Europe adventure. Day 20 & 21 of 34.

Written on Sofiane's red couch on day 27.

I had a relaxing morning at Tasso Hostel that day. Lazy, really. I barely made it down to breakfast in time and I had cereal and tea just like the day before. I read my book. I ate leftover pasta for lunch a couple of hours later, since cereal is not very filling. I stuck my headphones in and strolled out, heading for the train station. About halfway there I caught a bus, just by chance. Would have been a bit of a pain to drag my little bag across the city, I guess.

I got a train ticket to Arezzo around 2pm. I should probably explain why, shouldn't I. You're probably wondering where the hell Arezzo even is. It's definitely not a big tourist destination. I didn't know about it until Lucia asked me to meet her there. And who is Lucia? I'm forgetting a lot, aren't I.

Okay, time to backtrack. Has anyone here heard of GISHWHES? Maybe? I don't think I can adequately explain it if you haven't. It's the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen, that's what it is. Google it, why don't you. Or even better, do it. I signed up for it this year. I couldn't help myself. I wanted to be part of something that amazing and awesome, even though I was afraid I would have no time or means to do it while traveling by myself with a set itinerary and fairly strict budget.

Well Lucia emailed me when she found out I was one of the fifteen people on our team. Soon we were Facebook friends and we realized we were really close to each other. She lives about an hour and a half from Florence. Since I was leaving Florence two days after we talked we made some very last minute plans to meet in Arezzo, the easiest place for her to get to. See, it does make sense.

So on my way to Arezzo I continued to listen to music and read, feeling very content about everything. For the most part. I did end up crying a couple of times. Not a really sad crying, but a missing people crying. Too much time to think, perhaps. Still, I was happy.

Arezzo is very small. I was almost worried that I got off at the wrong place, but then I saw Lucia. She's amazing, too. A huge fan of Misha Collins, that's for sure. And the only one of her family and friends to even know who he is. She's met him, for god's sake. And the rest of the supernatural cast, minus Jared. I am so jealous.

We walked around the (very empty on Sunday) little town, talking. We had espresso and gelato and there were adorable medieval areas and weird art projects all around. It was a day of Doctor Who and Torchwood and Supernatural and Misha, and making a really good friend. I also learned a lot about what it was like to be a working student around my age in Italy. Very different.

A few hours later we both got on trains going opposite directions. I went to Florence and after picking up my luggage from the train station I got in another train to Venice (Mestre, to be more exact). I had booked a lovely Bed & Breakfast there and was looking forward to it.

It was dark when I arrived in Mestre and maybe I should have taken a taxi to the B&B, but I didn't. I walked. In the dark, in a new place. I was a little nervous, but the route was mostly a nice little bike trail, and I didn't run into any trouble. I walked fast, though. When I found it, I wasn't sure it was the right place. On the outside it is not what you imagine when you think Bed & Breakfast. It looks like an average apartment building on a street I could tell would be busy during the day.

Elena answered the door. The place was named after her and she lived there with her parents. She is a young Italian woman with a very outgoing personality. She very quickly made me feel comfortable in her beautiful Bed & Breakfast. I was introduced to get extremely large cat and shown my gorgeous little room. The furniture and decor is so amazing and even though the room was small I felt like royalty.

I was tired and the sheets were amazingly soft. Of course I was asleep in no time. And I stayed that way for a good amount of time. God, I love sleep.    

Breakfast the next morning was tea,toast with jam and a berry yogurt. The only thing not provided by Elena and her family was the bread. I had some trouble getting the stove to work, but even with the language barrier Elena's mother was able to help me. She was very kind.

The shower was not exactly perfect, going from hot to cold to hot to cold. But Elena lent me her shampoo, which was so nice of her. She also made sure I knew which bus to take to get to Venice and invited me to go out with her and her friends that night. I was very lucky to find such an amazing friend in Venice.

I took the bus to Venice, got a map (which cost me €2.50; my god) and went around intent in learning the layout of the tiny city. I didn't ever figure it out all that well. Too many canals and narrow winding streets. I didn't get lost, though, and I saw a good amount of the city.

I saw some interesting street musicians, ate some fruit from a street vendor, and then looked around for somewhere with wifi, thinking I would find a gluten free restaurant. Instead I stumbled a place on my wifi search that advertised gluten free pasta. Of course.

The pasta was not that great, sadly. Too chewy and al dente, sitting like a rock in my stomach. The service was also very, very slow. I wasn't angry, really, but I did finish at least a couple of chapters of my book just waiting for the check.

On the way back to bus I had some gelato, though I don't remember what flavor. I've had so much gelato at this point that it all blurs together.

I got off the bus outside of a grocery store down the street from the Bed & Breakfast. More down the street than I realized, but it wasn't that big of a deal. I bought some sliced turkey meat and mozzarella, as well as butter, cottage cheese and nutella. Good food.

When I got back to the B&B, Elena was getting ready to leave. I put my food in the fridge and put on a tiny bit of makeup. Elena's friends were great. All of them spoke English to me, and took turns translating their conversations. I tried Spritz, the drink of Venice, and a not so good Peach Bellini. We had a lot of fun just hanging out and talking, and around 9pm we went separate ways. Elena and the others all had other plans, most with boys. It was my job to walk myself back to the B&B, and though it wasn't far, I was a little worried I wouldn't remember the way. I managed to find it eventually, though, even with my impressive lack of coordination and tiredness. And I promptly feel asleep.

Which I am about to do now, thank you very much. It's my last night in Paris and I am especially sad that I never saw the Eiffel Tower at night, because I heard it's beautiful like that. I guess I have to come back.