Wished that I was in the United States more than at this moment right now. Still, IM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN just as much despite that Im currently in Europe.
Tears, goosebumps and overwhleming sense of patriotism has rendered me in the most delightful of moods to start my day. Dont think I could have woken up to better news.
if there is one thing that being abroad has taught me. it is appreciation of other cultures and a better understanding of the world we live in and my role as an individual, as a female, as an American. Especially the last part. Seeing the world from a different viewpoint has really opened my eyes a lot and given me a deeper understanding of what culture is. Theres no doubt America is a superpower- but living and traveling in Europe has really made me seen just how deep our impact is-- from movies to pop culture and music-- history and politics. We certainly have more of a global impact than I ever could have imagined. One of my favorite parts about traveling and meeting people and getting into a good conversation is to ask them what they think of Americans. 100% of the time they have responded with something positive. It has thus become my unofficial mission to make it stay that way. I dont want to be the story someone refers to someday when they are asked by a young American traveler like myself what opinions they hold of Americans. I am always proud of who I am and where I come from, but I am even prouder when I have positive experiences that rebuild my sense of Patriotism. I cannot wait to return to the States and share these kind of moments with future study abroad students. Sure there will be great tales of wild nights in Europe's nightlife.. but I think Id rather share stories of personal growth and offer advice.
I also decided that at some point in my life, I want to do some service work. There are lots of countries/cities/villages that obviously need help all over the world and Id really like to continue with my French skills-- so Ive been thinking about looking into volunteering in Martinique or French Guiana. Im not sure in what capacity I could be of service. But anything would be worthwhile. I just want to pay it forward in someway.
Sunday, May 1
updatesss
1. Squatter daughter literally licked the bowl of cool whip clean tonight. she didnt eat any of the strawberries and cool whip we had for dinner tonight. i jokingly looked at alex and asked if she thought Odile would eat the leftover cool whip in the bowl. 10 minutes later. we literally couldnt move we were in such shock as we watched her lick it clean. reflect to my previous post about her being diabetic and unable to walk a few paces without pause. yeah.
2. i updated pictures to my photo project.. check them out :) .. i even reversed the order so the newer ones are first in my 123 album . I cant believe there's only 25 more days to go.
2. i updated pictures to my photo project.. check them out :) .. i even reversed the order so the newer ones are first in my 123 album . I cant believe there's only 25 more days to go.
la vie en rose cont'd
Following a wonderful weekend exploring and enjoying the Provençal life-- our host family decided to take us on a family outing today! Alex and I were so excited! we didnt really even know where we were going until we were halfway there!
the whole family went! me, Alex, Robert, Mireille and my favorite squatter daughter, Odile. I feel like I havent talked about her much. If I have and am just mistaken, forgive me for this brief background information. Odile is our host family's eldest daughter.. I forget, but I think they said she was 40. She was here when we arrived and has henceforth spent the semester sleeping on the sofa in the living room. Reason being that her husband divorced her. We havent asked a lot of questions. One time they tried to explain what happened.. and Alex and I werent sure if her husband "lost all of his limbs" or "broke all his limbs" -- quite a difference. but really, we didnt understand. all semester she has been living with us. and ive seen her leave the house maybe 10 times. max. she spends ALL day on the sofa. or smoking on the balcony. seriously. 2 packs a day, i swear. she is the sweeeeeeeetest .. when she talks or offers any contribution to the conversation/situation. she is constantly coughing up her lungs see the bit about the smoking. and always fighting with her mother about it too. oh and she is diabetic. this is key. remember this fact for later stories. she really is precious and i like her a lot. and i feel so bad that we came in at such a hard time in her life. it makes the whole 'living with a real family' seem, well, real. so she hardly talks. coughs and SNORES all the time. she always is in the bathroom when i need to go. and she reeks like a marlboro factory. again, being served divorce papers would definitely not set me up in the right state of mind/feeling .. BUT id like to think I would make something of it.. atleast try. or that my parents would certainly not permit me to sit on my butt ALLLLLLLLLLL day long and waste away into nothingness.
so back to today. first of all, squatter daughter, as we affectionately named her, didnt want to go with us. seriously, the idea of fresh air was not something she wanted to ambition for today. mireille literally made her get off the couch and come with us. we drove all through the countryside to the little towns in the luberon region of France. We went to the two towns that our school took us to a few weeks ago. Unfortunately we had terrible weather that day and Alex didnt get to go-- so thats where they took us. At Isle Sur la Sorgue we walked around the little markets-- admiring all the trucs and choses . commenting on funny dresses and trying different hats on-- and making Robert do the same. it was great fun but we didnt stay long before heading to Fountain de Vauclouse.. it is the town of the mysterious source of the Sorgue river-- infamous, charming and beautiful. the last time i was here, we spent the rainy, cold afternoon drinking wine in the cafe but today was different. we ate a nice lunch of baguettes, sausage and cheese in the little park and then walked into town. this walk should have been about 2-3 minutes-- but lasted more like 10 because some members of our group are used to a daily circle of exercise that consists soley of the route between the living room-- kitchen-- bathroom-- and porch. seriously, it was beyond pathetic. we had a most enjoyable time walking around the little stores and weaving in and out of the throngs of tourists. at one point, we left the fam to make the little hike to the river's mysterious source. Alex and I had a dandy time, laughing at the people around us and just enjoying the beautiful scenery. we retourned to find Odile, exactly where we left her and Robert sitting on a bench looking out over the water. When we reached them, I asked Robert what he had spent the time doing.. his response? "J'ai regardé les belles filles" .. i watched the beautiful girls. hahahahaha, exactly the response my dad would say too. so adorable.
