Carnivale and the Sleeper Train Experience

Venice scenery

This past weekend was certainly one for the books. In less than 24 hours I experienced Carnivale and then headed off on a trip through the Tuscan countryside with the CUA program. I was about to go to two places that I had always dreamed of going.

I have been learning about Carnivale since I started taking Italian classes in the 7th grade. The masks, food, celebration and the beautiful city of Venice were always things that I had hoped I could one day experience myself. On Saturday February 11th, Italiaidea was brave enough to take about 60 Loyola and CUA students to Venice for Carnivale.

Carnivale enthusiasts

Venice is a city where roads are replaced with waterways and where the heart of the Carnivale season can be found. The city is absolutely spectacular and the spirit of Carnivale is everywhere. With this being a very cold winter for Europe in general, Venice was absolutely freezing and windy. The weather did not hold us back from exploring the city and celebrating Carnivale. After being guided through the city to St. Mark's Square, a group of us weaved though the crowds of people dressed in masks and elaborate costumes. We ran into some Loyola students who have been studying in the Belgium program. Sometimes I cannot believe how small the world really is when I run into friends from home while studying in Europe.

Loyola students in the Carnivale spirit

To prepare for the parade that was to pass through St. Mark's Square, we bought masks to wear throughout the city. I bought a white one with a large feather and proudly wore it until dinner. We managed to get warm, eat a delicious lunch of what other than pizza, and watch some of the parade. Afterward we attempted to take some of the classic "LOYOLA" pictures in front of some gondolas.

My sleeper train bed.

After some more exploring, shopping and another delicious dinner it was time to return to Rome. We managed to experience Carnivale in less that 24 hours and were about to experience the "luxury" of an Italian sleeper train. Rooms of four beds were set up for us to sleep in during out 6 hour train ride back home. These private rooms had one thin sheet and pillow per person as well as no heat whatsoever. Everyone slept in there full outfits, jacket, gloves, hats and scarves included. I don't think I have ever been so cold in my life and happier to wake up at 6 a.m..

Us zombie-like students made our way back to St. John's to prepare for the rescheduled Tuscany trip.

Neve!

This past weekend the city of Rome experienced some very unusual weather. For the Americans living in Rome, the snow fall seemed very normal for the beginning of February. The Italians, however, were in awe of how much snow was falling from the sky and how it was actually sticking to the ground. On Friday, February 3, 2012, the biggest snowfall since 1985 blanketed Rome with beautiful white snowflakes.

Via Marcantonio during the snowstorm.

Snow is not unusual during the Roman winters, a few flurries about twice a year is common. Snow that actually sticks to the ground is a different story. The 4-5 inches of snow that blanketed Rome on Friday was not shoveled, salted or plowed until a day or more later. The city simply sat back and watched it accumulate rather than remove it from the streets and busy sidewalks.

For those who experienced the Snowpocolypse in Baltimore in 2010, you know that the city of Baltimore is not the best at handling snow. I can understand that 3 feet is a lot of snow and a lot of problems come with large amount of snowfall, however, Rome got a mere 4 inches and went into panic mode. Bus routes were shut down and stores and restaurants closed for the day assuming that people were staying indoors and away from this strange weather. For some, this was the first real snow they had ever seen in Italy (that is if they were born after 1985).

Prati neighborhood under a blanket of snow.

This snow, while beautiful, canceled the Tuscany trip that our program had planned and paid for this past weekend. The bus that we were supposed to take was snowed into the parking lot and many of the main roads were closed. Luckily, Dr. Dawson was able to reschedule the trip for the following weekend. The positive side of this was that we still had Monday off from classes even though the trip was canceled. I can't say that I opposed to the extra sleep I got that weekend!

I find snow to be beautiful no matter where I am, but there is something about the city of Rome being covered in snow that I will never forget. The city seemed very peaceful and quiet during and after the snowfall which is something that I had yet to expereince. Rome is a very busy city, always awake. It was the first time that I had ever seen a palm tree covered in snow.

Outside of St.John's in the snow.

While the cold weather is something that I dislike everyday (Romans are not known for having a lot of heat in their homes), I am very happy that I got to experience this great snowfall that will certainly go down in Roman history. Every night at dinner my host mother puts on the news, and for the past week, the snowstorm has been the main focus on almost every channel. There is more snow in the forecast for this Friday, however, it is only supposed to flurry...that is what they said for February 3rd as well...

Firenze

On January 28th I took my first weekend trip while in Italy. A bunch of people from my program were headed to Florence for two days. I was excited to start traveling and really feel like I was abroad.

View of Florence from the Bell Tower.

