Venice

Mary Shannon: Hello again! I know everyone is sick of hearing from me - I will be sure to force Kelsi on here later today or tomorrow! This past week has been full once again: Valentines Day, more importantly Kelsi's 21st that day, and Venice and Carnivale! Last Wednesday I had some majorly important tasks to set out searching for. This included flowers that would be delivered from Kelsis dad, birthday candles, birthday decorations, a birthday cake, dinner reservations, presents, and wrapping paper?! Finding these things in America is a ten minute drive to the Wal Mart Supercenter, and a flip through the yellow pages. In Florence? Not so much. So for the two days before her 21st I found I was participating in a scavenger hunt! Kate, my TX roommate, and I found this amazing little flower shop near school with long-stemmed roses of all colors, gerber daises, tulips, lilies, you name it. All the flowers hear are blooming as though its the middle of March with vibrant colors and over-powering smells. mmm! Kate helped pick out a bouqet of pink long stemmed lillies with long stemmed peace lillies to be delivered on the 14th!
Tuesday night, Feb 13, Kelsi and I sat up having an amazing conversation, or a 'heart to heart' as Kelsi likes to call them. As it got later and later I realized she kept getting more giggly, thats when I noticed the clock was approaching midnight and she was about to become an official adult! You see, from what I have been told, birthdays are SUPER important in the Konecny family. BirthDAYs are actually celebrated as BirthWEEKS! So as not to disappoint a living American tradition, Kelsi and I decided to go to the Ponte Vecchio at 12am. There, Kelsi took her old fake ID (which I am sure she NEVER used...) and used my pliers to rip it apart. She then cast the pieces into the Arno! We sat there with our legs hanging off the edge between the gold shops looking out onto the city for a moment. Twenty-one takes awhile to sink in: no more speeding tickets that get off your record when you 'turn 21', you should be completely financially independent, dont have any other real big birthdays to look ahead to, and oh yeah...American legal drinking age. nice. So thats when we realized she should definately go out and buy a beer in celebration! In our pajamas and no make up, Kelsi and I headed out to one of the biggest bars where everyone was dressed up in heels and had a beer!
On Wednesday, I found a 0.99£ store (dollar store) and found candles, banners to hang, birthday cards (though ONLY ones with either Tweety or Bugs on them!), and other birthday decors. On the way home I bought a bouquet of yellow roses, and my roommates and I decorated the kitchen! We also went out and had Kelsi pick out a pink feather boa and princess crown from the Disney store (Yes, they are OBSESSED with Disney stuff here!!). That night Kelsis dad treated a group of 8 of us to dinner at a restaraunt called Alfredo Sull'Arno. We sat right next to a window that directly faces the Ponte Vecchio, by candle light. We had spinach and ricotta cheese crepes and ravioli for a first course (crepes were amazing!) For dinner, Kelsi and I both had the Fiortina Steak...this was no joke a melt-in-your-mouth-don't-talk-to-anyone-at-the-table-until-it's-all-gone kind of steak. The steaks here, from what we've been told, are completely different than in the US bc the cows are raised and fed starkly different. Quality not quantity; you dont order steak well done, medium is what you order. And let me tell ya, from experience, I have never had anything that can even begin to compare.
On Thursday, after a failed attempt of buying any kind of cake anywhere, we finally decided on a couple of nice pastries to put candles in ! Haha, o well... In my cooking class we made baked macaroni and cheese, and zuccoto. I got to make the zuccoto which was making a from scratch whipped cream with bits of chocolate, I had cut from a bar, poured into it. Then we made a chocolate cream that was basically pure sugar and cocoa. I LITERALLY licked the bowl clean!!! I was in chocolate heaven! YUM. The chefs were making fun of me, because Kelsi and I combined have eaten the majority of the food compared to the other 12 or so kids in the class. Thats how Arkansans do it I say; I remember getting in trouble if I didnt get seconds at my Grandmas as a kid!