the rest of the afternoon was beautiful . they bought us ice cream, we exchanged laughs and just had a great time. alex and I passed out in the car ride home and apparently we missed some beautiful sights :( oh well, it was a perfect afternoon!
 |
| me and Odile |
so back to today. first of all, squatter daughter, as we affectionately named her, didnt want to go with us. seriously, the idea of fresh air was not something she wanted to ambition for today. mireille literally made her get off the couch and come with us. we drove all through the countryside to the little towns in the luberon region of France. We went to the two towns that our school took us to a few weeks ago. Unfortunately we had terrible weather that day and Alex didnt get to go-- so thats where they took us. At Isle Sur la Sorgue we walked around the little markets-- admiring all the trucs and choses . commenting on funny dresses and trying different hats on-- and making Robert do the same. it was great fun but we didnt stay long before heading to Fountain de Vauclouse.. it is the town of the mysterious source of the Sorgue river-- infamous, charming and beautiful. the last time i was here, we spent the rainy, cold afternoon drinking wine in the cafe but today was different. we ate a nice lunch of baguettes, sausage and cheese in the little park and then walked into town. this walk should have been about 2-3 minutes-- but lasted more like 10 because some members of our group are used to a daily circle of exercise that consists soley of the route between the living room-- kitchen-- bathroom-- and porch. seriously, it was beyond pathetic. we had a most enjoyable time walking around the little stores and weaving in and out of the throngs of tourists. at one point, we left the fam to make the little hike to the river's mysterious source. Alex and I had a dandy time, laughing at the people around us and just enjoying the beautiful scenery. we retourned to find Odile, exactly where we left her and Robert sitting on a bench looking out over the water. When we reached them, I asked Robert what he had spent the time doing.. his response? "J'ai regardé les belles filles" .. i watched the beautiful girls. hahahahaha, exactly the response my dad would say too. so adorable.
la vie en rose
friday was obviously an important day.
1. it was my sister's 13th birthday and my dad's (insert number) birthday!!! also my late grandpa, bumpa! special special special! I CANNOT BELIEVE my sister is a teenager. time flies.
2. fridays are always special
3. we got to do a free wine tasting at a chateau vineyard out in the french countryside. emphasis on freeeeee. chateau vineyard and winnnnnnnnnnneeeeee.
4. royal wedding day. DUH.
so obviously everyone was super duper excited and its all the media was taking about. then of course were the haters who didnt understand all the fuss and buzz over a royal family who has no role really. heres my thoughts: there is SO much bad stuff going on in the world (i.e Syria, Libya, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Bahrain, tornados... there's no shortage of items here) .. that the world neeeeeded something to focus on that wouldnt inspire depression or sadness. and a wedding fit for a king. literally. was exactly what the doctor ordered. obsessing about a dress, the cake, the guest list, all the ins and outs that make celebrity weddings exciting was the perfect distraction from the utter demise of the civilized world. i for one, LOVED all the hype. i can imagine what it was like in the States, we go gaga for stuff like this, but it was so interesting to see the same effect here in France. i knew without a doubt that my mom would be awake to watch the coverage. which was a mere 4 am while here coverage began at a more comfortable 9am. it was hilarious. my host family were the first ones awake. they let alex and i eat breakfast by the tv pour le premiere fois and i think my host mom bought EVERY. SINGLE. TABLOID. so in many many ways.. my host mom is just like my real mom. unfortunately for me my french oral class started at 10:30 and went til 12 .. precisely 9 minutes after kate was due to leave the hotel. NOT OKAY WITH ME. i impatiently sat through class, battling my way through and counting down the minutes. my professor knew it. she got a good giggle out of my anxiousness as she could care less. c'etait fini finalement. and I RACED down the stairs and burst into the library, threw open my computer and immediately started the live streaming. none of my classmates cared either. but my eagerness was infectious and soon we had 20 students gathered around my laptop oo-ing and ahh-ing at the stunning princess. conclusions? well everyone has their own, but i personally loved it all. and cannot get enough royal family lovin. so far ive rewatched Diana and Charles' ceremony, interviews during her life, her death, funeral, interviews with Charles, Harry and William as well as listened to Elton John's Candle in the Wind and i have read every story Yahoo and BBC newsfeed have provided for me. my roommate and I are slightly less than obsessed!
on to the next reason why my life is fantastic! friday-admist the excitement of the wedding was a planned winetasting organized through school with the people who organized the wine lesson i went to back in February. we had no idea what to expect for this one. all i knew was that it was free and we needed a bus to get there. 20 minutes outside of the city limits is this beautiful chateau and vineyard called Chateau Val Joanis. (you can change the site to English) family owned and operated - it is EXACTLY what you would expect a french family winery to be. fun facts: the film French Kiss with Meg Ryan was filmed there and a few years ago, Brangelina landed their airplane on the properties when they were in France looking for a place for Angelina to have their twins. They ended up buying a chateau not too far down the road. It is stunning, secluded and equipped with 186 hectacres of vines and beautiful gardens and a landscape panorama that took my breath away. to check out all my pictures, click here . we got to sample their white, red and rosé and they gave us a grand tour of the gardens. i dont think perfection even comes close to describing it. the woman who hosts the winetastings is an American from California who has made her life the study of wine-- she met her husband in Aix and she was actually the first person Chateau Val Joanis permitted to get married on their grounds. Now weddings are a big part of their business.
it was a most delightful way to spend a friday evening.
