Tuesday, May 31, 2011
I am officially in Venice and life is good!
It seems like I just get done telling you about the best thing ever and then I stumble across something that somehow manages to top it. Believe me, it just gets better all the time! Just when I think my life can’t get any more spectacular, I’m immersed in even more priceless opportunities and incredible experiences.
Why me!? How did I get this lucky!?
Yesterday was a pretty slow day. We spent the morning at the Bargello museum, where I was supposed to give my report on a statue of David by Verrocchio. I found out I had written my report on the wrong thing a couple weeks ago, so I spent all week working on my presentation. When we walked into the room where my work of art was supposed to be waiting… The red velvet ropes were closing off a space that was obviously empty. Apparently Verrocchio’s David is out of the museum at an art show right now! My report was missing in action! So I gave my report in front of an empty case! Haha! I was a little bummed that I wasn’t able to see it in real life… Especially after how great it was to see the topic of my first report with my own eyes! More than anything, though, I couldn’t get over how funny it was. Luckily, I thought it was an ugly statue from the get-go, so I wasn’t too disappointed. We all got a pretty good laugh out of it.
After my report, we went back to the hotel and began our final. It was dreadful! We locked ourselves in our room and didn’t come out until we were finished… I was the first one out of our room to finish and it took me 4 HOURS! It took the others 5 or 6 hours! We had to define 8 terms and give examples of each, write an essay on Baroque art, write an essay on Renaissance art, and write about our top 5 favorite things we’ve seen here. It took us forever and our brains were dripping out our noses by the time we were finished!
It feels SO good to be done with notes and lectures and to have the weight of the final finally lifted off our shoulders. Let the vacation begin!!!!
After dinner, we got gelato and ate it on the bridge while we watched the sunset. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to Florence!
Arrivederci, Firenze! Ciao, Venezia!
We spent about two hours on the train to Venice. When we walked out of the train station, we gasped in unison as all of our jaws hit the floor… The river running through the city streaming with gondolas pushed by men in striped shirts was right there!!! This was something I had been looking forward to the entire trip and we were all entranced. It is so Italy! I couldn’t have asked for a better welcome into Venice!
We spent the afternoon just walking around and exploring and trying to get oriented. Venice is absolutely beautiful. Again with the colored buildings, stone walls, green shutters, and flowers in the windows… They get me every time! Plus, what’s not to love about jolly old men in striped shirts singing as they push a gondola down the river?? It’s sooo dreamy here! I’m so excited for the next two days!
Oh, by the way, I had the best meal of the entire trip tonight! No questions asked! We convinced Steve to take us all out for CHINESE!!!! We’ve all just about overdosed on bread and pasta and pizza, so our mouths were watering as we passed a Chinese restaurant. Really, who goes all the way to Italy and eats chow-mein and fried rice?? Well, obviously we do! And it was the highlight of my eating experience here in Italia! How funny is that!?
Peace, love, and egg rolls!
See you soon, ya’ll!
Always,
Wit
Funny story. When we were in Paris for like three days, we ate at the Chinese restaurant across the street from our hotel twice.
ReplyDeleteI guess Europe just doesn't know good food.