A Whirlwind Week - Venice

I really have no idea how to begin explaining my first official travel week, it still feels a little like a dream that I can't believe actually happened.  It all starts in Venice where we went for the first weekend of Carnival.  We thought this would be a great way to experience one of the most well-known celebrations in Italy as well as a fantastic way to kick off our 9-day trip that also included Rome, Pompeii, and Paris.

I was crazy excited about this trip especially because we were meeting up and traveling with two of my best friends from back home, Aaron and Nickie.  Because I knew I would get to see Aaron for the first time in a few  months the Friday we left, it was absolutely terrible to sit through an entire day of class!  However, somehow I managed to survive and before I knew it I was waking up from my nap on the train from Bassano to Venice completely freaking out because I realized I had told Aaron to meet us at the wrong train station in Venice!  It was just the perfect start to the trip and I couldn't believe that two hours into our journey I had already messed up!! (Trust me - it wasn't the greatest confidence booster to kick things off!) Nonetheless, two train station slices of pizza, a Diet Coke, and an hour later we found Aaron (finally!) and were able to get on our way!  Thankfully we were able to check into the apartment we were staying in and meet up with a few other people we knew who had come for Carnival without any other problems...probably because I wasn't in charge of any of it!

When we woke up the next morning we realized something very quickly...it was COLD in Venice!  Walking out the door was brutal and I'm from Minnesota - I should be used to it!  Apparently, we had somehow managed to visit Venice during one of the coldest periods in 30 years and got to spend the weekend walking around and ducking into random stores whenever we got too cold to keep going!  Thankfully, Carnival was exciting enough that it made up for the temperatures, but I will tell you that (sadly) my most successful purchase up to this point is the €10 stocking hat I bought in Venice that weekend!  

But, beyond that the weather, it was a fantastic experience to see all of the unique and intricate costumes as well as all of the really goofy ones like the 3 Little Pigs, the Teletubbies, and the Mask.  People were obviously having a lot of fun with it and the whole experience reminded me a little bit of the classier version of Halloween!  One of the best things we did happened while we were walking around shopping for our own souvenir masks as we managed to wander into a shop where a man and his wife were hand-making the famous masks right in front of you.  Watching them work and having them explain the whole process was so interesting and it helped me understand much more about just how serious people take this celebration.  Other than the mask hunting, we got to see a parade of costumes, live entertainment in San Marco Square, and a fountain filled with wine!  Needless to say, we never had any problems finding things to do!

The cold definitely made the Venice stop of the trip a little more uncomfortable but everything we did during our time there without a doubt made up for any of the unpleasantness.  Thinking back on it now, I'm really glad I got to see the city and Carnival under such unique circumstances - it made our visit there much more memorable and special.  I will never forget how pretty it was walking to the train station on Sunday morning over the famous Venice waterways with the canal water frozen and the snow falling. Watching all of the locals take pictures and just stand outside their shops in awe made me realize how rare and truly beautiful what we were experiencing was.  All and all I'm guessing you can tell from this post that Venice was an amazing first stop on our week-long adventure but I'm excited to say it only got better when we headed off to Rome.  I think I'll break it up here though - Rome more than deserves its own post!!

San Marco's Square

One of my favorite costumes!

Costume Parade

Me & Emily on one of the main canal bridges

No big deal...just a snowy Venice (!!!) morning :)

Milano

Before going to Milan I really knew nothing about this massive Italian city besides its world famous shopping reputation and the fact that this kind of shopping was unlike the kind I normally do...it involved much more Prada and Gucci than H&M!  Because of this, I wasn't nearly as excited to go to Milan as I was to travel to other places.  However, in the end, it turned out to be a fantastic trip - we spent exactly the right amount of time there and we were able to see just about everything I was interested in seeing!

Looking back, there were two big surprises for me about Milan.  One was the opera house - it was absolutely amazing!  I will readily admit that I have no interest in the opera whatsoever, but my friend Emily is OBSESSED with them!  Music and opera are two things she's been involved with since she was a kid so when we decided to go to Milan (home of the largest opera house in Italy) I was informed that she would be going in that building - with or without anyone else!  I decided to give it a chance and take a tour of Teatro alla Scala with her and Abby instead of going to the Milan soccer stadium with TJ and Joey.  I know I would have loved to see the stadium, but getting to experience such a beautiful, culturally rich place was mind blowing and I'm so glad I got to see it!  (It was also absolutely hilarious watching Emily walk around inside the building...I literally thought she was going to pass out from excitement!)

The second thing that surprised me about Milan was the size of the Duomo.  That place is HUGE!!  Maybe it was just how the square and plaza outside the cathedral was set up, but it was one of the most impressive buildings I've seen and it was definitely one of the highlights of this trip!  Unfortunately, we weren't able to go up to the top of it (which is apparently the best view of the city) because of construction, but walking around inside was more than amazing.  I thought the most interesting part about being inside (aside from the beautiful architecture) was watching other people and seeing their reactions to various parts of it.  The complete awe and reverence people clearly had for it was extremely interesting to observe and really made the entire experience much more memorable.

Other than those two big stops, we mainly wandered through the streets taking in the big name designer stores, Castello Sforzesco, and just the atmosphere of the very dynamic city.  Walking around there was completely different from so many of the other places I've traveled in Italy that it really made a memorable trip out of city that I might not have found that interesting before.  Overall, it was a great short break before going into a week of tests and I'm so glad we braved the cold and snow to see it!!

The beautiful Duomo di Milano

She was just a little bit excited about the opera... :)

Let's Get Classy CIMBA!

