| Dear Family and Friends, I can still feel the warm sun on my cheeks, I can taste homemade pasta and breads on my tongue, I can see the rolling farmlands and hear the musical toll of the church bells and street side accordion players . . . all amidst the cold snowy weather and the familiarity of an undeveloped country called Bulgaria . . . awww, Italy! Last night, I returned from my whirlwind trip to Italy, a trip that enlightened me, refreshed me, and gave me an insatiable urge to return in the near future for a greater length of time. I went with four Peace Corps friends and a school group from my friend Chris� school here in Bulgaria. We left here via bus on Sunday morning, arrived in Italy on Monday morning, and we returned to Bulgaria on Thursday night. WHEW!!! But, it was definitely worth every minute. Our first stop on the great Italian tour was the marvelous city of Venice. Now, if you ever get the chance to go to Venice, I highly recommend it . . . especially if it�s with a romantic partner or spouse. When I get married, I now definitely know where I want to go on my honeymoon. Venice is all that I pictured it to be and more. Old Venice, which is the place to go, it an incredible labyrinth of old buildings that tower above narrow passageways . . . laundry hangs on lines above from one old home to the next, tall church steeples and domes rise above the old city and its waters majestically, brilliant bridges span narrow water canals that gondolas and small boats pass through lazily. We had to take a boat to get into old Venice across one large canal, and then we were in an old water city with small walkways and narrow water canals everywhere you turn. Us Peace Corps Volunteers separated quickly from the rest of our tour group (everywhere we went!) and we soon found ourselves lost in the maze of buildings, quaint shops, tourists, and hundreds of turns and dead ends to explore. We only paused to gorge ourselves on lasagna and pizza and spaghetti galore at one small Italian restaurant on the soothing bank of one of the canals. I love Italian food, but Italian food in Italy is INCREDIBLE. After lunch, we took in a gondola ride through the narrow canals, with a gondola driver standing behind us with his huge paddle scraping the murky water. We leaned against our seats blissfully, in complete relaxation, breathing in the smells of seaweed and the murky water, listening to the sounds of the water lapping the boat, marveling at the buildings and at the world that was opening up around us. Venice is such a MAGICAL place; I asked someone to pinch me because I felt lost in a dream . . . a dream that spanned my childhood of floating lazily through Venice o a gondola, lost in my insatiable imagination. I can�t give it, or some of the other places we visited, justice on e-mail because they were so phenomenal, so I guess you are just going to have to see for yourself. After a night in a hotel in a nearby beach town, we hopped on the bus once again and traveled to the town of Ravenna and a country within Italy called San Marino. Our time in Ravenna was okay, though quite short, but San Marino was out of this world. San Marino is it�s own country and is, in fact, the oldest country in Europe. And, if there were a little piece of heaven on earth, it would definitely be San Marino. Northern Italy is a country of farmland as far as the eye can see and it is quite flat, yet San Marino is an island unto itself. Suddenly, those farms evolve into green rolling hills and wide valleys as you wind into San Marino, a country the winds uphill into tiny shops and great stone towers with brilliant turrets. From the top of the walls overlooking the republic, heaven opens up before you as you gaze into the beauty of the hills and valleys that are dotted with quaint homes and buildings. Again, it is impossible to describe on e-mail. San Marino is filled with so much to experience and explore, we longed for more time as we wound our way amongst the stone structures and the shops. First, we all made plans to move to Venice after Peace Corps service, then our plans were to move to San Marino. After another night in a hotel, we eagerly anticipated our third and final day in Italy, exploring Padua and Verona. In Padua, we lacked much time, but we explored an AMAZING Roman Catholic Church and an incredible courtyard area. And, then, we were off to Verona. Verona was a large city, but it was also wonderful. We saw an old Roman amphitheater and a couple great churches, and we also saw the House of Juliet, the place that sparked the home of Juliet in Shakespeare�s, �Romeo and Juliet�. The house itself was worth the visit to Verona, for a Shakespeare fan. As we entered a tunnel into the courtyard to view the famous balcony of Juliet, we marveled at the graffiti intentionally covering the walls and speaking of love. In the courtyard of the house, there is a statue of Juliet and, supposedly, touching the breast of Juliet brings good luck. So, we took turns cupping Juliet�s breast and then we made our way up onto the famous balcony of Juliet. I posed for a picture from atop the balcony, like Juliet herself, crying out with fervor, �Romeo Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?� as I waited for my �prince� to arrive. The city tingled with the energy of Romeo and Juliet, the city in which "two star-crossed lovers sealed their fate". Shortly after Verona, our whirlwind trip came to an end and we headed back to Sofia, tired and brimming with delight from a wonderful adventure, plans racing through our minds to return to Italy one day soon. Our bellies were full with the likes of spaghetti, lasagna, gnocchi, Italian sandwiches, pizza, ravioli, fresh bread, Italian ice cream and much more . . . we tried a little bit of everything! Nothing beats real Italian food and the wine and the ice cream in Italy are phenomenal, it�s a good thing we did so much walking! So, then, I curled up into my seat on the bus for a long trip home and I reminisced about the amazing trip with Chris, who sat next to me. We engaged in card and paper games with droopy eyes and satisfied souls as we reminisced and laughed fondly about some of the events that had just taken place. If you ever get the chance to go to Italy, don�t let it pass you by. This first trip was so short, but it was worth every minute and it definitely gave me the desire to return. And now it is nice to have a few days to relax until it is back to school for me on Monday. I took many pictures which are being developed today, so hopefully I will be able to write to you later this weekend to tell you to visit my website to view my Italy pictures. Pictures or words could never capture the brilliance of Italy, but at least this will give you an idea of what I saw, smelled, heard, tasted, and felt during my Spring Break. Just use YOUR imagination. That is all you could hope for . . . until you see it all for yourself. Take care! Love Always, Chantel (who actually has rosy cheeks from the Italian sun and who is cursing the Bulgarian snow as we speak!) |
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