Some Concerts, Boat Rides, Train Rides, Murano Glass, and an Anniversary...
MUSE CONCERT!
Soooo, how much do you all hate me for not being a faithful blog updater and keeping you posted on my adventures the past week or so?!
Well....Please don't hate me too much!!!
As the days are winding down, the work load and craziness has certainly increased! With only 23 days left in beautiful Florence, there are still papers to be written, exams to study for, trips to take, sights to see, people to meet and food to be eaten!
Let's take it back to last Friday morning....
At 8:00, Alex and I got ready for our 1 year anniversary weekend trip to Bologna and Venice! We caught our first train which took us into the city of Bologna, where we planned to spend the day exploring before we headed off to our concert. It was a beautiful, crisp day in Bologna with the sun shining and lots of wonderful things to see!
When we got to Bologna, we walked around for a few hours before getting checked into our hotel, which by the way, was BEAUTIFUL! We still had a few hours to kill before we set off for the MUSE concert at the Unipol arena, so we got a nice, long lunch, then explored some of the nearby churches and sights, including the street where there is a plaque commemorating the Jews that were held in Nuovo Ghetto 9 during the years leading up to the Holocaust.
Luckily for us, by chance, we happened to be walking behind two Americans who overheard us talking and were so kind as to introduce themselves to us. We chatted for a bit and they informed us that there was a huge chocolate festival going on in the main square just down the street from where we were, so naturally, we felt compelled to go check it out! The festival was AMAZING!! There were chocolate shoes, t-shirts, tennis rackets and balls, dentist kits, doctor kits, school kits... all made from chocolate!!! It was fun to walk around, and of course, get a little hot chocolate! Let me just tell you, they don't mess around with hot chocolate! It's not like a powder packet mixed with some water... it's literally melted down chocolate!! It was so rich I couldn't finish my little cup, but it was just the perfect thing to warm me up!
The afternoon passed quickly and before we knew it, it was time to find our bus that would take us to the concert! The concert was one of the best I have ever been to! The band is just so phenomenal! They put on a great show and it didn't drag on! Within two hours, it was already over, sadly!
After getting back to our hotel, it was straight to bed after such a long day, it didn't take longer than fifteen seconds for us to pass out!
The next morning, after a great breakfast at the hotel, we took the quick fifteen minute walk to the train station to await our train that would take us into Venice!
Upon arriving in Venice, we were so happy to see that it was another beautiful day! The sun was shining and all the waters from the flooding the previous weekend had receded!
We spent the day exploring parts of the island we didn't get to see the first time around. We had a wonderful late lunch of calamari, spaghetti with an olive oil and hot pepper sauce and a cappuccino! It was such a wonderful, long lunch, spent overlooking one of the many Venice canals!
After walking around the island and shopping around for some last minute souvenirs for family and friends, we headed over to a small concert hall where a string quartet was putting on a performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons! It was a great performance and the musicians played so wonderfully! It was just a quick hour long performance, which was good for both me and Alex because we were starting to get tired from the lack the sleep the previous night! After the concert, we walked around St. Marco for a bit, which, in my opinion is far more beautiful at night time than during the day!
After another great night of sleep, waking up Sunday morning, we were sad to realize it would be our last day in Venice! We got up early so that we could make the most out of our full day! After another wonderful breakfast, we decided to climb the tower in St. Marco's which allows you to see pretty much the entire island of Venice, as well as the surrounding islands! Unfortunately, you can't actually CLIMB the tower, you have to be lazy and take an elevator ride up to the top, but it was still breathtakingly beautiful at the top and you could see so much of the island! Unfortunately, Alex and I failed to realize the time in which we were going up to the top of the tower AND the fact that the tower had about 8 HUGE bells which ring every half hour...... I think you can see where I'm going with this..... Almost the minute we got to the top, the HUGE bells started tolling..... lucky for the guy working in the small, heated souvenir box, he had huge airport style ear plugs which allowed him to block out much of the loud tolling sound! It was the longest two minutes of my life hearing those bells go, blaring so loudly! It was pretty funny though, because I'm almost positive it caught every single person in the tower off guard!
