So I'm sitting in the DBS library, unable to concentrate on my Media and Ireland paper, and slowly turning my head to observe my surroundings. So now I'm going to blog about it. This will be called...
You know you're in the DBS library when...
First of all: Massive DVD collection. They range from obscure european films (Berman's Persona-check it out, it's crazy!) to recent blockbusters such like Saving Private Ryan and Kill Bill.
Second: People live in here. More than people do at Winthrop, I'd estimate. Students come to the library, camp out and often take naps during study breaks. Now, I can't say I haven't done things like this before, but I've never seen it quite like this. Perhaps because the library is smack dab in the middle of the city, conveniently placed far, far away from anyone's home, so students have resorted to bringing all study materials and homework and camping out here for hours. No shame, I'm doing the same thing, haha.
Third: It's always snacktime. Look to your left, and someone is chomping on a pear (there's a blonde kid that eats one EVERYDAY at 1:00 pm). Look to your right and someone has brought a grocery bag full of goodies to munch on while studying for Business Communications. The grocery bag is my favorite, since many asian students often visit asian grocery stores before class and are typically eating foreign snacks I've never seen/heard of before. I'd be curious to try them, though...
Fourth: The new staff members are both about 12 years old. I'm not even kidding, I think their max age is maybe about 14. They are your typical Dublin teens, with very straight hair, fitted clothes, lots of eyeliner and fancy cell phones (they can be seen secretly checking their cell phones while the head librarian is looking away). Their sole duty is to check out the computers to students (you have to book a computer here), and they smile alot and giggle when boys come to the desk. I'm pretty sure they are in middle school. Either way, it's fun to see someone so young working in a college library, and it certainly does bring me back to the days of lipgloss and Seventeen magazines.
Fifth: The aforementioned computer system. If you don't feel like lugging your laptop to the library (I typically don't) you have the option to book one of the library's PCs for up to an hour.
Here's how it works: You walk to the desk, give them your student ID number, and they'll tell you which (if any) of the PC's are free. You then walk to your designated PC and have the awkward pleasure of telling the person using your booked computer that you've booked it for the next hour.
This is typical since many students choose not to book at PC and decide to try their luck at any open computer. (Perhaps they enjoy the thrill of committing a library infraction? Who knows). However, chances are they'll be asked to move in about 10-15minutes. They will then move to another open computer and hope no one books it until they are finished checking their Facebook/Bebo account.
Sixth: A very cool, very up-to-date checkout system. It's completely librarian-free and independent. You just walk up to the checkout station, place your ID card under the scanner, then just plop your book and Saving Private Ryan DVD on the automatic scale. It will then tell you which books you're checking out and print you out a receipt. It's creepy how it the computer just knows, but it does. Straaaaange.
Okay friends, that is all for this installment. Hope you enjoyed my observations from cubicle 6 here in the library and I'll keep you updated on other odd/wonderful/exciting things to happen.
Cheers!
Note: This blog was inspired by Lauren Lathers' popular series "You Know You Go to DBS When..."
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Today.
So today I woke up and had the feeling that the world was going to go wrong. All day. And for a while, it really seemed to. Those specific details aren't important so we'll just leave it at that.
However, on my walk home from the DBS library I was reflecting on all the good things that happened to me today and I've come up with a list of my top 5:
1. Woke up early (8:00 am, early for me!) and went on a good run. It was raining a little (you get what you pay for here in Ireland) but it was more like a refreshing mist than a torrential downpour.
2. Irish economics was very interesting today (always is). We talked about immigration/emmigration, as well as the "profile" of a typical immigrant in Ireland. All very interesting and very relevant, especially since I see a number of immigrants everywhere in Dublin. Love that class :)
3. Raisins were on sale at Dunnes grocery store. I stocked up.
4. Got quite a bit done in the library so I felt pretty good about myself during my walk home. I was quite exhausted, but in the good, "I've accomplished something" sort of way.
5. Weather was GORGEOUS during the afternoon/evening.
okay, two more and then I'm done, haha...
