Italy, you haven't seen the last of me

Just got back from my week long trip to Italy.  Me and 5 other friends started our trip in Rome for 4 days and then three of us went to Venice and the other three went to Florence.  This was my first hostel experience as well- I kinda like them a little.  They are efficient, cheap, and when you're traveling with friends you don't ever spend time in your hotel room.  We would wake up at 7 and return back to the hostel to shower and sleep at 11.  Between the delicious Italian food and not sleeping, my body kind of hates me.  

Before I tell you all about my trip, let me just explain the hostel situation.  I slept arms distance from a stranger in Venice our first night there.  Kristen, Steph's roommate, could only book a private double and a shared triple for us three to stay in for the first night- after that, we had our own private triple which ruled.  I, of course, lost rocks-paper-scissors and had to sleep in the shared triple.  Our beds were all on top of each other.  The guy sleeping next to me snored like a monster.  It woke me up at 4:41 am (I remember the time and everything) and I couldn't fall back asleep.  I'm glad I drew the short straw though- who can say they slept arms distance from a snoring stranger in a hostel Venice besides me?  

Like I said, our trip started in Rome.  The Coliseum was incredible.  My imagination was short-circuiting thinking about all of the deaths/sports/spectaculars that happened in that Coliseum.  The Vatican takes the cake for me, though.  We had the BEST tour guide from California who took us through a 3 hour tour of it all.  I guess I really like the fact this tour was in English because in Sevilla, all of our tours are in Spanish.  I actually understood what was going on and found it to be fascinating.   The sistenth chapel brought chills and tears.  Michelangelo was the man.  What a god.

The best part of the trip was going to the Vatican for Palm Sunday mass.  We woke up at 6 am to stand in line for when the doors open at 9:30.  We also had tickets so we got incredible seats.  I was sitting right along the boarder of where the pope proceeds down to his alter so they gave me special palms to wave as he passed by.  The pope came out riding in a white mini-hummer car with an open top so he could great the crowd.  When he passed by, everyone started cheering.  I was literally less than two feet from him.  He looked at me from his hummer- I was beaming.  The pope looked at me!!

I snapped some great photos.  This mass was legit.  All the cardinals and clergy were there.  They read the story of the crucifixion of Jesus in Italian, which took 40 minutes.  We even received communion. There were thousands and thousands of people there.  

After the mass we got on a packed metro (only 1 euro to ride), grabbed a bite to eat in the train station, and got on the train to Venice.  I sat in a 4-seater with an old man from Venice who was hysterical (he made a list of foods/wines I needed to try in Venice) and a grandma/grandson from Canada, but originally Israel.  They all said "you're from Italy, right?" How cool- I am so proud to have some of my roots there.

Venice is like a city in a story book.  When we got there, Steph asked the water taxi man, "Excuse me, where is the metro?"  He replied, "No metro.  In Venice, we use boat."  

It is such a beautiful place to walk around, eat, drink, explore.  We went to 4 Islands on Monday: the Cemetery where Ezra Pound is buried, Murano, Burano, and Torcello.  The Cemetery was one of the highlights of my trip.  This huge island is beautifully kept and such an interesting place to visit.  We looked for Ezra Pounds grave for about an hour early Monday morning- no one in Venice was even awake yet.  We then hopped over to Murano, the Island that is best known for their blown glass.  Then we went to Burano, known for their lace making, and had lunch and some spritzers  (http://supercocktails.com/10664/Italian-Spritzer).  Lastly, we hit Torcello- the oldest part of Venice which has been abandoned since the main Island of Venice started to attract industry and tourism.  

The next day we hung out with one of Steph's friends from Cornell.  We sat by the docks, drank, and talked about Ithaca, education, and traveling.  It was a perfect day. 

This trip has been sooo unreal.  Like a dream.  The food was die for.  The sights were breath taking. The company was top notch.  I am so happy and filled with adventure.  I love traveling like this, even if it is exhausting.  So much fun- so so cultural.  Just what I've been craving.