordinary and elaborate costumes I've ever seen! People were dressed in full traditional costumes from the 1800-1900s and then there were also really crazy modern costumes (Cruella deVil and 101 Dalmations!). I got some pictures, but I'll post those later to facebook. Here are a few pictures of the day:
This past weekend was pretty low key, except for on Sunday. I had a photo assignment that didn't have to be taken in Florence. So I decided I would spontaneously (by spontaneously I mean check the schedule the night before and plan accordingly to not spend more than 10 euro on a ticket) jump on a train to a near by city. I ended up in San Gimignano, a small Tuscan city that is still fortified by it's wall and towers. It was absolutely beautiful! The city is atop a hill so you have a nice panoramic view to the country side. In the summer it's surrounded by sunflowers, but even though they weren't in bloom the view was wonderful! I was only there for a couple of hours with my roommates who tagged along for the photo adventure. We had packed a picnic, so we found a nice spot to eat, took some photos, bought postcards and gelato, then headed back home. It was a nice end to the weekend. Here are a few photos (more on facebook later):
This week has been pretty calm and filled with school/homework. Midterms are a week and a half away and then it's spring break! Can you believe this is week 5 in Italy?! It's crazy how fast time is flying by. Next thing I know it will be May and I can't even begin to think about leaving. Every day that I'm here I feel more and more at home. If I leave for the weekend or even a day trip, I never feel like I'm home unless I get a glance at the Duomo. This massive structure with all it's impressive architecture and facade, once a foreign place seen only in pictures, has come to represent home to me.
Until next time, ciao!
PS- For those of you wondering I had one of my internship interviews on Monday and it went really well (it was in English so that helped)! I still have one more (in Italian) tomorrow afternoon. Once that is over, I'll let you know all the details and what happens!
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