Carnivale Round 2 (Milano style)

Originally, I was a little bit disappointed that I didn't have anything planned last weekend as far as traveling but i'm really glad that I was here to enjoy and experience Carnivale in Milan!  

Thursday I woke up early enough to hit some of the shops on Buenos Aires before going to school. On my way, I could hear music blasting down the street so I decided to check it out. The music, Scream and Shout by Britney and Will.I.Am (American Music is VERY popular here), was blaring out of speakers at what looked like a middle school or high school. All of the kids were gathered outside dancing in the street, semi-unusual for a Thursday morning. Later, I found out that it was Fat Thursday and that there were celebrations large and small going on all around Milan starting Thursday. After my classes were finished I spent some time roaming around getting a gelato, checking out some stores, and ran into a really interesting market called Mercado Communale. The minute I walked inside I was overwhelmed by the smell of raw meat and cheese combined, I quickly lost my appetite but it was still fun to explore the rest of the indoor market that literally had everything you could ever think of. It reminded me of the swap meet that is located in west valley back at home. They had pastry vendors, butchers, a couple of Asian shops, etc.  

To the right of this Porta is the Mercado Communale

Getting our daily serving of gelato!

Friday I spent the day keeping up on some school work and.... of course, researching some more weekend trips (seriously is never ending). That night Melanie and I went down to Navigli (Canal) District. We walked along for awhile and then popped into a pub we and just chatted and ordered some hamburgers. We made small talk with a couple of Italians that came up to us and asked if they could practice English with us. I stick out like a sore thumb here, almost every Italian that i've asked said that they can tell that i'm American just by looking at me. We had a great night, declined the offer to go dancing with some guys at a Carnivale themed disco and decided to catch a bus back home. 

His friends called him "grandfather" we still aren't sure why.

Saturday my roommates and I took a leisurely walk to the Duomo to watch the parade, see all of the costumes and get in on the confetti throwing. It was sunny and about 50 degrees, which is about the nicest weather we have seen so far. Weather like this is just a teaser for actual spring weather and i'm really hoping that we will see the temperature start to rise soon. We got there a bit later than we expected and were only able to see the end of the parade from afar. It wasn't too disappointing and we still had plenty to see in the time that we were there. A variety show was performing some sort of weird Circus act that I couldn't really figure out what was going on. Most of our time was spent wandering around throwing confetti and watching all of the adorable kiddies dressed up. 

"Valentine Street" I call it this mainly because of the hearts as
well as a Valentino Store, It's really called Montenapoleone.

 Cutest Little Nugget ever. He definitely can pull of being a grape and still looking good! 

My cute roommates in front of the Duomo!
Elyssa (right) and Melanie (Left)

This little toddler was dressed up in an all feather, chicken
costume, we watched him slowly fall asleep against the
window on the way home from the Duomo. 

 My time here is flying by, I can't that i've almost been here for almost a month! My class on Thursday was cancelled this week so I spontaneously booked a trip to Rome. Stay tuned for updates from Roma!

Ciao, Ciao :)

Progressi

Italian Translation: Progress

Progress is finally being made... 

1) Hangers for my closet. 

One small step for man, one giant leap for Rachel. My clothes have been sitting in one giant lump in the bottom of my closet since they were removed from my luggage. Due to the lack of a dryer I have had some very wrinkly shirts even after trying to get them out with a hair straightener. Even  now some of them will most definitely end up back in a lump especially because I couldn't get enough hangers but at least a few of my shirts are safe from wrinkles.

TA-DA!

2) Made it to the grocery store. 

After living a week + on the communal pasta (girls from last semester donated because of their no carb diet) and smorgasbord of random things I was finally ready to buy some real food. Often I get intimidated when I can't read the label and am unsure about what i'm buying (ex. distinguishing milk from cream). Besides the milk, I did pretty well. I came home with some fresh pasta, ravioli, bread, prosciutto, and vegetables. Unlike my roommates, i'm planning to eat my weight and more in carbs while i'm here! I keep telling people that i'm going to come home as wide as I am tall and the way I am eating I probably will.  

3) Homework. 

Shocker, I know. I watched a film for my Italian cinema class. It was only 2 hours long, and the only homework that i've had so far. My classes here should be a cake walk, which will be a nice change of pace from my courses back at home. I also hope that these classes will allow me to easily travel on the weekends without the worry of homework!

4) Booked weekend trips. (yay!) 

I hunkered down, did the research and finally booked my spring break trip to Spain with Caroline. We still have to figure out hostels but we have the main flights booked which was in itself a big accomplishment. I also booked a weekend trip with Julia (also studying from the U of U) to the Netherlands which conveniently fell on her birthday as well as a few of the tulip festival events. And, today I signed up for the weekend ski trip to the Italian Alps which is only a couple of weekends away. Planning weekend trips has been painstakingly time consuming and frustrating! I can't wait for all of the planning to be finished and for the traveling to begin. I already feel that my time is being cut short and that I won't be able to see all of the places that I had originally wanted to. With that being said those with connections/knowledge of Germany, Switzerland, or Prague that would be willing to share I would really appreciate it! 

