Weekend update!

So on friday we had our last field trip. We visited a sanctuary of Fortuna which was on a hill, meaning it started at the bottom and then you made your way up, up up, until at the top there was a well where a priestess would draw lots to answers your questions, much like a fortune teller. At the top today you can see the well still and the ramps they made into the hillside are still climbable and at the top sits a museum with the most amazing mosaic of the Nile! Its huge and today is on a wall but used to be a floor at the bottom part of sanctuary. It is made of such tiny details and depicts Egyptians and wild animals and all sorts of Nile associated scenes.

the second half of the trip consisted of a visit to Hadrian's Villa, He was an emperor after Trajan who actually spent most of his reign traveling. The villa was, I believe, well over a hundred acres, only 80 of which are visitable today. There isn't much left, or what is left isnt in good shape but just by seeing how expansive the ruins are and the signs of grandeur, like heated baths and heated floors, this place was a home that much have cost the equivalent of BILLIONS. It had pools and artificial lakes (one which was meant to evoke the Nile) and different areas for receiving guests and living and housing guests and grand entertaining. It was mind boggling. Though walking around n the hot sun nearly killed me because the grounds were so expansive! And underneath the whole villa was a set of complex tunnels that slaves would navigate, fueling furnaces and moving supplies all out of sight. There were tiny windows but overall it was dark and unsantiary in the tunnels and sounded miserable, since the slaves had to run the whole villa all out of sight.

So it was a neat trip. That night we left on an overnight train to Venice. I dont know why we were so naive thinking we would get ANY sleep. We didnt have those sleeper cars with beds, though there were plenty of them, they were first class and cost way too much! Though now I see why people pay. We had gotten reserved seats but the woman who put them in the system and on our tickets split us all up even though we bought the tickets all together with her at the same time! She had major attitude with us and I cant see how she would have accidently placed us in completely different cars/ compartments. Also, that was something cool, there were compartments, little rooms with 6 seats in each, three facing each other on each side. Again, it reminded me of harry potter and I was very excited about that!

We got to Venice at 5:30 AM and made our way to the famous St Marks square before anyone was up. We watched the sun rise over the canals and got to navigate the streets while the fisherman were just going out and fruit vendors were setting up their wares. It was amazing to be in the city before anyone was around because by 10 AM it was PACKED. Thing like disneyworld/china/bejing/tokyo/any other way crowded place. It was insane, all the streets were packed packed packed!!! And the shops were all amazing, selling the famous venetian masks and glass (both were expensive- I still bought a mask though, I just HAD to) And of course it was so picturesque with the canals and little "river streets;" while there are still some normal streets they are often connected by bridges going over the water that runs throughout the city. There are NO CARS, people do get around by boat and many people had small boats, aside from the famous gondolas, which are about 100 euro for a 35 minute ride! Needless to say we skipped that! It was still wonderful and beautiful and though it was a very long day as we didn't leave until 11:30 it was fun because all the shop were open late, and the food places and the people were out and everything was lit up, so it was great to see it at night.

Though spending ALL day together did have of disagreeing at times or not getting to do exactly what one person or other wanted, overall it went well. Though you have to pay for public restrooms there, 1.50 euro which is like paying two dollars to use a public restroom!! That was somewhat frustrating! As for the sites, I didnt really have any preference, I was just happy to be there. We went into St. Marks basilica, into another one of the big churches, and to the Guggenhiem musem, which was very strange for me as I have absolutely no background in modern art, or art at all, but it was interesting despite the lack of context to put what I saw in. We ate at a small restaurant and I was frustrated because i read that unless you are at a pizzeria it is bad etiquette not to order a few courses, as that is how food is served, basically a pasta dish and a meat dish. I told my group this but they didn't want to spend the money and didn't care at all about not following customs, and ended up being extremely disappointed by the small portions which they paid a good bit of money for. I wanted so badly to say i told you so! And of course I couldn't get several courses since they only got one and in turn was very upset about not doing it the "right" way moreso because everyone left in a bad mood when they should have just listened to me (and not have been cheap IF they wanted to going to a decent dining establishment!). Overall though, I'm glad we went even though the train home was so packed and staying together was very hard- which we did on both rides despite our tickets, once having to change seats. It was very frustrating because of course everyone wants to stay together and four was on the larger side of a group. Luckily, we found a compartment with two men and got in there after some misunderstanding, and it was fine. Minus the not sleeping part. Though next time I would pay more and be more clear about seating assignments and avoid all the stress and get a bed!!

It was a busy weekend, and this morning despite getting back at 7 Am, I was out and about on my own, doing some walking assignments. I just needed some time alone to do what i wanted how i wanted, when i wanted. It was WONDERFUL and I got a ton don, not having to worry about anyone else. I love my friends but we have been like glue for two weeks and Im a bit on the independent side. So having four hours to myself was GOLDEN.

So thats that!