The Great Dépaysement

Personal blog of Tessa Meyer from VCD Study Abroad 2015.

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In the Murano Glass museum! I was a fan of the abstract sea forms.

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In and around Venice!

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Studio time

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Another post for the School for Design, Basel, Poster Archive because it was just too cool. Over 70,000 posters from some of the greatest designers in the world and the collection grows by the thousands every year! The sheer volume of the collection is impressive enough but it also has originals from designers like Wolfgang Weingart, Giacometti, and Herbert Matter.

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The song of Rome and train rides

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Rome

May 24 - May 30th 2015

From Cornuda we traveled to Rome. We stayed in the neighborhood of Gianicolense for 6 nights. Rome was way different than I was expecting but it’s a very popular travel destination so I suppose my experience was fated to be different from other people’s. What is most interesting about Rome is that the city is built over layers and layers of ancient Rome so it has has ruin surrounded by modern building and structures. That juxtaposition of time is bizarre but also really cool. I loved seeing the Forum, Circus Maximus, the Pantheon, Piazza San Venezia, Trajan’s Column, Arch of Constantine, the Colosseum, and the Vatican.

The most horrible part of Rome for anyone reading this who is traveling there soon was the Spanish Steps. Avoid at ALL COSTS. There are street vendors selling selfie sticks and roses who will harass you ever single foot of your journey to the top. It’s terrible. If I ever hear “Selfie, selfie” again, it will be too soon.

Here are the coolest parts of Rome:

1. My favorite street, Via Borgognona, which has a delicious panini restaurant and macaroon shop plus great shopping all around it (love my new Longchamp bag).

2. The gardens of Villa Borghese. Its basically the central park of Rome complete with happy saxophone music, segways, a carousel, museums, and other totally cool stuff.

3.Campo di Fiore: Awesome atmosphere here: family style meals, hookah, and bars!

4. The Vatican: One of the largest museums in the world and filled with tons of famous art. The Sistine chapel is a must see. 

5. I can’t think of a fifth favorite thing. My brain is fried and travel weary but I will say something that was a aha moment for me. Capella in Italian mean chapel so acapella means in chapel aka music sung in a choir without instruments. Hallelujah.

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Another awesome poster from the Museum for Gestaltung

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Florence!! The Duomo is ridiculously large and impressing and the Academia has great sculptures.

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Clouds in the Forum

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Just Titanic things. Rose and Jack doing their thang over the Rhein.

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Vitrahaus aka God's idea of furniture design. I wanted everything yet I could afford nothing. Funny.

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Cool stuff in vitrahaus

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Venice

May 18th - May 21st

Meghan and I traveled to London before our trip and it was AWESOME but I was very excited to see some familiar faces when it came time to meet the group in Milan. 

After boarding a train and traveling for 2 hrs we finally started to see some water and low and behold Venice was just around the corner. Venice is one to the most iconic cities in the world and I find it incredibly difficult to sum up how I felt when I came through the train station door and finally saw something I had pictured in my head for 10+ years. The architecture combined with the canal and sea breezes and bustling foot traffic make for one hell of a city. To say I enjoyed Venice would be an injustice, I LOVED IT. I can’t wait for the day that I get to go back. 

Top 5 moments in Venice:

1. The Guggenheim - An unbelievable collection to behold and only 10 euros for students. 

2. Murano - Murano glass is famous for being intricate and bright. The museum and stores made the day trip there a wonderful experience. 

3. Giardini - The parks at this vaparetto stop were GORGEOUS. And the little restaurant with delicious aranciata and caprese salad didn’t hurt either.

4. Riding the vaparetto - I loved riding the vaparetto from Piaza le Roma all the way to Lido! Riding at dusk also made for some amazing photos!

5. St. Mark’s square and Dal Moro’s - St. Mark’s square, while crowded, is such an iconic sensory experience. The pigeons and the palace and the basilica are AWESOME. I went to the square at least 3 times. While at San Marco I also went to the top rated restaurant called Dal Moro’s. You chose a sauce and they make fresh pasta to pair with your sauce. Super good and cheap too!

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Luv me some friends/travel buddies

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Kunsthaus Museum in Zürich, Switzerland