Saturday was a gem in and of itself. My roommate Alex and I elected to get up early, have breakfast with the fam and walk into town to check out the weekly market on the Cours Mirabeau. it was a BEAUTIFUL morning/afternoon and all the town was a buzz. sadly we were mistaken in our information and the market was elsewhere. but we enjoyed the afternoon in town and did a little shopping. loving the Aixois lifestyle. afterwards we met up with some friends in our favorite park for an afternoon of.. you guessed it .. wine, baguettes and cheese. la vie en rose. we laughed the afternoon away and soaked up the feel good sunshine before killing the afternoon at our favorite bookstore-- Book in Bar -- its an English book store so most if not all the books are in English. phewf. it was so delightful. relaxing. perfection. came home to a great dinner with the family-- homemade macaroni and cheese. delicious.
1. it was my sister's 13th birthday and my dad's (insert number) birthday!!! also my late grandpa, bumpa! special special special! I CANNOT BELIEVE my sister is a teenager. time flies.
2. fridays are always special
3. we got to do a free wine tasting at a chateau vineyard out in the french countryside. emphasis on freeeeee. chateau vineyard and winnnnnnnnnnneeeeee.
4. royal wedding day. DUH.
 |
| easily the best photo of the day |
on to the next reason why my life is fantastic! friday-admist the excitement of the wedding was a planned winetasting organized through school with the people who organized the wine lesson i went to back in February. we had no idea what to expect for this one. all i knew was that it was free and we needed a bus to get there. 20 minutes outside of the city limits is this beautiful chateau and vineyard called Chateau Val Joanis. (you can change the site to English) family owned and operated - it is EXACTLY what you would expect a french family winery to be. fun facts: the film French Kiss with Meg Ryan was filmed there and a few years ago, Brangelina landed their airplane on the properties when they were in France looking for a place for Angelina to have their twins. They ended up buying a chateau not too far down the road. It is stunning, secluded and equipped with 186 hectacres of vines and beautiful gardens and a landscape panorama that took my breath away. to check out all my pictures, click here . we got to sample their white, red and rosé and they gave us a grand tour of the gardens. i dont think perfection even comes close to describing it. the woman who hosts the winetastings is an American from California who has made her life the study of wine-- she met her husband in Aix and she was actually the first person Chateau Val Joanis permitted to get married on their grounds. Now weddings are a big part of their business.
Saturday was a gem in and of itself. My roommate Alex and I elected to get up early, have breakfast with the fam and walk into town to check out the weekly market on the Cours Mirabeau. it was a BEAUTIFUL morning/afternoon and all the town was a buzz. sadly we were mistaken in our information and the market was elsewhere. but we enjoyed the afternoon in town and did a little shopping. loving the Aixois lifestyle. afterwards we met up with some friends in our favorite park for an afternoon of.. you guessed it .. wine, baguettes and cheese. la vie en rose. we laughed the afternoon away and soaked up the feel good sunshine before killing the afternoon at our favorite bookstore-- Book in Bar -- its an English book store so most if not all the books are in English. phewf. it was so delightful. relaxing. perfection. came home to a great dinner with the family-- homemade macaroni and cheese. delicious.
Saturday, April 30
true life: i cannot make instant grits
seriously. what is wrong with me? actually. im blaming my lack of ability to properly prepare a bowl of instant grits on the wacky microwaves they use here in France.
yesterday and today might be in the running to be my favorite days since ive been here. Although I say that after every experience-- which really is a testament to the amazing experiences I am having here. these 2 days are in stark contrast to the mess of a day I had on thursday. but even that turned out to be an eye opening experience.
Apparently April showers bring May flowers in France too.. and although Aix is famous for its 300+ days of sunshine.. but those April storms can come out of nowhere. so there we are .. at art class.. conveniently 45 minutes walk from my house. and it starts to rain. nay downpour. hail. thunder . lightning. the whole works. we start to walk back. completely unprepared for today's meteo so there i am in my little sandals , cotton skirt getting soaked to the bone. and this very nice woman bade me and my 2 friends, alex and liz to get into her car (not as creepy as it sounds) and she saved us from 10 more miserable minutes in the freezing rain. good Samaritan act #1. so i jumped on the bus going the wrong direction. the bus driver didnt make me pay #2. i had to get out and wait at the end of the bus route for the right bus to come the right direction. 10 miserable minutes in and cold and a 45 minute buss ride to my stop. where i stand up and realize i dont have my keys. tears immediatement. besides a number of obvious incidents .. losing your keys here could quite possibly be the worst thing ever. first of all, it shows irresponsibility. second, it is UNBELIEVABLY expensive to change locks here. so im in a catastrophic mood. unable to control my tears. not sure whether to go home or just go try and find them which meant an hour long bus ride back to where i started. i chose the latter. i am standing there looking like the most pathetic person in the world. and this super nice man came up and asked me why on earth "such a beautiful girl could be so upset" in french bien sûr. and when i told him that i was a hysteric mess because i simply lost my keys. he told me to smile, because atleast i was alive and well. and that all would be okay. best Samaritan #3. he offered to help me, offered his number so i could call if i needed something and even offered to ride the bus with me back to the other bus stop. my heart literally almost broke. i dont know if anyone would be that kind in the US. Id like to think so. but given the reputation the French have of being off-put and unkind .. has COMPLETELY been abolished in my mind. It was a long time prior to this afternoon .. but my belief in the humanity of mankind was absolutely reconfirmed in this young man. When i assured him that I was okay. he waited for the bus with me and asked me if I had enough to get back on. I told him i did. Lie. and he could tell how frazzled and a mess I was.. and shoved a 2euro piece into my hand and wished me luck and waved as the bus pulled away. more tears. how can some people be so absolutely kind hearted. my continued wave of tears brought more attention-- as I tried to be discreet but alas, had no idea how i was going to recitfy this situation if my keys were not at the bus stop. the woman next to me asked me if I was alright.. as did the man standing in front of me. both offered me advice on what to do, assured me that i would probably find them, as the Aixois are very kind and not prone to stealing keys. The woman even gave me suggestions of where to go if alas I could not find them. #4 &5. Soon I was the only person left on the bus save the driver and his friend who apparently jumped on for a ride. they asked me where I was going, as we had reached the end and I, still tearfully, retold my story to them.. in quite broken french. as we rounded the corner, i nearly jumped for joy. alors, my keys were still sitting on the bench. i could not have been more relieved. it all seemed so trivial once i had found them.. but had I not .. oh la la. quelle horreur. i spent the 45 minute ride back talking with my new friends #6 and 7. and was able to return home safe and sound. i wish someone had taken a picture of me in my patheticness.. would have given me a hearty laugh the next time i had a mishap.
