A Village and A City

It’s hard to believe I’ve only been in Paderno for two and a half weeks.  I’ve made so many good friends and met so many genuine people.  The past few weeks have been packed with orientations, programs, and classes.  However, we do get some free time on the weekends and we definitely take advantage of it.

On the first weekend here, we took a bus to Castelfranco (a town near Paderno) and hopped on a train to Venice.  I traveled with people I had only known for a few days, but it was one of the best “vacations” I’ve ever taken.

Venice was breathtaking.  I had never traveled anywhere in Italy before and I’m extremely happy I started with Venice.  When we arrived, we had to take a water ferry to our hostel.  It was dark, rainy, and I had no idea what I was doing.  Thankfully, my friend realized what stop we needed to get off at in order to check into our hostel.

( view of the Basilica from a water taxi )

Checking into our hostel was a bit chaotic.  There were about 30 of us staying at The Generator.  Once we checked in, we made our way up the stairs and to our room.  We saw eight bunk beds with clean, white sheets.  I was not expecting to stay in such a nice, new place.  Hostels get a pretty bad rap, but if you book the right ones (try to get above 80% on websites like HostelWorld) you will have a good experience.

( so many bunk beds )

We spent a total of 24 hours in Venice.  It was crazy, but worth it.  I learned so much about my friends and myself.  We had to rely on each other and ourselves.   We could not call our parents for help or pull up the GPS on our smart phones.  The best way to get to know people is by traveling with them (or by going through LIFE, but that’s for another post).  You create a common bond over the realization that you are both experiencing this city, or this view, for the first time.  It is a humbling experience.

(some of the group)

(everywhere you looked, you wanted to take a hundred pictures)

Back in Paderno, life is much quieter.  It also moves at a much slower pace than bigger cities, like Venice and Florence.  We have realized that the locals love taking breaks after lunch and for some reason at our local Tabacchi (a convenient store), they only work Wednesday mornings, not afternoons.  This is extremely upsetting news when all you want is a nutella ball from the café down the street and a drink from Tabacchi 2.

(hands down, nutella balls are my favorite treat in Paderno)

I enjoy living in Paderno.  It is a very needed and necessary break from my fast-paced college town life.  I have become less dependent on my phone,which is something I never thought would happen.  I also started running again, which is easy to do when you are surrounded by beautiful mountains.

( a Paderno sunset )

* As a friendly reminder, always bring your passport with you when checking into a hostel; otherwise you cannot stay there because you cannot prove who you are (or you can be like Cassie and just sneak past the receptionist). Haven’t you ever heard making mistakes is the best way to learn?