Venice/ Arezzo

7 febbraio:

VENICE!!! We were not told where we were going, only that we needed rain boots and to be ready to leave at 5 in the morning. Extremely early and a bit suspicious if you ask me, but we all agreed to stay in the dark and just do as we were told. We awoke and were ready to leave at 5 on Sunday morning; we walked to the Porta Fiorentina, the gate of the city closest to us and waited for a bus to come. When the bus arrived, I was shocked to see that it was a Mercedes bus and I have never seen one, but it must exist, I suppose. We were all so curious at find out where we were going, but leave it to John Rose to inform the bus driver that he is not to tell us. At this point we are all on the bus and situated, the bus seats are quite small so we got as comfortable as one could get. I was still tired from staying up late the night before so I decide to take a nap. The next thing I know we were stopping for breakfast at a small rest area type of place. While we were driving, Shannon had seen the signs for Venezia, and the cat was out of the bag. I feel so bad for Hilary and Kim on these trips because they always seem to get motion sickness from the long rides. I thank my lucky stars that I do not have any issues with that at all. As we begin to arrive in Venice, it was still very early, around 9:30. After a lot of discussion of where we were allowed to park, we got off of the bus and loaded onto a boat that was to take us to the boat dock closest to St. Marks square. There were so many people, it made me really nervous. I did not think I would be but when we got off of the boat and I saw the masses, and as funny as it sounds, I clutched my purse. As we moved around, there were so many colorful and elaborate costumes. It was as if around every corner there were 10 more people festively celebrating the day. In our Italy today class we learned about the Carnevale and about the traditions, costumes and foods. Sara took us out on a walk and bought us some tasty traditional treats of the Carnevale. It was really amusing to be able to say “Oh ya we learned about that in class, Wow!” There were people dressed in the traditional Carnevale costumes and then there were some that were just elaborately dressed for the fun of it.

The day moved quickly, and we must have walked in circles a hundred times. I do remember letting Kayley lead the group and trying to cut through the crowd, there were so many people talking all around us and then suddenly someone starts yelling at Kayley in Italian. I have no idea what he was saying but he was very insistent that she should not pass; we later realized that they were leaving room for the entertainers to dance. I imagine that if he hadn’t stopped us we would have walked right into someone that would not have been happy.

After that we walked around trying to find something cheap to eat. We happened upon a surprisingly tasty sandwich shop. Although after that, it took us another 30 minutes to find a suitable place to sit to eat our sandwiches. Once we finally found somewhere to sit, we were so excited to sit that we did not even know where we were. As we sat there, we realized that we had the best seat in the house. We were sitting on the edge of the canal and we had a perfect view of all of the gondolas floating by as the sun shined on the opposite side of the canal.

As the day was coming to a close, we all met back up by the docks and headed for the bus. Once on the bus, there was a wave of silence, it was as if everyone had gone to sleep. Arriving home late, we all retired to our bedrooms and the day ended.

13 febbraio:

Today was the much anticipated trip to Arezzo. This was quite an important place for us to visit, as this would be the place to depart from for every trip we take. It was important for us to be familiar with the city and the ways of transportation in the city. Arezzo has the closest train station to Sansepolcro. The bus ride to Arezzo was an extremely beautiful one. The day before had been snowing and the trees were covered in layers of white. It was a winter wonderland, white and pure. I am sure that we all looked like extreme tourists as we were trading seats multiple times so that all of us could capture pictures of the view. The bus ride lasted about 50 minutes and then we were there, as we got off of the bus we were given a mini lesson on the city. Kayley, Hilary, Kelsey, Bekah and I set off to wonder the streets. After walking up hill for what seemed a half hour, we arrived at a large park. The snow was still on the ground and there were many young people of all ages playing in the snow and chasing each other. We walked to the edge of the park; it was set up, and overlooked the city. As we walked the snow on the trees was melting and huge chunks of snow were falling and landing on me and all of the other girls. At first I thought that Kayley threw snow at me, but she was off on her own. She seems to do that a lot, I think it is her adventurous side coming out, however sometimes I cannot find her for a while. When we got to the ledge, we saw an impeccable view. It was breathtaking; the fog had begun to lift itself from the city below and everything was beginning to move again.