6. Went on another run, this time with my friend Shannon and the weather was just too perfect. I then made myself a glorious salad, and Meg came home from Poland with an armful of pastries so we had a pastry party!
7. Booked our flight to Scotland. I seriously cannot WAIT. This may have been the top moment of my week!
So, those are my the best of the best on this memorable March 29. So even when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, just remember there is always something (maybe as many as seven things) to make you smile :)
Cheers!
However, on my walk home from the DBS library I was reflecting on all the good things that happened to me today and I've come up with a list of my top 5:
1. Woke up early (8:00 am, early for me!) and went on a good run. It was raining a little (you get what you pay for here in Ireland) but it was more like a refreshing mist than a torrential downpour.
2. Irish economics was very interesting today (always is). We talked about immigration/emmigration, as well as the "profile" of a typical immigrant in Ireland. All very interesting and very relevant, especially since I see a number of immigrants everywhere in Dublin. Love that class :)
3. Raisins were on sale at Dunnes grocery store. I stocked up.
4. Got quite a bit done in the library so I felt pretty good about myself during my walk home. I was quite exhausted, but in the good, "I've accomplished something" sort of way.
5. Weather was GORGEOUS during the afternoon/evening.
okay, two more and then I'm done, haha...
6. Went on another run, this time with my friend Shannon and the weather was just too perfect. I then made myself a glorious salad, and Meg came home from Poland with an armful of pastries so we had a pastry party!
7. Booked our flight to Scotland. I seriously cannot WAIT. This may have been the top moment of my week!
So, those are my the best of the best on this memorable March 29. So even when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, just remember there is always something (maybe as many as seven things) to make you smile :)
Cheers!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
London!
So, I realized I never got the chance to blog about my trip to London (took place Feb. 12-14 I'm ashamed to say). But, better late than never:
Okay so Lauren, Lara, Jacque and I left at 4:00 am to catch the Airlink bus (takes you right to the airport) and on our walk to O'Connell Street, about 7 taxi drivers creepily slowed down and asked if we wanted a ride to the airport for 4 euro. Discount prices from sketchy cab drivers at 4:00 am? Briefly considered it, but re-thought my decision.
So we barely catch the Airlink bus and hurry to the airport where we sit and wait to board the Ryanair flight (my first one!)
Now, Ryanair does not have the reputation for being the classiest airline. We were half expecting to elbow our way to the front of the line and board an "Orville and Wilbur" type aircraft with half a wing and sputtering engine. However, the flight was quite nice (minus the slight turbulence) and they play a little trumpet over the loudspeaker when the flight lands successfully. The flight attendants wear the loudest outfits I've ever seen; cerulean blue trench coats over cerulean blue outfits from head to toe. One woman even had bright blue eyeshadow. Nice :)
Anyway, we arrived safely in London and took the Tube to meet Abbey Vorpagel (goes to school with Lara, Lauren, and Jacque back in Wisconsin). She met us at a Starbucks and from then on it was non-stop touring!
Abbey took us to her "flat" (as Lara loves to say) in Kensington, a very posh part of London.
We purchased 2 euro sandwiches (a steal, especially compared to Dublin prices!) and then were on our way.
Our first stop: the London Eye! We took the tube and as soon as we got off, looked to the right and saw BIG BEN! We all screamed and ran toward it like crazy Americans. 'Twas a beautiful moment :)
We then took a few photos and boarded the London Eye. The view was amazing! You could literally see for miles and miles, and we were higher than Big Ben so we could peer down at all the buildings (and common folk, haha).
Then, Abbey took us to see Big Ben up close, as well as a few other sights. We saw Parliament, Westminster Abbey (beautiful!), took some pictures in a red telephone booth (see f/b), and made our way to Trafalgar Square.
Trafalgar square was lovely and you run smack dab into it. It's great.
Then, we went to Picadilly and took a few jumping photos (a MUST whenever we go somewhere cool) then made our way to a fantastic burrito place famous for their margaritas! Yes people, I had my first margarita and it was delicious!
