This morning concluded a wonderful visit from one of my very best friends, and it also marks 8 days until I return to the United States! The timing of Maggie’s visit was perfect, because I think
it will help the reverse-culture shock of being around all of my loved ones all
the time. A week was perfect to get me
back into the habit of being around people… American people.
The first full day she was here, we took a day trip to the
town of Monselice. It is not a huge
place, but so worth the visit. Everything
was beautiful and peaceful - it was basically a cliché, small, Italian
city. We spent most of our time there
just exploring and having a delicious lunch.
We spent the weekend in the beach town of Rimini,
Italy. I would describe Rimini as how
Savannah, Georgia would be if it were actually ON Tybee Island. It was the perfect combination of both
Georgia locations. The main promenade
has so many shops and restaurants, we made sure to try a few different
places. I introduced Maggie to the
concept of aperitivo, the pre-dinner drink and some appetizers. One café by our hostel had the best aperitivo
I’ve seen in Italy. We also got the
chance to go to the giant outdoor market in the city center, ride bikes by the
beach, and just relax. Everything in
Rimini is so colorful! The same goes for
a lot of Italy, but with the beachy setting the colors just popped. It wasn’t quite high season yet, so there
were fewer people around, but we had full all the same!
For Maggie’s last two nights in Italy, we stayed in Venice…
Well, the hotel was in Mestre, but same thing.
Obviously, she had to see the two majors: the Rialto Bridge and Piazza
San Marco (plus basilica). I also took
her to my favorite spot in Venice- the Acqua Alta bookstore! We made sure to do our own exploring too, so
I was able to see parts previously unknown to me as well. Her parents were AWESOME and treated us to a
really nice dinner on our last night, so we were able to eat by the Rialto
Bridge! That is definitely something I
would never have been able to do otherwise, so if they are reading this – THANK
YOU SO MUCH! It also happened to be one
of the best meals I’ve ever had.
Obviously, this is not an extensive description of our
adventures, but I have started to notice that the more fun I have doing things
and seeing places, the harder I have to work to capture the moment in
words. Writers everywhere have my
eternal respect.
Maggie really took to the Italian way of life, and I was so
happy to be able to show my favorite country off to one of my closest
friends. I think her visit solidified
our friendship for the rest of time, so she’s stuck with me.
Why the quick turnaround from visit to blog post, you may ask? To avoid packing for my upcoming return, of course.
