I am still alive.

It has been such a long time since I have been able to blog. We have lots of catching up to do.

"Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start."

Friday 11th of April

Blake, Kathryn and I flew to Venice early in the morning and arrived midday. Although we have gained valuable travel smarts over the semester, our performance was sub par in Venice. If we were seen on Amazing Race, you would have been making fun of us.

Why?

We went to the completely wrong train station where we were trying to find bus 15 in the completely wrong bus parking lot. (We were even told that bus 15 didn't exist. This may have been a warning sign that we were in the wrong place and had missed something in our directions. It only took us about two hours to figure this out.)

I got stuck on a bus for two stops longer than planned because I couldn't push and shove past the crowd of Italians - and tourists - fast enough. Part of me blames it on the fact that I am from Iowa. And we are nice people.

To find our hostel, we walked... and walked... and then turned around and walked... then went back the way we were originally going... and walked... And then finally called for urgent help. (Turns out we didn't walk far enough in the first place. Who knew? NOT US!)

Needless to say, we finally found our hostel and met up with Billy, Jill and Nick after a three hour adventure. I was hot because I thought it was completely necessary to bundle up when leaving London. (I have never claimed to be a pro at this traveling gig.)

I am most convinced that seeing the great sights of the world does not guarantee individual growth. Yes, it is great to see and experience world-reknown places, but at the end of the day... it's just another place, only different. And I can't change who I am just because I have seen the waterbuses in Venice. Throughout this entire experience, I have learned the most about myself just trying to get from Point A to Point B. Seriously.

Venice was beautiful though, just as picturesque in real life as it was in my mind.

There were loads of American tourists there. We especially found entertainment from one couple who darted around the Venice islands through narrow alley ways and canals, all the while in an aggressive argument.

"My family? You want to talk about MY family? I can't even BEGIN with YOUR family!!" (Yes, I am fully aware that I was part stalker. And I am very proud that I remembered that quote word-for-word.)

At one point, the man even ripped up a sheet of paper and shot all the tiny pieces right in his lover's face. Perhaps this was too far - even for my entertainment-loving self.

I wonder how they came out on a dream vacation in beautiful Venice.

We walked around and, of course, consumed our fair share of gelato. My usual was tiramisu, caramel and dark chocolate. In a cone. It was well worth the stomach ache.

We took water buses everywhere we went, and hopped on and off different islands. At night we sat by the water with our feet dangling near the water. We chatted and laughed, taking in the calm of the water with gorgeous, whethered buildings behind us.

The next day we went to the island of Murano, known for its glass making. We walked in many shops, gawked at the fancy glass shapes, looked at their prices, realized how poor we were and eventually sat by the water again. It was lovely.

Italy's first stop was warm and welcoming, and after taking in the romance and antiquey feel of Venice, it was off to the train station for our ride to Florence.