We then went to our hotel and changed for our first night out!
I ended up bringing a mis-matching outfit, so Lauren let me borrow her black top. I must say, Lauren is a very good friend. In the 2.3 months I have known her, never has she gone back on her word, said anything mean, or done anything a good friend wouldn't do. She is also very loyal and she once traded shoes with Allison when Allison's feet hurt from her high heels. That's what you call a great friend :)
So that night we went to a place called the Green Man. Had cool music, a jukebox (a tad confusing for this place, haha) and a moderately-sized dance floor. Naturally, that was all I needed to have a good time.
So, we set our coats down and danced the night away in our alloted 2 ft X 2 ft dance area. Took lots of pictures, as well!
Next morning we woke up and went to Buckingham! So beautiful, especially with the lighting of mid-morning.
After, we went on a tour of the London Tower. Learned about the scandal of the two princes that died there (very interesting!) and saw the crown jewels. This great, since I've wanted to see them since I was a kid. There were so many of them and they were gorgeous (of course). They also had very ornate silverware and salt and pepper holders.
After, we went to lunch at a place Abbey recommended. SO DELICIOUS. Called the slug and _____? I honestly can't remember but I do remember my chicken wrap, and that's all that really matters. hahaha...
Then, we made our way to the Tate Modern Museum where we spent hours looking at very interesting, sometimes obscure, modern art.
I really enjoyed reading the explanations of the paintings, then imagining exactly what the artist was thinking when they created the work. There was a room full of statements about the Vietnam war, as well as a video showing people engaging in acts with rubber chicken and fish? A little confusing, but you learn as you go! hahaha...
Also, saw my first Claude Monet and Picasso paintings, in real life! I couldn't stop smiling.
There was also a very cool advertising exhibit upstairs, mostly making comments on the consumerism machine, in a very cool way. One involved vaccuums in a display case. There was also an Andy Warhol room, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Never thought I'd see so many great works up close.
Okay, so this is where it gets really cool.
In the Tate Modern, I was hoping to find a piece of work or two by my favorite street artist, Banksy. He's from Liverpool and the street grafitti he crafts is amazing. But, the Tate did not have his works on display, only a Banksy book in the gift shop (which I should have purchased, haha).
So, after thumbing through the book a little, Lara and I started to see places around London where Banksy's work once stood (most of it gets painted over by the city, understandably so).
In a pure moment of genious, we decided to go on a Banksy hunt (at approximately 8:00 pm, mind you) around London to try and find some of his work. We knew it'd be tricky, but we knew it'd be worth it.
We began our adventure with some asian noodles (delicious!) and then asked one of the girls in the London Eye office if she had heard of Oxford Circus (mentioned in the book). She gave us confusing directions, but when we told her we were looking for Banksy art, she knew right where to go! She was an art major, what are the chances?
So we set out, asian noodles in hand, ready to find some Banksy!
We took the Tube to our location (Oxford St. I believe. Sorry, it's been a while, haha) and made our way to what we thought was the correct street.
We were on the hunt for the Postal Delivery Office, but no one seemed to know where it was.
We asked two very friendly bouncers, a string of Starbucks employees (we foolishly thought everyone working there would be from London and very knowledgeable. HA!) and a woman working at the Tube station.
We traipsed around the city for almost four hours, trying to find this particular Banksy art! It was like a treasure hunt!
Finally, after resorting to asking the Garda (the unarmed police), they directed us in the proper direction. Just down some windy streets and behind some trash cans.
After a very confusing 15 minutes, we found our location!
The Banksy art was not there, unfortunately, because it had been painted over by the Postal Delivery Office. However, we could tell the paint was fresh and the trash cans were there, just like the girl from the London Eye told us they'd be!
It was incredible! We were standing where Bansky once stood, under the cover of night, creating a wonderful piece of artwork with stencils and spraypaint.
The guy is amazing, and I hope to do my visual culture presentation on him. I'm a big fan.
