We have arrived.
Weds., Chan and I boarded lufthansa at LAX. And after a tearful goodbye, and intense rolo eating sesh, we settled for our 10 hour plane ride. Believing that our prescription meds would knock us out we were comfortable and happy. Long story short, the Ambien failed. Though Sleep deprived, we landed in Germany with such excitement for schnietzel and sourcrout, but only ended up with every german having MAJOR attitude towards us. At this point we had not slept for 21 hours.
We made it to Florence and realized what the climate was like: The mirror after you take a shower. Damp, humid, and confusing. Imagine that all day er’day. Our apartment is quaint but quite large. There is NO air conditioning. Chan and I realized we were missing some MAJOR essentials. There was no full length mirror… Unacceptable. And also there was only one fan for our enormous room. No sleep for 24 hours.
With bags under our eyes, and a little overcast we set out to find a fan and a mirror. We found them and began to walk back. Chan,with 2 fans, a blow dryer, and straightner. I with the 45 pound full length mirror, strolling the streets of Firenze. Then it started to rain. Fabulous. Eventually we found our apartment, and realized that sleep was not the most important, but to search for a bar be our top priority.
We sat in the Duomo area, sipping bellinis as the clouds parted, giggling at how we had not slept for 27 hours. Then we began to have a little more fun and wander the streets.
Friday we somehow woke up at 7:15 and went to orientation all day. The roommate posse, decided that we go to Venice for the weekend.
Saturday, we woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go. We had a walking tour of Florence, then Chan and I explored a lil more. Met up with the roomies, and set out for the train station. When we arrived in Venice it was breathtaking. There was no humidity and things were starting to look up with the weather.
I have only one main man in Italy. His name is Rick Steves. Without him I would be in a frantic state. Rick is a travel messiah. His books. They speak to me.
We crossed the bridge to go our Hostel Aloggi Serena at around 4 pm. The roommate posse was smaller due to our size. So me, Tiana, and Chan ventured to find our living quarters.
We asked locals where it was: they had never heard of it. We asked them the streets: never heard of them. Great. we just got scammed, and this is resembling the movie ‘Taken’. We finally called, and the voice on the line said, “si” not “aloggi serena how may I assist you.”
Then they hung up. Tiana called them back, and serenaded them with her accent and knowledge of the italian language. Our hostel owner showed up right behind us, and escorted us to the confusing hostel. We would have NEVER found it. We realized that the hostel, had only two rooms in it.
Our room was incredible. We went to explore, got on the Vaporetto and stared at the scenery. We went everywhere in Venice. We met up with the roommate posse, to see to a few bars near the rialto bridge.
Sunday we slept in a little late, eh. Tiana, Chan, and I got on a vaporetto to visit the Doge Palace and San Marco’s Basilica. Thanks to my man, we had it all figured out.
I still feel as if I am on a boat in venice.
A redemption occurred. I call it redemption 1. These will occur often.
This is a recap, not so much a giggle but stay tuned…
gigglesbyjones 