After that we all began to get hungry, and we decided to stop into a nice, but small, restaurant. There were only about 6 tables in the whole place. I ordered the ravioli with lemon and basil, it was simple and delicious. All of us thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and it was nice to stop and enjoy it, instead of grabbing something quick. After finishing lunch, we all walked with Hilary back to the train station to meet up with her boyfriend, who was coming to spend some time with her for Valentines. At this point it is around 2 o’clock and we are exhausted, so we decide to head back to Sansepolcro for a nap. We successfully made it back to the palazzo in one piece and luckily for me I did not fall once that day. The streets were still very icy and I was sure that I would fall on my butt at some point. The rest of the day went by lounging and catching up on homework.

Pre-Departure

Pre-Departure:

I did not even know what to expect as I embarked on this journey. I was anxious and excited all at the same time. My mother decided to fly up to Raleigh with me for the big send off, she was very excited for me to be traveling and expanding my horizons. I can remember her telling me that once I have children, trips like this will not be so easy to take. The day I arrived in Raleigh, Friday, my mother and I got into our hotel around 5 p.m. and decided to have dinner across the street at PF Changs, one of our favorite restaurants and get to bed early. I knew that I would need my rest because my mother likes to get up early and get the day going, and unfortunately that meant that I would as well. However, we awoke the next morning to lots of snow and no way to leave the hotel. Although my mother did not see it this way, I found this quite amusing. My mother’s days are always filled to the rim and she barely has time to breathe. She was quite the fish out of water; a day of “Lounging” as she called it was so boring to her. As a college student, I very much enjoyed it. I see no problem with sleeping all day! With snow to keep us indoors, there was not much to do and nothing exceptionally exciting happened.

01 february:

Due to the snow in Raleigh we were forced to travel on a different date than the originally planned Sunday. The rescheduled day of departure…this was the day we had all been waiting for, exciting and scary all at the same time. We all arrived at the airport at 10 a.m., and I was very nervous as I was walking in to find the group. I had been having some issues with packing and was sure that I would be the one with the largest suit case, which in turn made me feel slightly paranoid. I remember walking in and telling Kayley “I hope everyone doesn’t look at me because I have so much stuff; I hope I’m not the only one with this much.” Luckily for me, I was not! Although it was quite hectic getting everyone’s tickets and checking all of the bags, we managed to do it, with Kevin’s help of course. As we were getting everything settled and in order, Bahamonde arrived and joined the group. While I did now know her all that well, I did notice that her mother’s coat happened to be the same color as her suitcase, a lovely shade of green, making a fun conversation for the plane ride. The time had come to say my good-byes. My mother knew it was coming and I could see it in her eyes that she wanted to tell me to stay, but she knew she could not because I was going to have a priceless experience. After what seemed like hundreds of hugs we parted, and Kayley and I headed towards security along with the rest of the group. Although I was going to miss my mother more than I could even imagine (after all she is my best friend) I was so giddy to be doing something new and exciting. I was ready to be taken somewhere I had never been before, more than just physically; I was ready for the unknown! After that everything became a blur, walking fast paced through the airport in Raleigh and then in New York, then the long flight over to Rome. Then to top it off there was more sitting on a 5 hour bus ride into Sansepolcro.WOW! I must say that it did pay off though!

