Italy

Discovering Venice

5:30:00 AM


Sometimes it's hard to believe all of the places I have visited in the past four months. Venice seems like it was just a dream. There was delicious gelato and amazing pizza slices, gorgeous sunsets and amazing views. 

Sunset Italy
While Venice was a little warmer than England, we still needed to wear light jackets. Our second day in the city, we decided to go to Saint Mark's Basillica. Finding our way through the tight walkways of Venice and over many bridges we finally made it. 

Basillica

Saint Mark's Basillica is free to the public, if you visit and see a long line, don't be sad! We hardly spent time in the line as it moved pretty quickly. Right behind the Basillica is the Bridge of Sighs. Which I had thought was the Rialto Bridge but it's not. 

Venice Italy

Kenzie

My favorite part from this day, was probably walking around in the afternoon and finding probably the best gelato place that gave giant scoops of the stuff and eating it on the steps in the sun with my besties. It's pretty bittersweet reliving these moments but I hope you're still having fun reading all about them! 

I would also recommend trying out Spritz in Venice if you haven't already! 
Venice
I spent my last meal in Venice eating pesto pasta and drinking spritz. Venice was one of my top five favorite weekends from this semester by far. I cannot wait to go back someday! I hope you had fun reading! 
DONT FORGET I moved my blog so all new posts will be going up at Kenzieblogslife.wordpress.com after the 21st! 

Italy

Bibia Be Ye Ye

9:16:00 AM

 "Everything will be alright." That's the meaning of one of the songs from Ed Sheeran's new album,  Bibia Be Ye Yeand one of my favorites. 

Last month, I took a quick trip to Venice Italy. Getting there was not an easy task. Before leaving to study abroad I had a list of places that I really wanted to go. Venice was in the top 3. My program does a big end of the year trip for Italy so finding people to just go to Venice with me wasn't working out, and my plan B was to find a spot at the hostel my friends were staying at, which at first was full. But a few weeks later, a room was available and I took it. Without hesitation. I had given myself two extra days with my best friends. 

Venice

I flew from London to Venice, and then took a cab to the city. If you've ever been before, you know about the glass bridge. After carrying my luggage up and down stairs at least four times, I was finally in my room. 

Venice Gelato

I had been craving some Coconut gelato before coming to Italy and was thrilled when I found some! After my friends woke up, we went exploring the canals. Venice stole our hearts with all the small winding streets and beautiful canals! 
Gondolas

Venice Italy

Venice

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Venice Italy

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Venice Italy

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Italy Sunset

My favorite part of the first day in Venice, was walking over the Glass Bridge and seeing the gorgeous sunset. I still can't get over that I had left England to go to Venice and was seeing this city with my two best friends. 

Glass Bridge

I would definitely recommend downloading a map app for Venice. There are so many different walkways and bridges that it is so easy to get lost. But like they say, Venice is probably the one city you want to be lost in. New views are on every canal. Also the pizza's pretty great. 

Italian

Venice is getting two posts, so make sure you stick around for part 2! I hope you enjoyed this post! If you've ever been to Venice let me know what you loved about it the most! 




Cats

ThrowBack: Europe

10:00:00 AM


There are just some trips that you remember for ages. Whether it be the first time going out of state, the first time going somewhere with just your friends, or the first time you've seen the ocean. 3 years ago I had the lucky chance to go on my first trip overseas. Italy, Greece and Turkey. 
It was the 10th of July 2012. 
My mothers side of the family had been planning this trip for over a year, there were originally 10 people in our group, unfortunately my Grandpa hurt his foot and was unable to join us, making our party a group of 9. 
Our first stop was in Rome Italy. 

I can still remember the dark green stair case we had to take to our apartment-style hotel room. I could tell you the exact place we had our first meal, after a 9 hour flight, we were quite delirious with lack of sleep and that could be why the pizza tasted like bites of heaven. The gelato was incredibly smooth, and tasty and I'm pretty sure I could probably survive on gallons of the stuff. 