so alas, all was well after thursday. the emotional rollercoaster gave me such a headache and completely drained me of energy so i chose to stay in for the night. everyone is getting antsy because it is the last 3 weeks we have together.. but that also means 3 more weeks left with my host family. and that time is equally as valuable to me. so we spent thursday night playing rummykub together. its the board game version of the card game Rummy. it was so much fun. i won. le sud pour le win..
see next post for the less dramatic- jealousy inspiring stories.
yesterday and today might be in the running to be my favorite days since ive been here. Although I say that after every experience-- which really is a testament to the amazing experiences I am having here. these 2 days are in stark contrast to the mess of a day I had on thursday. but even that turned out to be an eye opening experience.
Apparently April showers bring May flowers in France too.. and although Aix is famous for its 300+ days of sunshine.. but those April storms can come out of nowhere. so there we are .. at art class.. conveniently 45 minutes walk from my house. and it starts to rain. nay downpour. hail. thunder . lightning. the whole works. we start to walk back. completely unprepared for today's meteo so there i am in my little sandals , cotton skirt getting soaked to the bone. and this very nice woman bade me and my 2 friends, alex and liz to get into her car (not as creepy as it sounds) and she saved us from 10 more miserable minutes in the freezing rain. good Samaritan act #1. so i jumped on the bus going the wrong direction. the bus driver didnt make me pay #2. i had to get out and wait at the end of the bus route for the right bus to come the right direction. 10 miserable minutes in and cold and a 45 minute buss ride to my stop. where i stand up and realize i dont have my keys. tears immediatement. besides a number of obvious incidents .. losing your keys here could quite possibly be the worst thing ever. first of all, it shows irresponsibility. second, it is UNBELIEVABLY expensive to change locks here. so im in a catastrophic mood. unable to control my tears. not sure whether to go home or just go try and find them which meant an hour long bus ride back to where i started. i chose the latter. i am standing there looking like the most pathetic person in the world. and this super nice man came up and asked me why on earth "such a beautiful girl could be so upset" in french bien sûr. and when i told him that i was a hysteric mess because i simply lost my keys. he told me to smile, because atleast i was alive and well. and that all would be okay. best Samaritan #3. he offered to help me, offered his number so i could call if i needed something and even offered to ride the bus with me back to the other bus stop. my heart literally almost broke. i dont know if anyone would be that kind in the US. Id like to think so. but given the reputation the French have of being off-put and unkind .. has COMPLETELY been abolished in my mind. It was a long time prior to this afternoon .. but my belief in the humanity of mankind was absolutely reconfirmed in this young man. When i assured him that I was okay. he waited for the bus with me and asked me if I had enough to get back on. I told him i did. Lie. and he could tell how frazzled and a mess I was.. and shoved a 2euro piece into my hand and wished me luck and waved as the bus pulled away. more tears. how can some people be so absolutely kind hearted. my continued wave of tears brought more attention-- as I tried to be discreet but alas, had no idea how i was going to recitfy this situation if my keys were not at the bus stop. the woman next to me asked me if I was alright.. as did the man standing in front of me. both offered me advice on what to do, assured me that i would probably find them, as the Aixois are very kind and not prone to stealing keys. The woman even gave me suggestions of where to go if alas I could not find them. #4 &5. Soon I was the only person left on the bus save the driver and his friend who apparently jumped on for a ride. they asked me where I was going, as we had reached the end and I, still tearfully, retold my story to them.. in quite broken french. as we rounded the corner, i nearly jumped for joy. alors, my keys were still sitting on the bench. i could not have been more relieved. it all seemed so trivial once i had found them.. but had I not .. oh la la. quelle horreur. i spent the 45 minute ride back talking with my new friends #6 and 7. and was able to return home safe and sound. i wish someone had taken a picture of me in my patheticness.. would have given me a hearty laugh the next time i had a mishap.
so alas, all was well after thursday. the emotional rollercoaster gave me such a headache and completely drained me of energy so i chose to stay in for the night. everyone is getting antsy because it is the last 3 weeks we have together.. but that also means 3 more weeks left with my host family. and that time is equally as valuable to me. so we spent thursday night playing rummykub together. its the board game version of the card game Rummy. it was so much fun. i won. le sud pour le win..
see next post for the less dramatic- jealousy inspiring stories.