02 february:

This was definitely an eventful day to say the least. I am sure the combination of the lack of sleep with that of the requirement to stay awake only made me want to go to bed more. As we began to get closer to town, you could hear everyone on the bus marveling at the scenery and the cameras clicking away. The countryside was quite beautiful, and little did I know that this was not even the best of it yet. After a long bus ride, we arrived in Sansepolcro around lunch time. We were greeted by Dr. Webb, John Rose, and Sara when we arrived at the medieval gates to the historic part of the city. Dr. Webb seemed delighted to meet all of us, although I could see in her eyes that she was secretly hoping to herself that we were sweet and sensible girls. I’m sure we will prove her right! John Rose was the next to greet us and I must say that the moment he began to talk, I was drawn in. His English accent gave us something to talk about for the rest of the day, it suits him perfectly. All of the previous girls had told us about John Rose, “he was one of a kind,” and I agree that they all definitely hit the nail on the head.

As we entered the city we definitely looked like Americans, carrying our massive amounts of luggage through the cobble stoned streets. It was kind of fun to be stared at, although none of us had any idea what the people were saying. We arrived after no less than a 2 minute walk to the doors of the palazzo; the doorway gave the impression of a palace in all its elegance, it was simply grandiose. We were given a tour of the palazzo, which can be quite confusing with all of its doors and rooms. It’s a miracle that we all did not get lost for the next event, however it was lunch and, well, I simply followed my stomach. The plane food had seemed slightly less than tasty. We were all very excited to be eating our first pasta in Italia. It was one of those moments that was a must; it was on the “To Do list.” After an absolutely splendid lunch we were given some time to unpack and get settled, but we were given very specific instructions not to go to sleep. Dr. Webb must have told us that a hundred times, but I am pretty sure that I only comprehended a few words from that day; it all kind of ran together.

After lunch, we retreated to our rooms, Kayley and I decided to room together in one of the rooms on the front of the palazzo. We were warned that the streets get noisy on the weekends, but we were willing to brave it. The room is large and has a bathroom attached. When Dr. Webb was explaining the rooms to all of us she mentioned that all of them are wonderful and that everyone will tell you that theirs is the best. However, I do actually think that ours is the best! With 4 small beds and very nice sized wardrobes, I felt more as if I was in a hotel than in a college living space. I was looking around in awe, and snickering to myself because I did not think it possible to live as a college student in a place so beautiful. Kayley and I were contemplating the idea that Dr. Webb had forgotten she was taking us all on a tour of the city, since we were hoping to get a nap in. Definitely not!!! However, if we had taken a nap we would have missed out on the first walk of Sansepolcro. There are not even words to describe it, well maybe one… cold, but that did not take away from its beauty. I never imagined anything remotely like this when I thought of the city. It is picturesque and elegant and sophisticated all at the same time and then there are parts that are worn and well loved. The city is like something out of a fairy tale, where everyone knows everyone and everyone knows John Rose. Some may laugh and think John Rose cannot know everyone, but he does, it’s quite amazing. We walked from the Porta Fiorentina all the way to the Porta Romana, one end of the city gates to the other. It is interesting because the Porta Romana is named this way for the fact that it is the gate facing towards Rome. I found out that all cities in Italy have a Porta Romana that faces towards Rome. We then walked along the cobble stoned streets and must have stopped every five seconds so that John Rose could have a small chat with everyone in the city. It was quite fun to watch though, John Rose is the one to have on your side if something goes wrong, he seems to have an answer for everything. In a British accent no less. We continued to walk until we arrived at the Pam, similar to a mini mall with a grocery store. That was certainly an experience. I had to buy a few things and when it came checkout time I was so confused. Luckily for me one of the other girls noticed and helped me out. It was a learning experience, meaning look at the monitor when the cashier tells you how much it is until you learn enough Italian! We then walked back to the palazzo and ordered pizza. I can remember just wanting to lay my head on my plate and fall asleep in my pizza at one point; I was so tired I may have fallen asleep with my eyes open once or twice. After dinner we were graced with something that I can only describe as being heard in an opera house. A nice young man and his new wife surprised us after dinner with some exquisite singing, it gave me goose bumps. It makes me feel Italian to be able to enjoy such simple pleasures; you don’t get someone singing to you after dinner in the States. Finally, Dr. Webb dismissed us, as she laughed and complimented us on staying awake. To bed we went. Until next time arrivederci!