The next day Allison and I had to wake up really early to meet up with Simona. We were both really excited about Venice and so that night we both didn't sleep hardly at all. We were just itchin to already be there, so I guess waking up early wasn't too terrible that day. What made it seem much earlier than it was was the fact that Allison's place in Prato has these windows that you could board up and it locked out every bit of light. I felt like I was underground and all that darkness was messing with my internal clock. I was so lost! The darkness made it feel like the sun hadn't even risen. Good for hibernating. :) When we did open the windows we saw that it had snowed just a little bit during the night. Thankfully Simona had promised us no matter the weather she would get us to the train station and get us to the train station she did. She drove us down that curvy mountain in the snow, faster than I would have, but I guess she's so used to that mountain it's probably like second nature to her. It was a beautiful drive. The mountains looked so pretty with fresh snow and the sun just peaking out.
Allison and I got on our train to Turin, Italy bright eyed and bushy tailed. Well as bright eyed as can be without our Italian coffee. Once we arrived in Turin we had about an hour to explore before our next train that went straight to Venice! Allison showed me the route/plan I had to follow when I had to get to the airport later in the week by myself. She showed me where to purchase my ticket and where to get on the bus. Always so thoughtful Al. :) We then got our coffee fix at this cute little cafe in Turin. This was no Starbucks...it was BETTA but whats coffee without a little croissant and nutella? No good thats what! Haha! Afterwards we wanted to explore a little so we walked around and looked in some stores, Allison was looking for a pin for her map and I was just looking. We also saw some cool statues and a big church, one of many we would soon see in the next 48 hours.
We then headed back to the train station to catch our train. It was then that all that coffee started to hit us but alas we found that at the train station we had to "pay to pee". I didn't think Urinetown was real but apparently in Turin it IS! Haha! No worries we waited and used the one on the train, it was FREE! Once we got going Allison and I pulled out our books for the long ride ahead. At the time I was reading the Harry Potter Series. I had never read them before and I really wanted my friend Josh to whittle me a wand like he did for all my friends. Allison was reading The Lonely Planet about Italy. It's this series thats all about fun places to travel and it tells you the best places to go and eat, experience, and so on and so forth. I think our book choices say a lot about Allison and my personalities. haha!The train ride wasn't bad at all. It was kind of a mucky day but that was ok because we were on a train for most of the day, not really exploring. We did go through Verona, the place where the "two star-crossed lovers" Romeo and Juliet met. If I ever have the opportunity to come back to Italy I would love to spend a day there. (Sigh) Oh fair Verona.
 |
| ". . . For I never saw true beauty 'til this night." |
We couldn't get off the train fast enough! We immediately saw that we were surrounded by all these little stands selling Carnevale masks but no time to look. We gotta a whole city to explore! The moment we stepped out of the train station we saw it. The Grand Canal. EEEE! You'd think seeing it first hand that thats when it would hit me that I was there. Nope. As I sit here and write this blog it has still yet to hit me that I was actually there. I do know that once we were there Allison and I both felt like kids in a candy shop. We were running all over the place, taking pictures and just squealing away. Haha! We must have been a sight but I didn't care. I was in VENICE!!!!!!!
Once we gained our composure we checked into our hotel which luckily for us was about a yard away from the train station. Allison said that this hotel didn't have great reviews but we both agreed that it was a nice hotel. It suited our needs and even had a complementary breakfast. That's all I need. :) After dropping off our backpacks (thats right friends, we backpacked through Venice) we hit the streets. We saw lots of little stands with masks and other cool little stores. I bought my Dad a "Phantom of the Opera" mask. He absolutely loves that show. He has seen it be performed by so many different theatre companies and listens to the music all the time so I knew he'd like it. I also bought some cool souvenirs for my Grandma, Brother and Sister-in-law, I just love them all so much. Allison and I got a mask for ourselves too. :)
Allison and I were by this time DYING to experience some real Venician food so we stopped in this little restaurant and got a delicious meal. PS: The Italian men are veeery friendly. Maybe they were just trying to sell us something but I'd like to believe my eyes ARE the most beautiful eyes in all of Italy. Haha kidding! I got some kind of spinach ravioli which was the best meal I ate on this trip and Allison got a two course meal. The first course was a spicy pasta (she couldn't finish it and I GLADLY accepted her offer to finish it for her) and her second course was some kind of fried chicken and french fries. In Allison's defense she didn't realize it was fried chicken and french fries the menu was very misleading. After dinner I was craving some gelato which is basically like ice cream but not. It's an italian dessert but I got something like the real thing when I was in Seattle with Kelly when she and I hung out for the day on the way back from my trip in Forks, Wa. Kelly this was way better, don't hate me!
-Jen
No comments:
Post a Comment