Wednesday, April 27
Viva Venezia
there are a lot of place you can go in life.. and people will say .. oh there's nowhere else in the world like it. i absolutely loved Paris .. and Prague .. and Vienna .. all pretty large and in charge cities .. but NOTHING.. and i mean NOTHING compares to how much I loved Venice.
We had quite an entertaining ferry ride back to Italy. The first random friends we made were this old couple who stood on the bow with us as the ship pulled out of port. The gentleman, who spoke with an unrecognizable accent, later confirmed to be Israeli was kind enough to take some pictures of our group for us. He was with an attractive young blonde from Las Vegas who was an opera singer and not too many years older than us. He, was an accomplished software program developer who no doubt sold it for millions and had been traveling with his young "lady friend" for the past 2 months- driving all over Italy and Croatia. An older man with enough personality for every person I know who works and develops software programs, he struck up a friendly conversation with us. He got such a kick out of our stories of our adventures through Europe thus far and how lucky we are to have the chance to "spend daddy's money" .. he went so far as to ask each of us our majors and potential career paths.
i absolutely dread this question. i am so affirmed in my choice of International Business and Marketing as my majors and french, bien sûr as my minor, but that in no way means I have the least bit idea what I want to do with it. I know things I dont want to do .. like end up like every other stereotypical college grad.. or the cliché McDonalds worker .. but I am constantly reworking my plans, thoughts, ideas, myself, and frantically trying to piece it all together to form some sort of cohesive and well functioning member of society. Anyways, after a nice chat that concluded with some solid law advice for my friend Libby and suggestions of good restaurants to eat in Venice .. the last thing he said before he walked inside was to me .. and he looked me straight in the face and said "young lady, you are going to go far in life. i can just tell". i dont think words like that have ever meant so much to me. coming from a complete stranger, who i interacted with for a total of 45 minutes on a Italy/Croatia ferry felt like he had a good enough impression of me to confidently pay me such a compliment. it blew my mind.
not long after, we made friends with these 2 Croatian girls. Sisters from Split, they were traveling to Italy to watch their other sisters play volleyball. Why such a committment? Because 2 of their sisters are on the national Croatian beach volleyball team. at nearly 6ft, blondest of hair and prominent features-- despite the fact that they were friendly and nice as could be -- they were beautiful. Ana, 16, and I hit it off immediately, swapping opinions of every major American pop culture star and evening singing along to her ipod while the boys played poker nearby. her older sister, Katrina, 23, showed us pictures of her gorgeous Croatian boyfriend and regaled us with her plans to star in the 2016 summer Olympics. no big deal. cant wait to watch and tell everyone "I KNOW HER". Ive said it a million times but i LOVE meeting people. especially those from other cultures and getting to experience how their cultures mix and interact with ours. the amount of similarities astounds me. they knew every justin bieber song/fact/recent news and spoke perfect English .. as well as Croatian and Italian. If it was not for the accents, i would have thought they were American .. judging by the way they interacted with us, simple nuances and small little things like the way they carried themselves, laughed and spoke about boys!
so we arrived at the train station back to Ancona and almost immediately jumped on a train to Venice. Absolutely packed with Europeans traveling for Easter, we were unable to get any sleep so we passed the time playing rummy.
i will never forget the feeling of stepping out of the train station in Venice and seeing the waterways abuzz with boats, gondolas and vaparettos (water taxis) .. its more beautiful in person than any photos or Madonna videos could ever produce. it nearly took my breath away. we were aware of the limited amount of time we had to spend there so we quickly rushed to our hostel. Ostello di Venezia. the most hostel-y of all hostels i have ever seen. we were in a 16 bed mixed dorm room. . 8 bunkbeds and lockers in the corner-- bathrooms down the hall, separated for the sexes, dinner served from 5-1am and free breakfast. no towels offered and very limited private space. but hey, 22 euros a night, right on the water.. what can ya do. please see previous post about what traveling as a college student does for your standards. we freshened up, showered and hit the streets to jump on a vaparetto to St. Mark's square.
i would like to dedicate the whole next paragraph to the woman we conversed with on the vaparetto to St. Mark's . Per usual, whenever I hear English, particularly American and if I am feeling in the right mood and the situation calls for it-- i enjoy striking up a conversation. Such is the circumstance where we met this couple from Boca Raton, Florida. First of all, she looked to be pushing 45-50 and he was maaaaaybe 30. ah c'est la vie. and i asked her if they had any advice on what to make sure we saw whilst in venice. first thing she says to me. "honestly, i dont like it that much." i can only imagine what the face i made looked like to her. she continued "its dirty, smelly and the people are rude." .. so far, 3 of the most complete opposite opinions i could ever imagine hearing. "the pizza is terrible and is the thickness of paper. geez, i just want a nice Pizza Hut pizza" ... im sorry. COME AGAIN? youre really comparing PIZZA in ITALY to PIZZA HUT? i could not believe my ears. apparently they have been traveling Italy for 2 weeks .. and she had these opinions of their past ventures.. Florence: "ugh too many students, just bar scenes and nothing to look at or see" .. Rome: "i got bored of all the old things." SERIOUSLY? and this lady was well put together, obviously educated and well off given the outfit she was wearing and her Boca address. I literally cannot stop thinking about this poor and miserable woman. that must be how she lives her life. i could not imagine EVER entertaining such thoughts. She gave American tourists a terrible name. I felt so bad for all those nearby who could comprehend our English conversation.
