15 Jun Things I Saw
This is very late because I was very ill during the trip, and I was very ill afterwards for a handful of days. But hey, better late then never! Here are some things I saw in Italia.
There are a lot of pigeons everywhere. They will fly at your head. They will narrowly miss you. They will invade your personal space. Call them evil in your head and hate them silently. Pigeons know something that you don’t. Sleep with one eye open.
This is a picture I drew of the classroom at the University of Rome. At this point, we had just managed not to get dropped in Nowheresville/killed by Italian taxi drivers. We ate a nice buffet lunch and walked to the campus. The room was warm and muggy, but had a certain old-school charm to it. We tried our best to stay alert despite our full stomachs and the warm atmosphere. The lecture was fascinating, and I wish we had more lectures during our stay. Also, I now know that Topolino is the name for Mickey Mouse in Italy. So if you see someone on the street, just say, “Topolino!!” They’ll probably think you’re crazy.
This is Chef Marcello! He cooked us an incredible traditional Italian meal. He was very passionate about his work, and made sure to tell us every little detail about our food. While I didn’t absorb too much cooking skill from his cooking demonstration, I left with happy taste buds and an insatiable hunger for Tortelloni. It was just so. good.
The window above David was specifically created so the light would hit him just perfectly. As a photography nerd, I love nice lighting. I thought the window was beautiful and intricate, and it definitely did the job. David was incredible. I think it’s one of those things you just have to experience to fully appreciate it. It was probably one of my favorite sights of the entire trip.
If you have the opportunity to go to Venice, you have to go. You just have to. I instantly fell in love with the place as soon as I stepped out of the Venezia train station. I scribbled down the view from the stairs of the train station. I sat in the same spot for about half an hour, completely silent, just amazed by the beauty of the city. Most of the people on this trip loved Florence, but I think I loved the charm of Venice more. I want to go back when I’m married and just soak up the romance of the city. Maybe take a gondola. It looked like it could be a magical experience.
I had a really bad fever when we were being taught Italian. The room was freezing, too. I tried to distract myself by sketching the view out of the window. It was a nice, sunny day. I was quickly growing tired of being so far from home while sick, honestly. So, my mind was a little bit foggy and elsewhere. I left the Italian lesson with enough knowledge to carry on a small-talk conversation on the plane ride back home. Even though I was pretty miserable, at least I did learn a thing or two about the Italian language.
