Oh Gosh it’s finally here. I’ve been so excited for this trip for months, and during the trip I carried my camera around wrapped in my sweater terrified someone was going to grab it or it was going to get damaged. Because I just felt some kind of obligation to myself to capture my experience just as I saw it in person, and the images are so precious to me.
I went to Three Countries on my trip from Feb. 15-26th. The first is Italy! I will be blogging each country separately as they were all a unique experience.
Okay. Italy blew my mind. I loved most everything about it. Philip and I flew from Nashville-Detroit-Amsterdam-Venice. We got straight off the plane and ran into the town. The area to visit in Venice is touristy for sure, but well worth the visit. There were amazing historical buildings and what seemed like a maze of alleys and shops.
Everything in Europe seemed smaller. In the sense that the roads were tighter, the stairs were smaller, the bathroom stalls were smaller, the shops were smaller, the drinks were smaller, the homes were tighter and cozier. You just don’t need all the extra space all the time, it was so strange to have everything half size. But not bad at all. Just a different way of living.
Biking is very common in Italy, and as I later found out, in Austria as well. People just like to use other methods besides cars. And they seem to really enjoy the outdoors.
We visited Venice on Carnevale weekend. I don’t know much what that means besides there were many people in costume and masks, and they were selling masks at most all of the vendor shops. There were elaborate shops with masks filling the entire sides and ceilings of the shop.
Pigeons were everywhere.
Had to get some famous Gelato from Venice
Carnevale masks and costumes
Popular drinks in Italy, Aperol Spritzer. I wish they had Spritzer in America
Italians seem so fashionable. Many people were wearing nice coats, a lot of black and brown, and their boots were almost always very nice quality.
UDINE || ITALY
Philip has some friends that live in the more local city of Udine, and so we set off there the next two nights after our stay in Venice. It was great seeing the sights, but there was a wonderful unique experience of getting to see more of a daily life scene in Udine. We spent a lot of time wandering the streets, and everything was so sophisticated.
One of the worst things about Italy were the bathrooms. You basically never knew what you were going to get when you walked in. Sometimes you’d have a regular toilet, and then once I walked in and it was a hole. in the ground. In a civilized cafe. Horrific experience. They also have something called a bidet, which is toilet sized next to the regular toilet that you are supposed to use to wash your behind after using the toilet. Things you need to know.
Cafes are on every corner it seems, and we stopped at coffee/bar shops (they serve both always) pretty often. Also to get wifi haha.
We got to stay at William’s house the first night, he was a great host and his family cooked us a meal of bread and pasta 😉
Udine Square
Vincenzo took us in the second night, and he went out of his way to take us to places to see and to make sure we had a great visit. Italians have such wonderful hospitality and pride themselves on being good hosts. He took us to his favorite local pizza shop right before we left for Austria.
I just adored Italy and I definitely feel like I could stay there for longer. Except I might have to teach myself Italian before I commit. Just a beautiful place with so much to offer. Thanks so much for checking in.
Love,
– Rae