Anyways, we spent the evening roaming the streets, getting lost in the labyrinth of canals and gelateries. we treated ourselves to a delicious and authentic Venezian meal and of course, celebrated the evening with a bottle (or two) of wine. Unfortunately we only had roughly 20 hours to be there and thus our experiences were short lived.
just means i will HAVE to go back sometime in my life.
We had quite an entertaining ferry ride back to Italy. The first random friends we made were this old couple who stood on the bow with us as the ship pulled out of port. The gentleman, who spoke with an unrecognizable accent, later confirmed to be Israeli was kind enough to take some pictures of our group for us. He was with an attractive young blonde from Las Vegas who was an opera singer and not too many years older than us. He, was an accomplished software program developer who no doubt sold it for millions and had been traveling with his young "lady friend" for the past 2 months- driving all over Italy and Croatia. An older man with enough personality for every person I know who works and develops software programs, he struck up a friendly conversation with us. He got such a kick out of our stories of our adventures through Europe thus far and how lucky we are to have the chance to "spend daddy's money" .. he went so far as to ask each of us our majors and potential career paths.i absolutely dread this question. i am so affirmed in my choice of International Business and Marketing as my majors and french, bien sûr as my minor, but that in no way means I have the least bit idea what I want to do with it. I know things I dont want to do .. like end up like every other stereotypical college grad.. or the cliché McDonalds worker .. but I am constantly reworking my plans, thoughts, ideas, myself, and frantically trying to piece it all together to form some sort of cohesive and well functioning member of society. Anyways, after a nice chat that concluded with some solid law advice for my friend Libby and suggestions of good restaurants to eat in Venice .. the last thing he said before he walked inside was to me .. and he looked me straight in the face and said "young lady, you are going to go far in life. i can just tell". i dont think words like that have ever meant so much to me. coming from a complete stranger, who i interacted with for a total of 45 minutes on a Italy/Croatia ferry felt like he had a good enough impression of me to confidently pay me such a compliment. it blew my mind.
not long after, we made friends with these 2 Croatian girls. Sisters from Split, they were traveling to Italy to watch their other sisters play volleyball. Why such a committment? Because 2 of their sisters are on the national Croatian beach volleyball team. at nearly 6ft, blondest of hair and prominent features-- despite the fact that they were friendly and nice as could be -- they were beautiful. Ana, 16, and I hit it off immediately, swapping opinions of every major American pop culture star and evening singing along to her ipod while the boys played poker nearby. her older sister, Katrina, 23, showed us pictures of her gorgeous Croatian boyfriend and regaled us with her plans to star in the 2016 summer Olympics. no big deal. cant wait to watch and tell everyone "I KNOW HER". Ive said it a million times but i LOVE meeting people. especially those from other cultures and getting to experience how their cultures mix and interact with ours. the amount of similarities astounds me. they knew every justin bieber song/fact/recent news and spoke perfect English .. as well as Croatian and Italian. If it was not for the accents, i would have thought they were American .. judging by the way they interacted with us, simple nuances and small little things like the way they carried themselves, laughed and spoke about boys!
so we arrived at the train station back to Ancona and almost immediately jumped on a train to Venice. Absolutely packed with Europeans traveling for Easter, we were unable to get any sleep so we passed the time playing rummy.
i will never forget the feeling of stepping out of the train station in Venice and seeing the waterways abuzz with boats, gondolas and vaparettos (water taxis) .. its more beautiful in person than any photos or Madonna videos could ever produce. it nearly took my breath away. we were aware of the limited amount of time we had to spend there so we quickly rushed to our hostel. Ostello di Venezia. the most hostel-y of all hostels i have ever seen. we were in a 16 bed mixed dorm room. . 8 bunkbeds and lockers in the corner-- bathrooms down the hall, separated for the sexes, dinner served from 5-1am and free breakfast. no towels offered and very limited private space. but hey, 22 euros a night, right on the water.. what can ya do. please see previous post about what traveling as a college student does for your standards. we freshened up, showered and hit the streets to jump on a vaparetto to St. Mark's square.
i would like to dedicate the whole next paragraph to the woman we conversed with on the vaparetto to St. Mark's . Per usual, whenever I hear English, particularly American and if I am feeling in the right mood and the situation calls for it-- i enjoy striking up a conversation. Such is the circumstance where we met this couple from Boca Raton, Florida. First of all, she looked to be pushing 45-50 and he was maaaaaybe 30. ah c'est la vie. and i asked her if they had any advice on what to make sure we saw whilst in venice. first thing she says to me. "honestly, i dont like it that much." i can only imagine what the face i made looked like to her. she continued "its dirty, smelly and the people are rude." .. so far, 3 of the most complete opposite opinions i could ever imagine hearing. "the pizza is terrible and is the thickness of paper. geez, i just want a nice Pizza Hut pizza" ... im sorry. COME AGAIN? youre really comparing PIZZA in ITALY to PIZZA HUT? i could not believe my ears. apparently they have been traveling Italy for 2 weeks .. and she had these opinions of their past ventures.. Florence: "ugh too many students, just bar scenes and nothing to look at or see" .. Rome: "i got bored of all the old things." SERIOUSLY? and this lady was well put together, obviously educated and well off given the outfit she was wearing and her Boca address. I literally cannot stop thinking about this poor and miserable woman. that must be how she lives her life. i could not imagine EVER entertaining such thoughts. She gave American tourists a terrible name. I felt so bad for all those nearby who could comprehend our English conversation. |
| Libby, Trey, Ian, Kory, Moi, Kat |
just means i will HAVE to go back sometime in my life.
