Venezia Travelog – Entry 2

The more time I spend in Venezia, the more I realize how this city is a near perfect place for me to spend a semester. Each day I’m more grateful for the culture, language and way of life here. That in combination with my fantastic and inspiring classes is really taking this semester beyond my expectations.

This past week I’ve been settling in, getting used to the grind of schoolwork again and even doing some traveling around the mainland of Italy – all beside my wonderful friends and classmates.

My first trip off the island(s) was to Padova, where Boston University also has a study abroad program. We took the train over with pretty much no agenda, except to meet another friend, and spent the day wandering the markets, eating cheese and seeing the many architectural wonders in the city.

I’ve also been doing my fair share of being a tourist in Venezia. It is Carnevale, after all, and I figured I’d get being a tourist out of the way soon enough so I can pretend to be a local.

What’s really cool about sight-seeing here is the opportunity I have to learn the meaning behind the pretty buildings. My art history class takes place mostly on-site, which is incredible. We can stand in front of the Doge’s Palace as we learn the symbolism behind the kneeling doge before Venezia’s winged lion, which is sculpted on the facade.

Thankfully I’ve also had the chance do some touring far outside of Venezia (and I have a lot more planned!) Yesterday we took a 3-hour train ride up into the Alps to Trento. The ride up there was beautiful enough, but the landscape surrounding the city was unreal. Once again, we showed up with no plans and ended up with a whole day full of new experiences.

We went for lunch in Sardagna at literally the only restaurant in town – it turned out to be some of the best (and cheapest) food I’ve had so far in Italy.

And with that, I’m signing off to cook Sunday dinner and catch up on classwork.