Oh Italy!

The second half of my break was spent in Northern Italy. I spent my Easter morning on a plane from Madrid to Venice with a professional handball team from some Eastern European country. Venice was beautiful--like something out of a picture book...

Once arriving in Venice, I met up with my friends Jenna and Megan. We made our way to our hostel, which was a B&B that ended up more like an apartment. We had our own bathroom and kitchen-y area, and we had a lot of privacy. It was really nice. A lot of the time we just walked around. There are no cars in the actual city, and the maze of streets and canals is incredible. When we walked, we never really had a destination in mind. We spent most of our time exploring, stopping in shops, and taking pictures. We ate gelato every day...so delicious! One day we ended up on the north side of the island and had a great view of some mountains in the distance. For lunch, we would grab a panini or slice of pizza from a café, and for dinner we would go to the grocery store and pick up bread, tomato sauce, cheese, and some dessert. It was a good way to save some money. We also tried lots of different Italian cheeses and sauces--all very delicious. We all bought Venetian masks, and the masks all fit our personalities. Mine is gold with a touch of silver and has sheet music on it. We had a photo shoot with our masks on one night. One morning we splurged and went on a gondola ride. We figured it was worth the expense, since we were there. The gondola ride was incredible--truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. We picked the perfect day to do it--sunny with blue skies. We also went to the Basilica, which had some amazing mosaics. I'm really glad that I got to see Venice now, since it is sinking and eventually will become uninhabitable. The last night we were there, we took a walk after dinner--the city was so peaceful. We just wandered around and ended up sitting on a bench facing the Grand Canal and talking.

From Venice, we went to Milan, where we visited the cathedral and spent the night before heading to Lake Como. We met up with Allison and Estef at the Milan train station and caught the next train to Como. Lake Como is in the shape of an upside Y. The main town, Como, is on the lower left branch. We arrived in Como, and it was beautiful. However, our hostel was located in Menaggio, about a one hour bus ride from Como. We thought Como was beautiful--but Menaggio was more beautiful. The bus ride to Menaggio was delightful. We drove through Laglio, home of George Clooney's villa--no sightings of him...darn. Menaggio was picture perfect. The combination of the mountains, the lake, and the charming town made it a great place to be. I could have spent my entire break on Lake Como, and I never would have gotten sick of it. It just has this quality about it that makes it incredible and breathtaking. We took lots of pictures, and we ate the best gelato EVER there. As a group, our favorite flavors were peach and pistachio. We played cards that night at the hostel and then went to bed. It was really hard to leave Lake Como the next day to head back to Milan. It is definitely a place I want to go back to and explore. That last night in Milan, we just hung out at our hostel and made a big pasta dinner. Then went to bed and headed to the airport the next day.

Overall a fantastic trip filled with beautiful places, and I got to travel with some really good friends. It was a good trip to have for my "last" trip here. I made some great memories.