I will keep this post relatively short and simply say the first of the official CIMBA formal dinners was fantastic!  The atmosphere was elegant and pretty and the massive amounts of food were absolutely delicious.  Dr. Al definitely gave us all a good taste (hahah!) of what a truly formal, Italian dinner could be like.  Beyond the obviously amazing food and wine, this dinner was about exposing us to a different take on the Italian culture that, as students, we have little experience with.  Even though I can guarantee that I won't be getting tired of pizzeria food anytime soon, I will say that eating wonderfully prepared risotto, ravioli, veal, and artichokes was definitely a wonderful alternative to the cafeteria pasta!

What I found most interesting about that night was how different this situation seemed from other, similar formal dinners I've attended before.  It seemed like a perfect mix of a professional business dinner, a school function, and a wedding - a slightly intimidating combination, especially at first.  However, the longer I was there the more comfortable I felt doing all of the specific things everyone had gone over at the etiquette lesson and when I finally realized I had picked up my wine glass the "proper" way I knew I was fine!

Overall the formal dinner was one of my favorite CIMBA experiences so far.  I can't wait for the next one and I'm guessing (and hoping!) that by that time I won't find the situation intimidating at all!

Here are just a few pictures!

Roomies!

Just a couple Cyclones...

Joey and I 

What's Up Slovenia?!

Ljubljana, Slovenia.  Ten days ago I had never even heard of this city.  Yet here I sit, living the Italian dream in my Paderno dorm room four short days after seeing enough of Slovenia (and Eastern Europe in general!) to last me a good long while. It all started out as a trip to get me out of my comfort zone, a trip that I would never think of taking on my own.  Looking back on it now, I realize if being uncomfortable was my only goal for this trip, I was SO wildly successful it's almost ridiculous!!  The minute I stepped off the lovely bright yellow tour buses with the built-in espresso machines (I'm still quite upset I didn't test to see if they actually worked...) I knew without a doubt I had crossed into another world.  It might have been the fact that our hostel was a former military prison or that the area we walked through to get to said hostel from the bus station was so tagged with graffiti that I couldn't even tell what colors buildings were painted but I immediately knew the weekend was bound to be one for the books!

It was truly fascinating to see the inside of the hostel (who knew an old prison could be that unique!) but I will honestly say that walking immediately outside the hostel was even more eye-opening.  Bone-shaking music, the weirdest "artwork" (see below) of my life, and glaring stares from a lot of people who seemed to be pushing the definition of hipster to the furthest extreme possible made the night a little nerve wracking.  However, it definitely one of the most unique experiences I've had on this trip so far and I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience it.  The next morning, after deciding that we would be better off calling it a night than trying to start exploring the city at one in the morning, I woke up with a much higher level of excitement about seeing what Ljubljana had to offer than I originally anticipated I would.  After chatting with one of the other girls sharing our room (she was a super friendly lady from England on "holiday"!), grabbing some of the breakfast that involved mass amounts of coffee, and collecting more members of the group, we put on our exploring pants and went on our way.

Walking through the streets of Ljubljana was awesome - behind the graffiti was an absolutely gorgeous city filled with beautiful architecture, unique old buildings, and a lot of personality.  We strolled along the river that winds through the city, crossed amazing old stone bridges, and immersed ourselves in the culture the historic buildings and churches projected.  Also very exciting was when we discovered that every day of the week (besides Sunday), Slovenian vendors host an open air market right along the river where they sell a huge variety of goods.  It was there where I was able to buy a really cool piece of Slovenian art that I'm totally hanging it in my kitchen...if nothing else it should help generate some very interesting conversations!  Next, we hiked to the top of Castle Hill where one the city's best known attractions, the Ljubljana Castle, is located.  This was definitely a highlight for me, especially because the view from the very top of the tower was breathtaking!  (Literally though...not only was the hill kind of a mountain but there were a lot of stairs!)  What made this doubly exciting was the fact that so many other CIMBA students were up there at the same time - it made the picture taking process a bit more entertaining!

Also we ate.  A lot.  Apparently Slovenia is well known for its' Mexican food so naturally we were forced to try it and, based purely on the shear enthusiasm with which we consumed our lunch, they have definitely earned that reputation!  For dinner though, five of us who were staying in the same hostel that second night (we had to switch because the jail was too full!) all decided we wanted to try something a little more unique for dinner, a decision that actually turned out to be the most memorable part of the trip.  The restaurant itself was beautiful, the food and wine out of this world, and we literally had the best waiter in the history of waiters - I'm not even exaggerating!  Daniel (the waiter!) not only gave wonderful suggestions about the menu and helped us get a cab but was also extremely interesting to talk to, especially when we asked him about his life in Ljubljana and what he thought about America.  I think it was talking to people like Daniel that made this trip one to remember...they had such interesting points of view and it really made me appreciate the United States and my life there even more.

Other than a fantastic night at the Circus - the "hippest club in town" (Daniel's words!), a trip to Lake Bled the next morning that was absolutely gorgeous, and a little hanging out at the train station McDonald's before we come home, nothing else super eventful happened.  Looking back on it now I realize nothing we did was too crazy exciting or eventful but was just so unique I know that this trip will be one I remember for the rest of my life.  It was intriguing to see such a different culture but, like I hinted at before, I think I may stick to more Western European destinations for the remainder of the trip so look forward to hearing about that in the next post!  Until then, ciao!!

Pictures...

Outside the jail hostel ready to take Ljubljana by storm!

Like I said, the artwork around the hostel was a bit...interesting...

Just some Iowa State girls in a Slovenian square...

The bridges were so awesome!

Roommate picture at the top of the Ljubljana Castle!

Beautiful Lake Bled