After a short 1 1/2 hour train ride we pulled into the Florence train station. It was freezing when we arrived. Luckily, the hotel that Meghan, Kathryn and myself were staying in was only a 5 minute walk from the train station. We stayed in a small budget hotel where a bunch of other CUA students were also staying. We decided to drop our stuff off and go get lost in the city while waiting for some of our other friends to get settled in. After getting lost and some intense map reading we managed to reach the Duomo and begin checking off the sightseeing we had planned for the trip.

The Duomo was beautiful from the outside and a lot bigger than I had imagined. We went inside and took some pictures but were a little disappointed that we couldn't stand under the actual dome. We then decided to climb the Bell Tower so we could see the city from the top. The 400+ steps it took to reach the top certainly made up for my lack of exercise since being in Italy. The view was absolutely incredible. I recommend for anyone planning on visiting Florence to climb the Bell Tower rather than the Duomo because you can get a beautiful view of the Dome from the top.

View from Piazza Michelangelo right before sunset.

After our climb we felt that we deserved some lunch, so we crossed over the Ponte Vecchio and ate in a pizzeria where we each got individual pizzas and relaxed for a bit. Afterward we braved the cold and climbed up to Piazza Michelangelo. This was my favorite part of the entire trip. The view was absolutely amazing. Before traveling to Florence, a friend told me to go to Piazza Michelangelo for the sunset and I am so happy that I did. We sat on the steps that overlooked the city and listened to a woman perform Italian and American music with the sunset as her backdrop. We were surrounded by other American students studying abroad. I was surprised to hear so many English-speaking people and see so many Americans just hanging out and drinking wine on the steps.

We later met up with some friends to eat dinner. We ate at small restaurant and then went back to our friends' apartment for some wine. The apartment was beautiful and could sleep a lot of people. I will definitely start searching for apartments to stay in while traveling in the future. I decided to call it a night and get some rest after a very long day of walking and sightseeing.

The next day began with an overpriced breakfast and cold walk to the leather market. I managed to bargain a great price on a brown leather jacket in the Mercato Centro area. The rest of the day was more sight seeing around the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio. We did everything that we had wanted to do the day before, so we decided to take it easy and just shop around and enjoy the city. Florence is a very walkable city, which worked out for us, since we didn't know how to use the bus system like in Rome.

I really enjoyed my time in Florence and cannot wait to travel more during the semester!

Useful Information for Visiting Florence:

1. Travel on a Saturday-TrainItalia had a buy one-get one deal for train tickets purchased for Saturday travel
2. Climb the Bell Tower-The top reveals a beautiful 360 degree view of Florence and of the Duomo
3. Buy Leather at Mercato Centro- most vendors have student discounts
4. Bargain!-try to bargain down the price with street vendors, most likely you'll get a better deal
5. Visit Piazza Michelangelo at sunset- stunning views of the city and countryside, beautiful sunset and sometimes live music!

Frogger Anyone?

Today while enjoying my 15 minute "pausa" (break) from Italiaidea I had a revelation. As I was trying to cross the street to get some gelato, I realized that Rome is just one giant, and very real, game of Frogger.

Typical Rome traffic.

For those of you who had the pleasure of having a PlayStation (original) and chose to spend hours trying to cross the busy streets in Frogger, I hope that one day you travel to Rome where you can put your gaming skills to a real life test. For those of you unfortunate people who did not get to play Frogger, you will certainly be at a disadvantage, simply because you did not get to practice crossing a busy street where cars, trucks, and vespas do not stop with the comfort of having 3 or more lives to spare per game.

"Commit to the cross" is one of the first things that I learned in Rome. Dr. Dawson's words of wisdom have been echoed every time a Loyola or CUA student crosses the street.

Frogger

In Italy there appears to be very little concern for the rules of the road. It being a city, it is understandable that traffic will build up, large buses will take up half of the narrow street and drive as slow as they wish, and that pedestrians will choose to dart out in the middle of the street at any given time. In Rome, the absence of lanes and the freedom enjoyed by those who ride a vespa or some form of a motorcycle is frightening when cars weave in and out of other motorists as the small vespas do. Double parking can occur almost anywhere at any time and if the person infront of you is moving too slowly, feel free to drive around them and enjoy some time on the wrong side of the road until you can leave them far behind.

For the most part, cars and motorcycles will stop for someone crossing a street, however one should not take this for granted. Once you have chosen to cross the street, the best approach is "to commit." Stopping mid-cross will most likely result in fear, injury, death, or an unpleasant exchange of words between you and the driver. In most cases, the driver will stop at the absolute last minute while you are crossing, making it a very real thought that you might actually get hit.

My piece of advice: always cross behind an Italian. They seem to know what they are doing.