Student Bloggers

February is difficult for a single person no matter where you are in the world. Here in Italy, heart decorations go up in shop windows, markets start selling love-themed pastries, and the cupids decorating the domed ceilings of churches seem a little more hostile than usual. Usually I avoid going out on Valentine’s Day, opting instead to hide behind my pure black wardrobe and hiss at passing couples as I await the day-after-Valentine’s candy sales. But since I’m studying in the country of love and indulgence, I decided to confront the lovesick spirit head-on—with back-to-back girls weekends in Venice and Verona. 

First to Venice, where we were greeted by the sweet smell of romance and open air sewage. We shopped (I impulse purchased a fancy cape that I am already starting to regret), we ate at a famous take-out pasta place, narrowly avoided being attacked by seagulls, and I nearly lost fingers due to frostbite. (Why did I think northern Venice would be warm in February?) On the morning of day two, we took a gondola ride around the Grand Canal with a gondolier who was not only not amused by our request for him to sing to us, but also did NOT want to be in pictures. He was wearing the striped shirt, though, so some elements of the fantasy remained intact!

Overall, Venice was an odd little city—smaller than I ever expected, more beautiful than I thought, and more chocked-full of tourists than any other European city I’ve visited. If I’m being completely honest, walking around Venice felt a little bit like walking around Epcot—it felt sort of cultural, but there were so many tourists everywhere that it was hard to have an organic experience. Don’t get me wrong—I loved Venice! It’s a must-do in any European study abroad experience. But I will say it was just a little disconcerting to realize The Venetian in Las Vegas actually isn’t too far off from the original.

Next we were off to Verona! In the center of the city, there’s a small house that locals used to call the Capulet villa—of course it couldn’t be the real house, mostly because the Capulets are a fictional family invented by William Shakespeare. But nevertheless over time the house was transformed into a bona fide tourist attraction, complete with an in-house museum and a balcony overlooking the courtyard called “Juliet’s Balcony”. The walls of the courtyard under the balcony are lined with small notes and long letters, all addressed to Juliet herself. They come from men and women around the world, asking Juliet for help and advice, and these days if you put your letter in the small red mailbox just inside Juliet’s bedroom, Juliet (or one of her secretaries) might just write you back! Like most young American girls traveling to Verona, I came to deliver my letter to Juliet. I kept it short and simple, and I’m hoping in lieu of a letter she sends back a tall quippy Benedick, or maybe a clever and mysterious hunk ala Macbeth (ideally sans dagger/murder plots).

Even if you’re not in to Shakespeare, Verona is an adorable little place to visit. It’s a fairly small, pedestrian-friendly city, with uncharacteristically wide streets for Italy. It was a nice change from cramped Venice, which had some of the tiniest alleyways I’ve ever seen! Verona was also uncharacteristically quiet for an Italian city. In bustling Rome, I’ve gotten used to people yelling and laughing and running in the streets, but in Verona it was totally normal to walk into a huge piazza and be the only person in it—it certainly made for great photos!