#winter odyssey

[mimilikesunicorns]

It's cozy up in the mushroom village today<3

[thatgirlwhowanders]

final thoughts: sirmione

Sirmione was a break from cities entirely. It was an impulse decision to go there on our second day in Verona and I was glad we went. It's a little town on Lake Garda with a castle and Roman ruins. Oh, and hot springs, but the spa was closed since it's a summer town. Not just the spa was closed. Most of the town was holed up, but that made it really nice. We were almost the only ones there. 

The ruins were previously a villa. A HUGE villa, right on the cliffs, over looking the water. And guess who owned them. A POET! Oh, how the mighty have fallen. It may not seem like it by the two pictures I posted, but I actually took a lot of pictures in Sirmione, but very few of them came out as I was expecting them to. 

And the olive trees...I know no one asked, but olive trees have to be my favorite. There's something about the grayness of them and how there's never just one olive tree. I think they're really pretty. And they were everywhere about this ruin. It was almost an olive orchard with some ruins thrown in, which is saying something since the ruins were massive.

[thatgirlwhowanders]

Sirmione, Italy

[thatgirlwhowanders]

final thoughts: verona

I liked Verona well enough. It's wasn't thrilling, but it was nice to be in a smaller sized city for a day or two. I'm not romantic enough for places like Juliet's House. We didn't even look for her tomb. There wasn't a whole lot there to see. 

The coolest thing was when we were walking from the hotel into the town center and happened upon...you guessed it. Another Christmas Market! This one was small and mostly chocolate and pastries. No complaining here. We had an incredibly sweet cannoli (too sweet, if you ask me) and later on, perfect fries. The market was right next to the colosseum, which they called an arena. I've never been in one where they don't have parts of it marked off. We were able to climb over the whole thing and walk around the top, which was very high and had no guard rails. And it was pretty much complete, not ruins. Apparently they put on shows there during the summer. That would be amazing to see. 

[thatgirlwhowanders]

final thoughts: venice

I think I waited too long to do this, but I've got all day and nothing to do. And Venice was too amazing not to write about. Actually, maybe Venice was too amazing to write about. Most of my pictures turned out badly, not because of the camera or the weather or my wonderful photography skills. There's just no way to capture the alleyways, the tilting buildings, the majesty of it all. But I tried with the camera. I might as well try with words, which I'm told I'm pretty decent at.  

I love Venice. I really do. It's mysterious and challenging and historical. It doesn't feel modern at all because...it can't, when you break it down to basics. Yes, a fair amount of it feels very touristy (and we were there on the off season), but it's easy enough to wander away from Saint Marks and the Rialto. If you get off the beaten path in other cities, chances are you aren't going to stumble upon anything magnificent. At least I haven't for the most part (except for once in Bruges when we found a convent and were the only ones there, aside from the nuns). Yet every turn in Venice holds something unique. 

As long as you aren't expecting too much. I was so happy there because I went with the sole purpose of wandering. Not sightseeing, not even going into museums (although I'm glad I did). I didn't even have a map upon arrival and really only wanted one for souvenir/decorating purposes instead of actual use. I knew parts of Venice were going to be touristy. I knew the buildings were going to be stunning, but not in a Vienna kind of breathtaking. Venice was beautiful in the same way that ruins are beautiful. That's what I loved about it. The city wasn't painted up, wasn't forced. And that kept it feeling real, even against all the tourists. 

Traveling so much and having spent so much time with people teaching English, I've considered doing that or being an au pair. Neither is something I'd ever really want to do, but I love living abroad and it would be preferable to working at Starbucks again. If I were to do it once I graduate, Venice might just be the place I'd go. 

Oh, and I have to mention the masks. I think Mom and I went into every mask shop we found one day. They really are pieces of art. 

[thatgirlwhowanders]

to do list

1. Carnival in Venice (costumes, mask, and all)

2. Paragliding (tandem, obviously)

3. Live somewhere warm/tropical (for a time)

4. Northern Lights

[thatgirlwhowanders]

The thing about traveling is that sometimes you just feel so lost. 

[thatgirlwhowanders]

i stood on top of a mountain today

And then went swimming in a thermal pool.