Here is a photo of what once stood where we were:
Clever, right?
The next morning we left for Dublin and arrived about 4:00 pm. That night we had a Valentine's Day Wine and Cheese party with all the girls (Allison's mom came, too!) and went to bed at a reasonable hour. We were exhausted!
So that, my friends, was my trip to London and Valentine's Day weekend. Had a blast, and couldn't have spent it with better people! So lucky!
Cheers!
ps: Here's a link to more of Bansky's woork if you're interested:
http://www.banksy.co.uk/outdoors/horizontal_1.htm
Okay so Lauren, Lara, Jacque and I left at 4:00 am to catch the Airlink bus (takes you right to the airport) and on our walk to O'Connell Street, about 7 taxi drivers creepily slowed down and asked if we wanted a ride to the airport for 4 euro. Discount prices from sketchy cab drivers at 4:00 am? Briefly considered it, but re-thought my decision.
So we barely catch the Airlink bus and hurry to the airport where we sit and wait to board the Ryanair flight (my first one!)
Now, Ryanair does not have the reputation for being the classiest airline. We were half expecting to elbow our way to the front of the line and board an "Orville and Wilbur" type aircraft with half a wing and sputtering engine. However, the flight was quite nice (minus the slight turbulence) and they play a little trumpet over the loudspeaker when the flight lands successfully. The flight attendants wear the loudest outfits I've ever seen; cerulean blue trench coats over cerulean blue outfits from head to toe. One woman even had bright blue eyeshadow. Nice :)
Anyway, we arrived safely in London and took the Tube to meet Abbey Vorpagel (goes to school with Lara, Lauren, and Jacque back in Wisconsin). She met us at a Starbucks and from then on it was non-stop touring!
Abbey took us to her "flat" (as Lara loves to say) in Kensington, a very posh part of London.
We purchased 2 euro sandwiches (a steal, especially compared to Dublin prices!) and then were on our way.
Our first stop: the London Eye! We took the tube and as soon as we got off, looked to the right and saw BIG BEN! We all screamed and ran toward it like crazy Americans. 'Twas a beautiful moment :)
We then took a few photos and boarded the London Eye. The view was amazing! You could literally see for miles and miles, and we were higher than Big Ben so we could peer down at all the buildings (and common folk, haha).
Then, Abbey took us to see Big Ben up close, as well as a few other sights. We saw Parliament, Westminster Abbey (beautiful!), took some pictures in a red telephone booth (see f/b), and made our way to Trafalgar Square.
Trafalgar square was lovely and you run smack dab into it. It's great.
Then, we went to Picadilly and took a few jumping photos (a MUST whenever we go somewhere cool) then made our way to a fantastic burrito place famous for their margaritas! Yes people, I had my first margarita and it was delicious!
We then went to our hotel and changed for our first night out!
I ended up bringing a mis-matching outfit, so Lauren let me borrow her black top. I must say, Lauren is a very good friend. In the 2.3 months I have known her, never has she gone back on her word, said anything mean, or done anything a good friend wouldn't do. She is also very loyal and she once traded shoes with Allison when Allison's feet hurt from her high heels. That's what you call a great friend :)
So that night we went to a place called the Green Man. Had cool music, a jukebox (a tad confusing for this place, haha) and a moderately-sized dance floor. Naturally, that was all I needed to have a good time.
So, we set our coats down and danced the night away in our alloted 2 ft X 2 ft dance area. Took lots of pictures, as well!
Next morning we woke up and went to Buckingham! So beautiful, especially with the lighting of mid-morning.
After, we went on a tour of the London Tower. Learned about the scandal of the two princes that died there (very interesting!) and saw the crown jewels. This great, since I've wanted to see them since I was a kid. There were so many of them and they were gorgeous (of course). They also had very ornate silverware and salt and pepper holders.
After, we went to lunch at a place Abbey recommended. SO DELICIOUS. Called the slug and _____? I honestly can't remember but I do remember my chicken wrap, and that's all that really matters. hahaha...