she finally found a paradise it seems
so i hate when blogs go on and on for pages and paragraphs and ramble. so i decided to break up my epic adventures into a few blogs. :)
we jumped on a train that cost 7.50 euros, c'est tout, and headed to Ancona, Italy. probably one of the most beautiful train rides ever. literally, the train tracks ran the entire way along the Adriatic coast and was just so picturesque. i have absolutely fallen in love with train travel. show up 10 minutes before your train is due to leave. jump on. drop your stuff and pop a squat and enjoy the view.
ancona was really just a pit stop for us and the point of departure for our ferry. or should i say cruiseship. seriously, this bad boy could run with the best of the Carnival ships. Okay, not really. . but it sure was a lot bigger than any of us expected. Capacity of probably 700 .. and there were maybe 98 on board. we decided to just rough it and buy deck seats for the low price of 20euros. we expected to literally be sleeping under the stars. but there were literally so few people on board that we were able to snag seats in the area where there are just rows of airplane-esque seats. tankfully they were inside and warmer than sleeping on the outside deck would have been. we almost immediately made friends with this guy from DC who has been teaching lacrosse in London for the last year to highschool and college students. he was quite a cool guy and meeting people is one of my favorite pasttimes. we also met 2 girls traveling from Madrid. we pretty much just collected all of the Americans on board. this ferry, Regina, was equiped with a nightclub and bar .. a chapel .. and lots of creepy Italian/Croatian men sleeping in both. Quite the experience. we definitely made the best of it.
We docked in Split at 7am. just in time to see the sun rise over the landscape. Ian's neighbors back home in Maryland invested in Croatia when Yugoslavia split up in the 90s and bought 2 apartments in the quiet little island of Ciovo just 45 minutes outside of Split. The property managers drove all the way there and picked us up in 2 cars. VIP style. during our trip we got to learn some valuable information about Croatia. (thankfully she spoke English) we learned that the black wine is a specialty . it is not quite tourist season- but when summer comes, the country becomes overrun with tourists. most Croatians prefer the former- Communist days to the republic they have today. she was very helpful and the drive from Split to Trogir was absolutely ASTOUNDING. on onen side is the port and Adriatic sea and on the other side, a mountain range gently slopes up providing for a beautiful panorama that had us all speechless.
so we arrived in our little island of Ciovo .. right off the coast of Split. and almost immediately, i notice the supreme lack of any others like ourselves. There were little bars, obviously meant for tourists, along the beach that were in desperate need of customers but were still charming nonetheless. we had 2 apartments that had a beautiful view of the water and the surrounding neighborhood. to put it in perspective of how small and intimate this area was... there was ONE grocery store a fifth the size of a normal bi-lo, ONE post office that was connected to the what i believe was the police station and a bakery. charming. the best part? we had an entire beach to ourselves. it wasn't the white sandy shores that the Caribbean rocks but it was absolutely serene and peaceful and the ideal vacation. since it was 80 degrees by 10am .. we brought our lunch every day (bread, cheese, assorted salami and beer) and soaked in the sun all afternoon, playing cards and shootin the breeze. it was absolutely divine.
one afternoon we decided to venture into Trogir, the bustling port town we drove through on the first day. it was a pleasant 30 minute walk and when we arrived we are all stunned with its charm and likability. Croatians bustling about on their mopeds, roaming through the market stalls, enjoying the sun at an outdoor cafe.. it reminded me a lot of Aix .. minus the access to the beautiful Adriatic. After obtaining some snazzy souvenirs, Libby and I wandered around the town snapping pictures. We stopped for a moment in front of a particularly beautiful and massive sailboat docked in the harbor. I noticed that a very much faded Canadian flag was proudly displayed off the stern and 2 gentlemen were sitting on board sipping wine and enjoying the setting evening. Always taking an opportunity to make new friends and especially those who speak English, I initiated a friendly conversation referencing their poor faded flag. Extremely friendly and hospitable, they invited Libby and I aboard. Being the intelligent and well raised young lady-- i would not have done so unless I had full confidence in the situation and in myself. they were not creepy or intimidating in the least and we actually spent a most enjoyable evening swapping stories, talking about politics, the world and travels.
turns out, Jacques and James are lifelong friends from Montreal who are retired from their work as engineers (no doubt, quite successful ones at that) given that they now spend their time taking 7month sailing trips in their personal 60feet sailboats. no big deal. they have literally been everywhere. and they regaled us with their tales of drinking wine with Slovenians in a port outside of Dubrovnik, getting screwed by the economy days after investing in another sailboat, exploring the towns looking for the bets pizza and beer, pretty much just living the ideal bachelor life. they shared some wine with us, Tunisian wine to be specific and we had great conversation about the toils and troubles of the world. I supremely enjoy conversations with others, and especially intelligent conversations, ones that focus on more than what type of alcohol is the best for certain evenings and what outfit to wear to the football game on saturday. though I do enjoy those too. but a break from the norm is nice every once in a while. Especially since I am on the verge of leaving my perfect little college bubble where I can do as I want and nothing can hurt me and am about to enter the real world where exposure to real life problems take over the conscience and bills, state of the economy and shift work are more prevalent and important than weekly drink specials and frat party locales. though i am in no rush to merge the two worlds-- dabbling in conversation that makes me feel more like a valuable member of society every once in a while is quite enjoyable and entertaining.
all in all, Croatia might be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I am counting down the days until I can go back. everyone was beyond friendly and the scenery was beyond imagination. I am a little regretful we didnt get to make it to the famous Plitvice Lakes . but something traveling and this whole experience has taught me .. is that I have the rest of my life to continue my travels and see more than the little taste/sampling that traveling as a college student allows.
