Italian Adventure

Ciao!

As per the usual, let's do a quick catch up since my last post!

Well, I turned 25, so that's kinda cool. This was the first birthday I think I've ever spent away from Colorado and my family, and it was a little weird waking up and being so far from home. It was an awesome day though. I had a lecture first thing in the morning, then I spent the rest of the day doing laundry and feeling super loved by all the facebook posts from friends. That evening my friends treated me to an amazing Indian dinner in east London. Even though I was away from my family I felt so loved by my amazing flatmates here. I honestly am so lucky to have been placed with the girls I have. Becca, Devin, and Imani, if you're reading this, I love you lots.

Another fun trip that happened since my last update was a day trip to Oxford, which is about an hour outside of London. Oxford is one of those cities that has so much character and you can just tell there is so much history there. I went with Becca and one of her friends from her course, and we spent the day wandering around the city admiring the architecture. We found the lampost from the Chronicles of Narnia movie, and had a pint at the pub where JRR Tolkien and C S Lewis used to meet. Like I said, there's so much history in that town, and it's absolutely beautiful. It was also just a nice day to get out of the city. I love London a lot but it definitely gets to you after a while.

Other than that, my life has been pretty busy with school and work. I've seen two concerts; Walk the Moon and The 1975, both of which were absolutely incredible concerts. WTM was at KoKo which was a super fun night of dancing and getting my ears blown out since we were second from the barrier, and The 1975 was one of the most fun concerts I've ever been to. If you know me you know I am a massive fan of The 1975 and Matty Healy. The last time I saw them was in Denver about three years ago at the Marquis which is a tiny venue in LoDo, and this time I saw them at the O2 Academy Brixton, which is a super famous venue here. It was really cool to see how far they've come in that time and made me really proud to be able to say I've seen them grow into this amazing band. 

Now... time for Italy!!

  

I decided to go to Venice while talking to my sister and browsing flights. It was a spur the moment thing, and I am so glad I went! It was my first trip traveling by myself (to a new country no less!) but I had the best time. The only complaint I have about Italy is the lack of vegan food (although I did end up finding some amazing vegan chocolate ice cream and Indian food there).

I booked an Airbnb on Lido Island, which meant I had to take a water taxi to and from Venice, which was a lot of fun the first few times, but ended up getting pretty old. Venice was truly an amazing city and I had so much fun wandering around and getting lost in the maze of narrow, colourful streets. The first two days I was there I spent being a tourist, the last day, however, I spent mostly on Lido, which is where Italians go to get away from the city in the summer, since is has a really beautiful beach. The sun was out my whole trip and it was actually pretty warm for late March. I spent a few hours just strolling along the beach, watching the ocean, and I was completely happy with life. I also had a wonderful experience with my Airbnb. I stayed with a lovely Italian couple who didn't speak much english, but enough for us to communicate. They were very hands-off, but that was kind of nice to have, since I was in and out of the flat so much. My favourite part was walking in the door one time and hearing from another room "is that Lindsey?? Ciao Lindsey!!" Other than that, I didn't really interact much with the Italians, since I myself know as much Italian as is spoken in The Lizzie McGuire movie.

Overall, my trip to Venice was a success. It was a little lonely at times being by myself, but it was easy enough to call home and keep in touch with my friends in London. The takeaway lessons I learned from this trip were: always carry cash on you (that's a story for another day but it involves Lindsey frantically running though the streets of Venice looking for a cash point in order to pay for the food she just ate because she forgot she spent the last of her euros on mini Murano glass figurines), learn some Italian, and bring comfortable shoes (because converse didn't cut it which led to me buying a new pair of Nikes at the store in Venice. Good times). I HIGHLY suggest Venice because it is a beautiful, one of a kind city, but be aware it is overwhelmed with tourists (even in March) and don't expect to eat much if you're vegan (literally everything had cheese and meat. Everything. I almost started crying when I found a bag of baby carrots for sale.). I also strongly suggest traveling on your own. It really gives you a chance to see what you like, what you want, and what you're made of. And of course, if you go to Venice take some time to visit Lido. It's quiet, clean, and absolutely stunning in the sunshine.

That's all for this post! Next post will be about Windsor Castle and my surprise trip back home!

Cheers!