Then, we made our way to the Tate Modern Museum where we spent hours looking at very interesting, sometimes obscure, modern art.
I really enjoyed reading the explanations of the paintings, then imagining exactly what the artist was thinking when they created the work. There was a room full of statements about the Vietnam war, as well as a video showing people engaging in acts with rubber chicken and fish? A little confusing, but you learn as you go! hahaha...
Also, saw my first Claude Monet and Picasso paintings, in real life! I couldn't stop smiling.
There was also a very cool advertising exhibit upstairs, mostly making comments on the consumerism machine, in a very cool way. One involved vaccuums in a display case. There was also an Andy Warhol room, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Never thought I'd see so many great works up close.
Okay, so this is where it gets really cool.
In the Tate Modern, I was hoping to find a piece of work or two by my favorite street artist, Banksy. He's from Liverpool and the street grafitti he crafts is amazing. But, the Tate did not have his works on display, only a Banksy book in the gift shop (which I should have purchased, haha).
So, after thumbing through the book a little, Lara and I started to see places around London where Banksy's work once stood (most of it gets painted over by the city, understandably so).
In a pure moment of genious, we decided to go on a Banksy hunt (at approximately 8:00 pm, mind you) around London to try and find some of his work. We knew it'd be tricky, but we knew it'd be worth it.
We began our adventure with some asian noodles (delicious!) and then asked one of the girls in the London Eye office if she had heard of Oxford Circus (mentioned in the book). She gave us confusing directions, but when we told her we were looking for Banksy art, she knew right where to go! She was an art major, what are the chances?
So we set out, asian noodles in hand, ready to find some Banksy!
We took the Tube to our location (Oxford St. I believe. Sorry, it's been a while, haha) and made our way to what we thought was the correct street.
We were on the hunt for the Postal Delivery Office, but no one seemed to know where it was.
We asked two very friendly bouncers, a string of Starbucks employees (we foolishly thought everyone working there would be from London and very knowledgeable. HA!) and a woman working at the Tube station.
We traipsed around the city for almost four hours, trying to find this particular Banksy art! It was like a treasure hunt!
Finally, after resorting to asking the Garda (the unarmed police), they directed us in the proper direction. Just down some windy streets and behind some trash cans.
After a very confusing 15 minutes, we found our location!
The Banksy art was not there, unfortunately, because it had been painted over by the Postal Delivery Office. However, we could tell the paint was fresh and the trash cans were there, just like the girl from the London Eye told us they'd be!
It was incredible! We were standing where Bansky once stood, under the cover of night, creating a wonderful piece of artwork with stencils and spraypaint.
The guy is amazing, and I hope to do my visual culture presentation on him. I'm a big fan.
Here is a photo of what once stood where we were:
Clever, right?
The next morning we left for Dublin and arrived about 4:00 pm. That night we had a Valentine's Day Wine and Cheese party with all the girls (Allison's mom came, too!) and went to bed at a reasonable hour. We were exhausted!
So that, my friends, was my trip to London and Valentine's Day weekend. Had a blast, and couldn't have spent it with better people! So lucky!
Cheers!
ps: Here's a link to more of Bansky's woork if you're interested:
http://www.banksy.co.uk/outdoors/horizontal_1.htm
Monday, March 8, 2010
An Italian Adventure...Venice!
So, last week was EBS (European Business School) reading week and 3/5 of my classes were canceled. I took this time off to travel to Italy to visit baby Elise! :)
Elise lives in Florence, but my plane landed in Venice. So our ONLY option was to spend the night in a hostel in Venice and spend the entire night/next day traipsing around the wonderful city of Venice! YAY! :)
The first night we both arrived in Venice we were so excited! I met her at the Mestre train station and we walked to find our hostel. It was about 9:30 pm at this point and we were both dead tired from our long day. However, we decided to take the last train into Venice (San Lucia station) to see the Canal at night. What a wonderful idea!