You dont exactly live the life of luxury when youre backpacking through Europe in your 20s. we may have stayed in the Carleton hotel that one night in Pescara ... but dinners several nights consisted of my new love, Paprika chips, beer and a Twix bar .. and on more than one occasion .. more beer and gelato for breakfast. livin' the dream.
ancona was really just a pit stop for us and the point of departure for our ferry. or should i say cruiseship. seriously, this bad boy could run with the best of the Carnival ships. Okay, not really. . but it sure was a lot bigger than any of us expected. Capacity of probably 700 .. and there were maybe 98 on board. we decided to just rough it and buy deck seats for the low price of 20euros. we expected to literally be sleeping under the stars. but there were literally so few people on board that we were able to snag seats in the area where there are just rows of airplane-esque seats. tankfully they were inside and warmer than sleeping on the outside deck would have been. we almost immediately made friends with this guy from DC who has been teaching lacrosse in London for the last year to highschool and college students. he was quite a cool guy and meeting people is one of my favorite pasttimes. we also met 2 girls traveling from Madrid. we pretty much just collected all of the Americans on board. this ferry, Regina, was equiped with a nightclub and bar .. a chapel .. and lots of creepy Italian/Croatian men sleeping in both. Quite the experience. we definitely made the best of it.
We docked in Split at 7am. just in time to see the sun rise over the landscape. Ian's neighbors back home in Maryland invested in Croatia when Yugoslavia split up in the 90s and bought 2 apartments in the quiet little island of Ciovo just 45 minutes outside of Split. The property managers drove all the way there and picked us up in 2 cars. VIP style. during our trip we got to learn some valuable information about Croatia. (thankfully she spoke English) we learned that the black wine is a specialty . it is not quite tourist season- but when summer comes, the country becomes overrun with tourists. most Croatians prefer the former- Communist days to the republic they have today. she was very helpful and the drive from Split to Trogir was absolutely ASTOUNDING. on onen side is the port and Adriatic sea and on the other side, a mountain range gently slopes up providing for a beautiful panorama that had us all speechless.
so we arrived in our little island of Ciovo .. right off the coast of Split. and almost immediately, i notice the supreme lack of any others like ourselves. There were little bars, obviously meant for tourists, along the beach that were in desperate need of customers but were still charming nonetheless. we had 2 apartments that had a beautiful view of the water and the surrounding neighborhood. to put it in perspective of how small and intimate this area was... there was ONE grocery store a fifth the size of a normal bi-lo, ONE post office that was connected to the what i believe was the police station and a bakery. charming. the best part? we had an entire beach to ourselves. it wasn't the white sandy shores that the Caribbean rocks but it was absolutely serene and peaceful and the ideal vacation. since it was 80 degrees by 10am .. we brought our lunch every day (bread, cheese, assorted salami and beer) and soaked in the sun all afternoon, playing cards and shootin the breeze. it was absolutely divine.
one afternoon we decided to venture into Trogir, the bustling port town we drove through on the first day. it was a pleasant 30 minute walk and when we arrived we are all stunned with its charm and likability. Croatians bustling about on their mopeds, roaming through the market stalls, enjoying the sun at an outdoor cafe.. it reminded me a lot of Aix .. minus the access to the beautiful Adriatic. After obtaining some snazzy souvenirs, Libby and I wandered around the town snapping pictures. We stopped for a moment in front of a particularly beautiful and massive sailboat docked in the harbor. I noticed that a very much faded Canadian flag was proudly displayed off the stern and 2 gentlemen were sitting on board sipping wine and enjoying the setting evening. Always taking an opportunity to make new friends and especially those who speak English, I initiated a friendly conversation referencing their poor faded flag. Extremely friendly and hospitable, they invited Libby and I aboard. Being the intelligent and well raised young lady-- i would not have done so unless I had full confidence in the situation and in myself. they were not creepy or intimidating in the least and we actually spent a most enjoyable evening swapping stories, talking about politics, the world and travels. |
| to new friends |
 |
| Ian and I in Spli |
all in all, Croatia might be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I am counting down the days until I can go back. everyone was beyond friendly and the scenery was beyond imagination. I am a little regretful we didnt get to make it to the famous Plitvice Lakes . but something traveling and this whole experience has taught me .. is that I have the rest of my life to continue my travels and see more than the little taste/sampling that traveling as a college student allows.
 |
| we spent all day Friday exploring the beautiful port town of Split |
You dont exactly live the life of luxury when youre backpacking through Europe in your 20s. we may have stayed in the Carleton hotel that one night in Pescara ... but dinners several nights consisted of my new love, Paprika chips, beer and a Twix bar .. and on more than one occasion .. more beer and gelato for breakfast. livin' the dream.
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