After descending the tower, Alex and I decided that since we didn't have the time during our last visit to Venice, we wanted to try and go to Murano Island to one of the Glass Blowing factories to see just how the glass blowers make all the amazing pieces!
Luckily for us, since the factories aren't open to just anyone, our hotel was able to set us up with a private boat that took me, Alex and two other hotel guests directly to a glass blowing factory for a tour! How awesome?!! I love when things just fall into place so perfectly!
Our boat ride over to Murano Island was short, and upon arriving, we were greeted by the kindest man! Marco was our guide for the factory and he was so jovial, kind, and fun! Our first stop was to actually see a demonstration of how the glass blowers actually make objects. The man doing our demonstration first made a glass horse which came out AMAZING, and then he made a glass vase which was also beautiful! We were all mesmerized by how quickly the glass blower worked and how he manipulated the glass to make the shapes he wanted! Marco also told us that ALL of the chandeliers in Buckingham palace in England were made in his factory.... HOW COOL IS THAT?!
After our tour, Alex and I walked around the Island of Murano for a few hours, just seeing some of its beauty! We got a nice late lunch before taking a boat back to the main island and navigating our way back to the hotel to pick up our luggage before finally making our way over to the train station.
On our way to the train station, we had a good hour before we really needed to be there, so we stopped and picked up some YUMMY Macaroons (Thanks Mathilde for introducing them to us in Paris.... we now LOVE them!) for the train ride home. Just outside of the train station, there is a beautiful church! We realized that we still had plenty of time before we needed to catch our train and decided we would go in and check it out. Since it was Sunday, there was actually a mass going on and we decided that it would be cool to stay for the mass! The church and the service were both beautiful! By the time mass was over, it was the perfect time to head to the train station and await our train home.
The train ride home was just under two hours. After getting back in Florence, after an amazing weekend, we were both ready to unpack, shower and get a good night's rest. Sad as we were that the weekend had to come to an end, we knew we would forever remember the places we saw, the things we ate and the good memories we made.
On Monday, it was back to real (well, semi-real) life. I'm really proud of myself for actually working diligently and getting one of my final papers done already!! 11 pages and my first paper -- the one for my Holocaust class -- is officially done and ready to be sent to the printer! It feels great to have one down! Now... only three to go!!!
My goal is to start working on my next one today, after I get out of class at 2:30 and hopefully have it finished by tomorrow night! Then I will have two done before I go on my trip to Rome this weekend! Then next Monday and Tuesday I can do my third paper before setting off for my final adventure of the semester to Ireland!!!
So, you can see, there's so much to be done, so much to see and to do and only so little time left!
I'm glad that I was able to bring you all up to date finally! I hate that I haven't had as much time to devote to keeping you all informed of my adventures! Especially since I have gotten to see and do so many incredible things over the past week or so!
Below I have posted a video from the Muse concert! And below that, I have posted some photos from our weekend in Bologna and Venice!
Today and tomorrow I will, unfortunately, be slaving over another 10 page paper before we set off, bright and early Friday morning (7 am) for our weekend trip to Rome!
The only thing motivating me to get another 10 page paper done within a two day span from the first 10 page paper I had to write, is that I get to go to Rome this weekend and Ireland next weekend and I don't want to be stressed out while I'm trying to enjoy the trips!
Anyways, I hope that everyone is having an enjoyable holiday season! Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I wish everyone a wonderful, happy, healthy, relaxing thanksgiving day! Eat a little extra for me and enjoy being with your families! Turn off the phones and computers and just enjoy each other's company!!
Sending all my love and warm thoughts back to everyone in the states! Be safe and enjoy Thanksgiving!!
