Lizzie shares what Spring Break in Florence is like!

Hello!

I’m back from spring break in Florence and I can’t believe my semester is half-way over! Eek. I wanted to keep everyone updated on what I did, because I have a lot of fun stories.

So I started my week in Venice with two of my friends Catherine and Taylor. We stayed in a cute hotel and shared one big room. After taking a train, vapporetto (water taxi), and cab we were exhausted. But we woke up the next morning to find ourselves in the midst of Carnevale, an annual celebration where everyone dresses up. We wore fun and colorful masks for three days straight and saw many intricate costumes that made people look like they were from the 17th century! We took an overpriced gondola ride throughout the city and hit all the major tourist traps for museums and churches. The most exciting thing were the outdoor parties. Literally, a dj station would be set up in the middle of the street and people would just start dancing outside. It felt very extravagant and crazy, but I felt so lucky to have been a part of it.

Then, we went to Madrid and stayed there for the rest of the week. We stayed with a friend who lives there and got to see the city through his eyes. We went to the major museum – El Prado – as well as a really fun zoo/aquarium! My favorite part was the Flamenco performance where we stayed for 4 hours watching, listening, and feeling the music and dance. I missed speaking Spanish, so it was nice to get the rust off and be able to communicate in another country. As much as I loved Spain, Italy is much more relaxed and laid back; it’s such an old, antique-like place and it feels good to be home. ☺