Boats for buses

This is a Venetian bus...

Gondole 

There's nothing more satisfying than that feeling of coming home. This weekend Anna and I realised how enchanted we've become with Rome, as it was with great reluctance that we headed over to Venice. On a 7am flight. Our unwillingness to miss out on Saturday night antics and drag ourselves out on a trip (which we' previously been excited about) is a real testament to how much I now love my life in Rome. Yet duty, or at least Warwick's Italian Department, called and so we headed out... at half three in the morning, to catch a night bus, a coach and a plane to Venice.

Disgruntled 8am faces

When we arrived, at 8am, running off merely two forty five minute naps, we were even less pleased with the state of affairs. However, a morning of aimless wandering in the labyrinth of Venice's streets and watery dead ends we soon calmed down and enjoyed the sunshine by the canals. At first we were amazed by how extremely peaceful the city was, and then we realised that it was in, in fact, Sunday morning and so everyone was taking it easy. Just like Lionel Richie.

After a couple of hours spent like this we thought it was, perhaps, about time to find out where we were staying and having received the address via text (of course we didn't think it was something important to note down before leaving the house!) we bought a map and headed off. Venice truly is a maze and every now and then the road stops dead at a tiny gate to the canals and you have to back track and start again. Therefore mission 'find the hotel' became something of a game... which eventually we won. The university had organised for us all to stay in an old convent and so we were greeted by the tiniest Italian nun who showed us to our room where we promptly passed out until dinner time.

By the time we awoke the rest of the Warwick group had arrived and so there was lots of excited chatter and catching up to be done, topped off the the incredible scream let out by my friend, Lauren, before she ran at me and gave me the biggest hug. We had a midnight curfew to respect and so we swiftly headed out to find dinner and drinks. Drinks here meaning a Spritz-Aperol, which seems to be enormously popular in Venice... and now with our entire group. For the rest of the trip all down time was marked by the query, 'Anyone fancy a Spritz?'

Spritz o'clock

Monday and Tuesday morning were spent with two of our faculty members from Warwick, feeding back on what we'd been up to, how our Module Reports had gone and planning for our return to Warwick. More about that in another blog, I think. It was great to hear what everyone's been up to, that we were not alone in our struggles whilst tackling Italian bureaucracies and  looking forward to which modules we'll be taking next year, because in English Universities, such information is freely available and registration is as easy as pie.

The weather was as beautiful as the city itself and we spent most of our free time breaking off into ever changing small groups (mixing it up so as to guarantee the chance to catch up with everyone) to wander the higgledy-piggledy madess of Venice's tiny streets, sit out in the sunshine by the water and get lots of gelato and numerous rounds of Spritz-Aperol. It was heavenly!

Sitting on the dock of the bay

Catching up over lunch

Catching the sun by the Rialto.

Unfortunately, despite our midnight curfew we all still ended up going to bed far too late every night whilst being expected to breakfast at eight. This compounded with our nocturnal travels left Anna and I equally grumpy on our journey home and we reverted to our happy habit of blissfully ignoring eachother whilst seeking solace within our Kindles. Luckily, the delirium of our over-tired state usually hit us both at about the same time and therefore every now and then the clouds of discontent would clear to make way for insane bursts of song.

All in all it was a good trip. I really enjoyed all the time I got to spend with my Warwick friends, and I think many more advenures will come as a result of this trip (lots of invitations flying about!) and I was some spellbound by the beauty, mystery and elegance of this aquatic city. Yet I cannot deny how happy I was when we finally made it home to Rome and my bed. Venice is fabulous and in the end I enjoyed the trip just as much as I'd orignally anticipated but now it's wonderful to be back in Rome and my fun life here. Because at the end of the day, Rome is where my heart is.