I'll hopefully be able to post before I leave for Rome, or at the latest, Monday when I return from Rome!!!
xoxoxoox
La vita e bella!!
Ciao!!
Well....Please don't hate me too much!!!
As the days are winding down, the work load and craziness has certainly increased! With only 23 days left in beautiful Florence, there are still papers to be written, exams to study for, trips to take, sights to see, people to meet and food to be eaten!
Let's take it back to last Friday morning....
At 8:00, Alex and I got ready for our 1 year anniversary weekend trip to Bologna and Venice! We caught our first train which took us into the city of Bologna, where we planned to spend the day exploring before we headed off to our concert. It was a beautiful, crisp day in Bologna with the sun shining and lots of wonderful things to see!
When we got to Bologna, we walked around for a few hours before getting checked into our hotel, which by the way, was BEAUTIFUL! We still had a few hours to kill before we set off for the MUSE concert at the Unipol arena, so we got a nice, long lunch, then explored some of the nearby churches and sights, including the street where there is a plaque commemorating the Jews that were held in Nuovo Ghetto 9 during the years leading up to the Holocaust.
Luckily for us, by chance, we happened to be walking behind two Americans who overheard us talking and were so kind as to introduce themselves to us. We chatted for a bit and they informed us that there was a huge chocolate festival going on in the main square just down the street from where we were, so naturally, we felt compelled to go check it out! The festival was AMAZING!! There were chocolate shoes, t-shirts, tennis rackets and balls, dentist kits, doctor kits, school kits... all made from chocolate!!! It was fun to walk around, and of course, get a little hot chocolate! Let me just tell you, they don't mess around with hot chocolate! It's not like a powder packet mixed with some water... it's literally melted down chocolate!! It was so rich I couldn't finish my little cup, but it was just the perfect thing to warm me up!
The afternoon passed quickly and before we knew it, it was time to find our bus that would take us to the concert! The concert was one of the best I have ever been to! The band is just so phenomenal! They put on a great show and it didn't drag on! Within two hours, it was already over, sadly!
After getting back to our hotel, it was straight to bed after such a long day, it didn't take longer than fifteen seconds for us to pass out!
The next morning, after a great breakfast at the hotel, we took the quick fifteen minute walk to the train station to await our train that would take us into Venice!
Upon arriving in Venice, we were so happy to see that it was another beautiful day! The sun was shining and all the waters from the flooding the previous weekend had receded!
We spent the day exploring parts of the island we didn't get to see the first time around. We had a wonderful late lunch of calamari, spaghetti with an olive oil and hot pepper sauce and a cappuccino! It was such a wonderful, long lunch, spent overlooking one of the many Venice canals!
After walking around the island and shopping around for some last minute souvenirs for family and friends, we headed over to a small concert hall where a string quartet was putting on a performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons! It was a great performance and the musicians played so wonderfully! It was just a quick hour long performance, which was good for both me and Alex because we were starting to get tired from the lack the sleep the previous night! After the concert, we walked around St. Marco for a bit, which, in my opinion is far more beautiful at night time than during the day!
After another great night of sleep, waking up Sunday morning, we were sad to realize it would be our last day in Venice! We got up early so that we could make the most out of our full day! After another wonderful breakfast, we decided to climb the tower in St. Marco's which allows you to see pretty much the entire island of Venice, as well as the surrounding islands! Unfortunately, you can't actually CLIMB the tower, you have to be lazy and take an elevator ride up to the top, but it was still breathtakingly beautiful at the top and you could see so much of the island! Unfortunately, Alex and I failed to realize the time in which we were going up to the top of the tower AND the fact that the tower had about 8 HUGE bells which ring every half hour...... I think you can see where I'm going with this..... Almost the minute we got to the top, the HUGE bells started tolling..... lucky for the guy working in the small, heated souvenir box, he had huge airport style ear plugs which allowed him to block out much of the loud tolling sound! It was the longest two minutes of my life hearing those bells go, blaring so loudly! It was pretty funny though, because I'm almost positive it caught every single person in the tower off guard!