After a few mishaps at the train station and an extensive conversation with the Greek desk attendant at the hostel (he tried to keep our passports and proceeded to draw us a detailed map of where to go in Venice the next day as well as invite us to breakfast at his house?? whaaat?), we were finally on a train to Venice!
Did I mention my credit card got stuck in the train ticket machine? Yes friends, this was only the beginning...
20 short minutes later, Elise and I arrived at the San Lucia station. We didn't realize that once you get off the train and walk into the station you are literally staring right at the Grand Canal! It took us by surprise, it was incredible!
We both literally let out a yelp and scampered like mad women out of the station to the edge of the canal. Such a beautiful sight! Especially at night! I will remember that moment forever!
We then decided to walk around on the bridges and through a few little side streets, since we didn't have much time before the buses stopped running back in to Mestre.
Luckily, we purchased our return bus ticket right when we arrived in Venice.
There was a little catch, however.
Upon purchasing our ticket, we were informed that there was a public transportation strike on all buses back to...guess where?
That's right-Mestre! hahaha...The woman who sold us our tickets said the bus would be there in about 45 minutes so we decided to take our chances and wait.
We walked around a little more, waited around with the locals and ate a couple of sandwiches.
We were a little confused because the locals seemed to have no idea when, or if, the bus to Mestre was coming. They all just stood there, waiting at the bus stop, drinking beer and eating potato chips like it was no big deal. Hahaha...one of the many reasons I love/miss Italy!
Finally, around 11:30 Elise and I began asking questions.
We hopped on every bus that stopped at that bus stop and politely asked the driver if he or she was going to Mestre.
Good thing we did because after about the fourth bus we finally found a driver going in our direction!
We hopped on the bus, not quite sure if the driver understood us correctly, and crowded in with the other approx 800 people needing a ride to Mestre as well.
After riding for a solid 10-15 minutes Elise and I felt confident we knew where we were so we excitedly hurried off the bus once we started to recognize our surroundings.
Turns out the bus windows were foggier than I thought, and we ended up in an unfamiliar part of Mestre, with about ten people up and walking along the street and a total of two apartment lights turned on.
Apparently, Mestre shuts down at 10:00 pm.
(Now, I know this blog is long, but keep reading because it's getting GOOD! :)
At this point, poor Elise was worried that any awkward move or hand signal I made would be mistaken for a gang sign, so we were frantically searching for the first place with a public restroom and nice lobby so we could call a cab.
Then, like the north star lighting up the Mestre sky, we spotted the glowing blue neon lights of a CLASSY Bingo establishment across the street.
We scampered in, like two misplaced Americans, trying not to cause a scene and looking quite confused.
On our way downstairs, we noticed the FINE blue glitter carpets and the tasteful fake marble statues placed carefully along the landing. Luckily, the sound of the slot machines was enough to cover our laughter.
We reached the restrooms, and the bar, which was in a neon-lit room with a floor that looked like it was about to light up at any second. It was ghetto-fabulous, in a word. :)
The local drug dealers and "ladies of the night" were there, ordering their regular drinks at the bar and waiting around for something exciting to happen. I have a feeling we were the highlight of their evening.
We asked the bartender for the number to call a cab, which we did immediately once we got upstairs.
Too bad the entire cab operating system was in Italian.
Luckily, we randomly made friends with the Bingo bouncer, who was from Africa but spoke about 5 different languages, one of them was (ta-da!) Italian!
Did I mention he was an English translator, and spoke all 5 of those languages fluently? Yes, my friends, I speak the truth...not even sure how to respond to that one...
Finally, we got a cab and made our way back to the hostel. Elise skyped her sister and we fell asleep almost immediately.
Was a wonderful start to an exciting adventure! Stay tuned for more postings...they'll be up soon!!
Cheers! :)
Elise lives in Florence, but my plane landed in Venice. So our ONLY option was to spend the night in a hostel in Venice and spend the entire night/next day traipsing around the wonderful city of Venice! YAY! :)
The first night we both arrived in Venice we were so excited! I met her at the Mestre train station and we walked to find our hostel. It was about 9:30 pm at this point and we were both dead tired from our long day. However, we decided to take the last train into Venice (San Lucia station) to see the Canal at night. What a wonderful idea!