Friday morning around 8am Kelsi and I, and our roommates with friends from school, packed our big hiker backpacks and headed to the train station. It was the first time we'd been on a train longer than an hour. To Venice it took 2 1\2 hours (which still did not seem long at all). One of our roommates, Chrissy, also forgot her reservation number that the website gave us to retrieve our ticket! Last minute we had to leave her - but thankfully she was a trooper and gotta a later train, meeting us in Mestre, a station near Venice. Here's the thing though, when you book a hotel because its the cheapest available and it says its a quick 20 minute bus ride from the center of Venice...they are probably stretching the truth. As you have read from all of Kelsis and I's adventures you must guess by now that this truth was not only stretched, but yanked, pulled, and beaten to death. Getting off the train in Dolo, it was amazing how much there WASNT in this 'city'. After half an hour we finally found our hotel in Mirano, Italy. Then, we had to turn straight around walk to the bus stop, where as soon as we got on it took a left and docked in the Mirano bus station. So we had to get off, find where to buy a bus ticket for an Indirect Venice route so we could stop at Mestre to meet Chrissy. Got off the bus 4 blocks too soon and had to walk to Mestre. There, we had to find an ATM, figure out if it was cheaper to take trains and buses and taxis all weekend or rent a car. Finally deciding to stick with the train, it took us another 1\2 hr to figure out how to buy a ticket into Venice. We got into Venice right when the sun was setting haha! But I have to say, the second we stepped out of the train station our breath was taken away. We were in awe. Actually, Kelsi and I both skipped (yes, I know, really cheesy but true). I have seen a million pictures, movies, etc that have described Venice, but nothing can really prepare you for how surreal it is (especially during Carnivale). First of all, there are only waterways through the city, no streets for cars. So the 'police cars', ambulances, and taxis were actually boats. We got on one of the main boats that carry people down the Grande Canal and (first went the wrong direction and ended up in the port bc its Kelsi and I and this always happens) headed towards St. Marks square where we saw the most beautiful cafes, churches, and hotels. Stone steps would cascade down into the water as if leading down into the ocean. People sat here watching people pass in the boats, as we watched them - all in admiration. There were vasts amounts of bridges, alleys, and tunnels. When walking to find St. Marks it became very evident that Venice has to be the city easiest to get absolutely lost in, in the world. Like I said before, there are no main streets, and bc of Carnivale it was SUPER crowded! There were people dressed in costumes like Halloween, some with just large wigs or just masks, lots of couples dressed in colonial attire with the white wigs. At night it was even crazier, everyone had a mask or face painting, throwing confetti and silly string all over the place. People in full costume were taking pictures with everyone, yet never broke from character. Walking down an alley, it would be say 6 feet wide with stores and restaraunts on either sides. Everytime you thought you'd have reached the end of the alley, you'd notice there was a small street to the left or right. Then, you'd come out into this grand piazza where you'd barely notice small streets in the corners where a sign directed you to walk. An alley like that, in America? You would have to be paid some big bucks to walk down (especially if you are claustrophic!) You never knew which direction you were walking in bc there were no forwards or backwards. It was a labyrinth filled with creatures in paint and masks along the way. I was complaining the other day how I was sad I was so young when my parents took me to Disney World bc now at 20 I dont remember any of it. After spending a weekend in Venice, I'm cured. I was definately at a theme park - a true confusing surreal sensory overloaded carnival. There were stages set up in the big squares with concerts and plays, and flame throwers! In St. Marks there were huge screens set up and light shows being displayed on all the surrounding buildings! Kelsi and I got our faces painted the first night there in St. Marks. Sunday we were sitting at the train station waiting to leave, when I saw the lady who had painted Kate and I's faces sitting in front of the station with a picture book of faces she had painted before, and we were in it! It really was an amazing city, and carnivale really was a blast! But I would not suggest going there during that time again. I really want to go back, and could probably do it in a day in order to ride the gondole, find a less touristy restaraunt, and visit some churches and museums. (I have to say the only true relaxing part of the journey was the two hours before the train left where Kelsi and I just sat on the steps being warmed by the sun and watching all the interesting people.)
Things I've still been noticing: 1. Some Italians can be really rude, they are always in a hurry to get you in, feed you, get you out. For Americans it is pretty bad, for college-aged kids even worse, for girls who are both...its terrible sometimes. However, I don't think they've dealt with girls like Kelsi and I who don't care what language you're speaking-we know what you're saying and will probably call you back out. We actually havent really had many problems with it in Florence, but other places (like this weekend!) we got snubbed a lot. 2. Have you ever heard how smells associate you with a memory? Well, the only times I have really smelled the ocean are the times I've gone to the beach in Florida. Walking over the tiny bridges in Venice, Italy on a cold night, there would usually be a breeze carrying with it the salty smell of the ocean! It was really odd, bc it would catch me off guard. I couldnt really be the association of that smell with where I was! I couldnt imagine that the water all underneath the city, was ocean! Crazy. 3. Venice was super clean, least amount of graffiti and trash I have ever seen in any city! 4. More people with more dogs. The dogs here are so pampered and can pretty much go on trains, in hotels, in stores... 5. Watching Paris Hilton, Kate Moss, and Nicole Kidman do commercials in Italian is really funny to see. 6. Kelsi and I's count of eating McDonalds food is now up to 5 :)
miss you all love you all