After descending the tower, Alex and I decided that since we didn't have the time during our last visit to Venice, we wanted to try and go to Murano Island to one of the Glass Blowing factories to see just how the glass blowers make all the amazing pieces!
Luckily for us, since the factories aren't open to just anyone, our hotel was able to set us up with a private boat that took me, Alex and two other hotel guests directly to a glass blowing factory for a tour! How awesome?!! I love when things just fall into place so perfectly!
Our boat ride over to Murano Island was short, and upon arriving, we were greeted by the kindest man! Marco was our guide for the factory and he was so jovial, kind, and fun! Our first stop was to actually see a demonstration of how the glass blowers actually make objects. The man doing our demonstration first made a glass horse which came out AMAZING, and then he made a glass vase which was also beautiful! We were all mesmerized by how quickly the glass blower worked and how he manipulated the glass to make the shapes he wanted! Marco also told us that ALL of the chandeliers in Buckingham palace in England were made in his factory.... HOW COOL IS THAT?!
After our tour, Alex and I walked around the Island of Murano for a few hours, just seeing some of its beauty! We got a nice late lunch before taking a boat back to the main island and navigating our way back to the hotel to pick up our luggage before finally making our way over to the train station.
On our way to the train station, we had a good hour before we really needed to be there, so we stopped and picked up some YUMMY Macaroons (Thanks Mathilde for introducing them to us in Paris.... we now LOVE them!) for the train ride home. Just outside of the train station, there is a beautiful church! We realized that we still had plenty of time before we needed to catch our train and decided we would go in and check it out. Since it was Sunday, there was actually a mass going on and we decided that it would be cool to stay for the mass! The church and the service were both beautiful! By the time mass was over, it was the perfect time to head to the train station and await our train home.
The train ride home was just under two hours. After getting back in Florence, after an amazing weekend, we were both ready to unpack, shower and get a good night's rest. Sad as we were that the weekend had to come to an end, we knew we would forever remember the places we saw, the things we ate and the good memories we made.
On Monday, it was back to real (well, semi-real) life. I'm really proud of myself for actually working diligently and getting one of my final papers done already!! 11 pages and my first paper -- the one for my Holocaust class -- is officially done and ready to be sent to the printer! It feels great to have one down! Now... only three to go!!!
My goal is to start working on my next one today, after I get out of class at 2:30 and hopefully have it finished by tomorrow night! Then I will have two done before I go on my trip to Rome this weekend! Then next Monday and Tuesday I can do my third paper before setting off for my final adventure of the semester to Ireland!!!
So, you can see, there's so much to be done, so much to see and to do and only so little time left!
I'm glad that I was able to bring you all up to date finally! I hate that I haven't had as much time to devote to keeping you all informed of my adventures! Especially since I have gotten to see and do so many incredible things over the past week or so!
Below I have posted a video from the Muse concert! And below that, I have posted some photos from our weekend in Bologna and Venice!
Today and tomorrow I will, unfortunately, be slaving over another 10 page paper before we set off, bright and early Friday morning (7 am) for our weekend trip to Rome!
The only thing motivating me to get another 10 page paper done within a two day span from the first 10 page paper I had to write, is that I get to go to Rome this weekend and Ireland next weekend and I don't want to be stressed out while I'm trying to enjoy the trips!
Anyways, I hope that everyone is having an enjoyable holiday season! Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I wish everyone a wonderful, happy, healthy, relaxing thanksgiving day! Eat a little extra for me and enjoy being with your families! Turn off the phones and computers and just enjoy each other's company!!
Sending all my love and warm thoughts back to everyone in the states! Be safe and enjoy Thanksgiving!!
I'll hopefully be able to post before I leave for Rome, or at the latest, Monday when I return from Rome!!!
xoxoxoox
La vita e bella!!
Ciao!!
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