A weekend in Verona and Venice!

I went to Verona and Venice this weekend with my roommates and had a wonderful time! We left our apartment around 4:30 Friday morning and on our way to the train station we went to the "secret bakery" to get some fresh pastries for the train ride. It is called the "secret bakery" because in addition to their normal daily hours, they are "open" from 2am-4am but they are not taxed on what they sell during the hours so it is all "under the table." There turned out to be a lot of people there and it is really important to stay quiet or else the people who live above the bakery throw water balloons down (which they did, but luckily I did not get hit). Unfortunately we didn't allow that much time for them to walk their and to have them make seven croissants so after waiting for a half hour we left before we got our croissants because we had to make it to our train on time but we will definitely be going back!

We got on the train to Verona and had an hour stop in Bologna which was covered in snow so we were all very thankful to only have a short stop there. Once we got to Verona we took a bus to the main part of the city and began exploring. We walked all around and went to Juliet's balcony. The city is pretty small and very quiet with a definite romantic feel to it. It was also starting to get decorated for Valentine's Day so I wish we could have stayed longer, but weather and timing did not allow us to do so. I really loved Verona but would have loved it even more if it hadn't been so cold. Verona and Venice had temperatures in the high 20's but the windchill made it feel like 11-18 degrees...I miss California weather! From Verona we took the train to a city just outside of Venice and went straight to our hostel. Thankfully our hostel was only a five minute walk from the train station because it is miserable to walk around at night when it is that cold and windy. Our hostel was nice, just very simple. Our room had bunk beds and bathroom, and no heat which made for a pretty cold night, but it's all part of the experience, right? We got up early Saturday morning and took a bus to the main city of Venice. We walked along the canals and fell in love with the city! It was far too cold and windy for a gondola ride so we just walked around, crossed over the Rialto Bridge, and eventually made our way to Piazza San Marco. It was extremely crowded because it is Carnevale right now so there are a lot of people and everyone wears costumes and/or masquerade masks; I loved it! My teachers told me about some yummy treats that are only made during Carnevale so of course I bought a couple, I had no idea what was in them, but they were delicious! After a very fun, yet very cold couple of days, we took a water taxi to the main train station and headed back to Florence.

Even thought the weather was not ideal, we had a great weekend and got back to Florence just in time for the chocolate festival in Piazza della Repubblica (the same piazza my school is in).

Time to finish some homework and get ready for another week of school. Have a wonderful day!

Verona!

Cecilia and I at our stop in Bologna. We had to show off our new shoes!

The Arena in Verona

I just love all the narrow Italian streets

You're supposed to touch her right breast for "good luck!"

Home Sweet Hostel

Benvenuti a Venezia

Of course I had to buy (and wear) an authentic, handmade mask!

The Rialto Bridge

Back just in time for the chocolate festival in Florence, yum!

First Day of Volunteering!!

I started my volunteer program today and I love it! My advisor went with me to the school to show me which trains to take and how to get there; I really like the train I take because it is smaller and pretty much only Florentine people take it. The school is just outside of central Florence and it is much quieter than the central city which is a nice change of pace. The students are all 10-11 years old and I felt like a celebrity when I first walked in as they all rushed the door and started asking me questions-all in Italian which was a bit overwhelming-yet very welcoming all at the same time. Most of the children are emigrants from Eastern Europe and Africa. It is a bit difficult to communicate with them because they speak little English, but that's what I am there for! The teacher is very helpful and wants me to create lesson plans each week so that I will be able to teach the lesson. She told me I can be as creative as I want and try to think of any techniques that will help the students learn English.  The class is slightly chaotic as there is not much classroom control but I am very excited about this opportunity and I might ask if I can go more often because I don't think one hour per week will be enough.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Even though it is extremely cold outside, the snow is quite beautiful!