5) Eating gelato on a regular basis. 

Last on the list but the most important, GELATO. I am progressively getting better at eating more and more of it. I'm on the hunt for the best gelato shop in Italy and i'm willing to try every one before I find the winner. You would think that the cold weather would deter me from eating an cold treat... hasn't stopped me yet. The best shop I have found so far is le Colonne Gelateria, it also serves nutella/gelato crepes. yum. The best flavor is the Pistachio and according to the shop owner the pistachios are all natural and grown in Sicily. Just remember, a gelato in hand always makes for a good day. 

My life in Italy is rough, can you tell?

One thing that I wouldn't classify as progress, my hair on fire. A couple of nights ago I was cooking dinner and I leaned over and my hair caught on fire, I came out of the kitchen with charred chunks of hair on one side of my face. Luckily after some spray in conditioner and combing the burnt chunks out my hair doesn't look any different. My roommates and I agree that this is truly a miracle. I wish I had some pictures of it to show just how bad it was. Other than that one small crisis, I'm still living the dream! 

Carnevale di Venezia

With school in full swing I rewarded myself with a student trip to Carnevale, in Venice. Carnevale is the Italian (European) Mardi Gras. The trip was a great deal (only 35 euro), it included all of the transportation (buses and water taxi) to St. Mark's Square for the day trip. 

Hope you are in the mood for pictures, that is mainly what this post will be! Be prepared.  

I woke up at 5:30 am to pack a lunch and bundle up before meeting up at the train station at 6:30 where the buses were supposed to be waiting to whisk us away to Venice. In actuality we waited for a little over an hour for the buses to arrive and everyone to figure out the correct bus that they were on. We started the 3 hour journey (which ended up being longer with an hour bathroom break at a rest stop). 

Melanie and I on the bus to Venice!

On the way there I read my Rick Steves book on Venice (I would recommend this book to anyone traveling in Italy) and geared up to see the city that I had been wanting to see since grade school. I felt like the drive into Venice was very un-monumentous. I guess I had just envisioned that it was a city that was more difficult to get to than simply driving over a bridge. Once we got off the bus we hurried to the water taxi along with the hoards of people from the other buses. The water taxi dropped us off right in front of a shop selling masks and other Carnevale paraphernalia. Then it was off into the mobs of people to San Marco's Square. 

Hoards of people headed to the square

Famous Bride of Sighs

Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace)

Finally made it to St. Mark's Square

 Once in St. Mark's Square we got in line to enter into the basilica. Many of the works of art in this cathedral are all in gold leaf and renaissance style, i'm glad I was able to research (via guide book) and appreciate the style and technique of the artwork inside. 

Interesting fact: these horses atop of the cathedral are so old that historians
are unsure how old they are, they may have dates as old as BC.

Unfortunately, like most of the buildings here, the basilica was under
restoration while we were there :( 

 I quickly got tired of the huge masses of people crowded in the square and wanted to explore the small picturesque side streets of Venice. I took a quick break in an alley that smelled like poop near a really beautiful opening to one of the small rivers and ate my lunch that I had packed (Nutella sandwich). Some of my roommates stopped into a pasta-to-go shop and waited 30 minutes so I was content with my sandwich from home.

Eating lunch in the smelly alleyway with a view

After lunch we headed toward the Rialto bridge, one of the 5 bridges that spans the Grand Canal. Rick Steves mentioned that there is usually a fish market that is near Rialto but they either don't do a very large one during Carnevale or we didn't find the right one. I was a little disappointed but there was still plenty for me to see in my short time there! 

Climbing the steps of Rialto Bridge 

Rialto Bridge!

\

The only fish at that we could find

We made our way back to the the Piazza to meet up with the rest of the group and start the journey back home. We ran into a sea colorful people in a piazza which i'll post pictures of below (in bright orange and yellow) who were extremely entertaining. Everyone in costume was in character and happy to pose for pictures. It was completely different from the American stigma of Mardi Gras which, in my opinion, was more fun. The atmosphere was all about having a good time and really getting into the character of their costumes. I enjoyed people watching and just enjoying the show that was being put on around every corner! 

Lost in a sea of colors

Again, we were about an hour late to depart. I wasn't too sad about the extra hour as it allowed me watch the sunset and purchase a Murano glass ring and a pair of earrings. However, by the end of the hour the water taxi couldn't come soon enough!  

Chilean Soccer team also enoying Carnevale

I gave some sleeping people a scare on the
bus ride home with this mask.

Me, Elyssa and Melanie on the water taxi 

On the bus Elyssa and I had an enthralling conversation with Lorenzo (helps with ESEG the student group) about Amercian food and all of the wonders of KFC and Mac & cheese, neither of which he has been able to try. Needless to say, I miss french fries and cheeseburgers already! 

We got off the bus, onto the metro and headed straight home. Once home we splurged on some take out and crawled into bed. Overall, it was a great day in Venice and as always i'm grateful to be able to experience the beauty of Italy!  

I'll leave you with this little snippet, I saw Johnny Depp! 

Gotcha! Only someone dressed up for Carnevale, he was very believable and had the mannerisms of the true Captain Jack Sparro.