After a few mishaps at the train station and an extensive conversation with the Greek desk attendant at the hostel (he tried to keep our passports and proceeded to draw us a detailed map of where to go in Venice the next day as well as invite us to breakfast at his house?? whaaat?), we were finally on a train to Venice!
Did I mention my credit card got stuck in the train ticket machine? Yes friends, this was only the beginning...
20 short minutes later, Elise and I arrived at the San Lucia station. We didn't realize that once you get off the train and walk into the station you are literally staring right at the Grand Canal! It took us by surprise, it was incredible!
We both literally let out a yelp and scampered like mad women out of the station to the edge of the canal. Such a beautiful sight! Especially at night! I will remember that moment forever!
We then decided to walk around on the bridges and through a few little side streets, since we didn't have much time before the buses stopped running back in to Mestre.
Luckily, we purchased our return bus ticket right when we arrived in Venice.
There was a little catch, however.
Upon purchasing our ticket, we were informed that there was a public transportation strike on all buses back to...guess where?
That's right-Mestre! hahaha...The woman who sold us our tickets said the bus would be there in about 45 minutes so we decided to take our chances and wait.
We walked around a little more, waited around with the locals and ate a couple of sandwiches.
We were a little confused because the locals seemed to have no idea when, or if, the bus to Mestre was coming. They all just stood there, waiting at the bus stop, drinking beer and eating potato chips like it was no big deal. Hahaha...one of the many reasons I love/miss Italy!
Finally, around 11:30 Elise and I began asking questions.
We hopped on every bus that stopped at that bus stop and politely asked the driver if he or she was going to Mestre.
Good thing we did because after about the fourth bus we finally found a driver going in our direction!
We hopped on the bus, not quite sure if the driver understood us correctly, and crowded in with the other approx 800 people needing a ride to Mestre as well.
After riding for a solid 10-15 minutes Elise and I felt confident we knew where we were so we excitedly hurried off the bus once we started to recognize our surroundings.
Turns out the bus windows were foggier than I thought, and we ended up in an unfamiliar part of Mestre, with about ten people up and walking along the street and a total of two apartment lights turned on.
Apparently, Mestre shuts down at 10:00 pm.
(Now, I know this blog is long, but keep reading because it's getting GOOD! :)
At this point, poor Elise was worried that any awkward move or hand signal I made would be mistaken for a gang sign, so we were frantically searching for the first place with a public restroom and nice lobby so we could call a cab.
Then, like the north star lighting up the Mestre sky, we spotted the glowing blue neon lights of a CLASSY Bingo establishment across the street.
We scampered in, like two misplaced Americans, trying not to cause a scene and looking quite confused.
On our way downstairs, we noticed the FINE blue glitter carpets and the tasteful fake marble statues placed carefully along the landing. Luckily, the sound of the slot machines was enough to cover our laughter.
We reached the restrooms, and the bar, which was in a neon-lit room with a floor that looked like it was about to light up at any second. It was ghetto-fabulous, in a word. :)
The local drug dealers and "ladies of the night" were there, ordering their regular drinks at the bar and waiting around for something exciting to happen. I have a feeling we were the highlight of their evening.
We asked the bartender for the number to call a cab, which we did immediately once we got upstairs.
Too bad the entire cab operating system was in Italian.
Luckily, we randomly made friends with the Bingo bouncer, who was from Africa but spoke about 5 different languages, one of them was (ta-da!) Italian!
Did I mention he was an English translator, and spoke all 5 of those languages fluently? Yes, my friends, I speak the truth...not even sure how to respond to that one...
Finally, we got a cab and made our way back to the hostel. Elise skyped her sister and we fell asleep almost immediately.
Was a wonderful start to an exciting adventure! Stay tuned for more postings...they'll be up soon!!
Cheers! :)
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