Italy, in huge portions

"Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go." - Truman Capote

In grade 9, I read my first Shakespearian play, the Merchant of Venice. To this day it remains my favourite (not only does Portia have a great name, but she’s also pretty kick-ass for a 16^th century damsel). In fact, it was such a memorable introduction to the Bard of Avon, what better way to be introduced to Italy than in much the same way?

During our second week in Belgium, the European discount airline Ryanair had a seat sale. Famous among Queen’s students on exchange are Ryanair’s dirt cheap flights to (some exotic, some not so) exotic locations. A word of caution: a lot of the airports that the cheap airlines fly into are outside the city... It’s a good idea to look up where the airport is actually located and how hard it is to get to the city centre upon arrival. For example, Ryanair flies out of “Brussels-Charleroi” which takes us (from Louvain-la-Neuve) about two hours to get to, even though it’s a 30 minute drive.

Either way, upon hearing about the sale, Lauren and I began excitedly imagining all the possibilities. We hastily booked Venice for a trip six weeks away (little did we know, Ryanair would be having seat sales every other week).  It seemed light years away. It was in the period “post-André-visit”. The second half of the semester. Then, all of a sudden, we were there, closer to the end than to the beginning.

And off we were to Italy.

Lauren and I arrived in Venice mid-evening on Friday. A bus from the airport dropped us off in the middle of a busy square and we had no idea where we were. In fact, we didn’t even have a map. Oy. Less than ideal. Travelling in foreign countries, you learn to fall in love with one particular letter of the latin alphabet: i, the international symbol for information, aka ohmygosh, help me, I’m lost. So we got a map, asked a few questions to a few people, found out we were exactly where we wanted to be and got general directions for our hotel. Finding our place to stay involved following a few hand painted arrows that looked more like graffiti than street signs and of course, falling victim to the Venetian cliché of getting lost. Luckily, there’s no more enchanting place to be lost in.

After settling in, pizza was on the agenda. We were satisfied at a nearby place recommended by a local. Like Belgium, I found that Italy lived up to culinary expectations and thankfully, Lauren and I shared the same philosophy regarding dieting while on exchange: we can eat salads in Canada. (Actually, over the weekend, we would indulge in the best kinds of food: pasta, bruschetta, lasagne and a gelato for every day we were there... I’m started to think this whole blog should be food-themed.) Following our meal, we didn’t walk around long before being asked to take a picture by a group of American girls who overheard us speaking English. Meet Ariane, Rani, Chelsey, Aubrey and Morgan, students from FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan) currently studying in Florence. We spent the night comparing schools and international experiences, and just having a great time. Another exchange cliché coming your way: the sights are great but the people are better.

Saturday, we discovered daytime Venice. And I discovered that calling Bruges, Belgium the “Venice of the North” is a serious misnomer. The canals in Venice are everywhere (as Lauren put it, their version of a dead-end is water). It is just as beautiful as the movies make it out to be. Actually, we spent a lot of time waiting for James Bond to come racing around a corner. Why is that the only movie I can think of set in Venice? Among the crows of tourists, we indulged in some Venetian glass, visited the (outside of) San Marco Basilica and took a water bus to an island with a belfry that offers the best view of the city.

San Marco Basilica

View of the Belfry we visited.

Soon enough, we were making our way to Florence (having been informed that three nights in Venice was too much). I like that I can now say “I’ve been to Tuscany” but this place is much more than a novelty. As described by Lauren, Florence is “a town in a big city”. The people are casual and friendly but the city of Michelangelo is not humble. Designer stores line the main boulevards with lead to Basilica Duomo, an enormous building the outside of which is decorated by, for lack of a better description, dark green geometrical shapes. It’s really impressive. The immensity of these buildings always makes me marvel at the fact they were built without electricity. Maybe that’s part of what I like so much about churches... each of them is a real feat of engineering.

Another thing about flying Ryanair is that you are restricted to a backpack as luggage. This allows me to pack clothes for a weekend, but the Lonely Planet has got to go. I made a few notes, one of which was to visit Basilica Lorenzo. I dragged Lauren way off the beaten track for this one but it was well worth it. Housing a Russian church is, we both agreed, the coolest building either of us has ever seen. Words don’t suffice and pictures don’t do it justice but take a look. Notice the palm trees!

The rain dampened a bit the rest of the afternoon but we still enjoyed the markets (selling mostly leather) and a few more sights (including a crucifix recently discovered to a piece of Michaelangelo’s early work, made when we was 18). Too soon, we needed to make our way back to Venice. Truthfully, we didn’t give Florence to time it deserved.

Here’s the secret no one tells you about exchange. Everyone comes back from their time abroad gushing about the experience of a lifetime that profoundly changed them and they even have the album of Facebook to prove it. But guess what? Sometimes you’re tired, hungry, cold and/or wet and all you want is home. And sometimes, you’re alone on a train at night in Italy that isn’t on the way to the station you want to go to, without a map of your destination and both your iPod and cell are dead. And all of this is compounded by the fact that you’re on exchange, supposed to be having the time of life (everyone else did, you saw it on Facebook!). You can chalk it up to experience all you want, but in the moment, it sucks.

But it gets better. A friendly Venetian architect tells you where to get the right train. You find your way to the hotel in the dark. You breathe in, you breathe out. You handle it. Next time, you plan better. And you use the little battery you have left for an upbeat Taylor Swift song. Let’s face it, if you’re lost, you’re lost in Italy... that ain’t half bad.