venice and my first florence soccer game...

i have officially fallen in love...with venice. as i previously mentioned, two of my roommates and i decided to go to venice for the last weekend of carnival. i had heard my parents talk about their amazing memories while they were there, so i couldn't wait to see it for myself. we took a train from florence--i LOVE trains! i think there is something so old fashion about them and i feel like a little kid every time i travel on one. after a short 3 hour trip, we arrived in venice and immediately took a water taxi to st. marks square to get to our hotel. (side note: mom has been the most fabulous travel agent ever and she helped us find a great hotel right off the square.) i had an ear-to-ear grin the minute we stepped off the taxi. the city was so colorful and vibrant yet old and beautiful. everything i had ever wanted italy to be is exactly what venice was. not to say that florence isn't wonderful--florence has so much character and beauty, but venice is just perfection. it definitely goes on my list of favorite places in the world--along with gimmelwald (switzerland). 

the two girls i went with were the best travel buddies. we were there to see and do--not to get drunk and sleep. the first day we took the elevator up the campanile (the bell tower) and saw the most amazing view of venice and st. marks square. while we were up there the bell actually started ringing because it was 3 o'clock. it totally scared us but it was fun to see. afterwards, we went to the rialto bridge and shopped around the city. that night we had a great dinner followed by dancing in st. marks square. the entire square was lit up and big speakers were playing the most incredible euro-pop techno music and everyone was dancing! the three of us were laughing and smiling the entire time. 

the next morning we took a boat to murano to check out the glass blowing factory and walk around the island. i was completely in awe of the glass work. the artists who do it are so talented. the island was quaint and relaxed--i never wanted to leave. when we got back to venice, we took a tour of the doge's palace right next to st. marks square. the frescos on the walls were flawless and full of innovative ideas. the palace housed a jail and several living quarters, along with court rooms. the ceilings throughout the entire palace were spectacular. and i was absolutely speechless when i walked into the grand ballroom. everything just seems so elegant from that time period. from there, we grabbed a quick lunch, walked around a little longer and took a taxi back to the train station. we needed to be in florence by saturday night because we planned to go a florence soccer game on sunday (today).

the soccer game was a blast!! it reminded me of the world cup games in munich that we saw when we were on our big europe trip form high school. the fans are intense! if a player makes a mistake during the game, they start cursing and giving him the finger. but once he scores, they go back to praising the team and proudly singing the florence soccer songs. the team color is purple so we were all decked out in purple and cheered all the way into overtime. i fell in love with player number 10--i know nothing about him other than the fact that he was adorable AND he scored the winning goal for our team. florence won 2-1.

this week is going to be very relaxing and i couldn't be happier about that. we are lucky enough to have a washer in our apartment but we have to hang our clothes to dry on clothes lines outside our big kitchen window. the clothes turn out fine but they don't have that 'straight out of the dryer' smell so i am going to head to a laundromat this week and do a load of clothes in the dryer so they will smell better. i feel like a snob for not being satisfied with the way my clothes come out, but i really love sleeping on fresh smelling sheets. besides laundry, i plan to catch up on sleep and discover new parts of the city. i am at the point where i now feel really really comfortable here. i know my way around, my italian is improving, the weather has been beautiful,i am surrounded by great people, wine and food--i couldn't ask for anything more.

i will post the new link to my pictures tomorrow when i have internet at school--so check back in later! i hope everyone had a fun and relaxing weekend! and thank you for continuing to read about my adventures.

julianna--this week i WILL find that drink you keep telling me about. i can't wait to try it. if you like it, then it must be good!

mom and dad--can't wait to see you soon! love you and please give all the babies big kisses for me.

bubba--miss you and thank you for everything

marmar and molly--come visit me NOW. or else...

lovelovelove