After staying in Rome, virtually walking everywhere, seeing the Coliseum, Spanish Steps, The Vatican and Trevi Fountain, watching a tan Italian man smoke a cigarette on his balcony only to have him wave at me and be joined by his equally as tan girlfriend, it was off to the cruise ship. 
This ship would serve incredible food, hold some interesting people and we'd make a few friends as well. 
We stopped in Sicily first, wandering the beautiful streets of Messina, standing on Mt Etna. (the latest eruption has been 16 May 2015!). The difference in pizzas from Rome to Sicily was interesting. Though both were equally as tasty! 

We spent our time on the cruise ship exploring, meeting new friends from different states and countries. Months after the cruise we'd still be talking, and keeping up via facebook. 
We would stop during the day in Mykonos, and Santorini, and also Turkey. 
My favorite was definitely Oia, where there was a kissing fish store and endless shops and beautiful scenery at every turn. 
We spent a day at the beach in Mykonos, and spent another day discovering my new love of couscous in Turkey. 
There was a little marketplace set among some hills in a Turkish village where there were plenty of puppies and cats! 
We also stopped along the Amalfi Coast at the end of our trip. 
We also saw Pompeii, and stopped (again) and a little bakery. 
I fell in love with this part of Europe and I think this was the trip that made me realize how big the world really is. I also have been obsessed with going back ever since. Hopefully next summer (cross your fingers) I'll be in England, and back to Italy and Greece and hopefully more countries. 
The best part of the trip was probably that none of us could use our phones, because of overseas charges. That might have been the reason the trip was so enjoyable. Because I was unreachable. (though nobody really wanted to reach me anyway). 
There's so much more to explore and I can't wait to get back. 
What was your favorite vacation/holiday? Where would you like to visit? 
I hope you liked the little Throwback post! 
I liked reliving it! 
xx 
Kenzie








Italian Food

Reliving Italy

12:30:00 PM


Almost two summers ago (it’ll be officially two in July) I took a trip to Italy with my family for my grandparents anniversary. We ate real Italian food! Pasta, Lasagna, Pizza, Gnocchi you name it, we probably at it! I loved the Italian food, I can remember almost every restaurant we visited. The first thing we ate was pizza. That was incredible and I’m still craving some all the way back here in the states.

 It’s been almost two years since then and I do still keep reliving the experience. How could you even try to forget it? The other night I went out to dinner with my dad at the Olive Garden. If you don’t know what the Olive Garden is, it’s an Italian Restaurant decorated to give you a feel as though you’re really in Italy. Though their food obviously isn’t as good as the real life Italians do it over in Italy, it’s still pretty good.

  I’ve never had a bad experience at the Olive Garden, though once a waiter did drop a cheese grater on the table. Cheese went flying, I’m pretty sure it was his first day. Poor guy. Anyway, the waiters and waitress and hostess are so nice when you walk in. Sometimes there’s a wait, depending on when you go. We sat down and ordered our food. I got the usual, the chicken and gnocchi soup and cheese ravioli. I usually get the cheese ravioli with meat sauce or just plain sauce but this time I wanted to try it with Alfredo! I've had Alfredo sauce before, just not on ravioli so I was excited to try it out. I stuck with water as my drink.
 The bread sticks arrived along with my soup and my dads salad. The bread sticks come warm and delicious. The soup isn't quite the same as the Gnocchi soup I had while sitting in a restraint across from the roman coliseum but it’s close. The waitress sprinkles some cheese on it, though sometimes I feel strange having so much cheese on it but I love cheese on things. I won’t eat it plain though, isn’t that weird? 

    

Anyway, after eating the soup and bread sticks the main courses arrived. The portions are huge. If you have never eaten at the Olive Garden you wouldn't know, but I’m telling you..they’re massive! I have never been able to finish an entire plate by myself. I think in order to do that I would have to eat a really early breakfast and skip lunch in order to have dinner at 6:30 pm. I was pleasantly surprised that the ravioli was just as good with the Alfredo sauce as with any other sauce. 

I’m not someone who over eats just because there is food in front of me. I have a limit, which I guess is good right? I just hate feeling so full that I can’t move. We were asked if we wanted dessert but had to decline because we were so full. I have had their dessert before though, it’s just as good as everything else!
 When the check comes they also bring you a little chocolate mint.

Have you ever been to Olive Garden? What’s your favorite dish? If you haven’t been there do you have a favorite Italian food? 
  This post really made me miss Italy and now I can’t wait to go back! Hopefully sooner than later!
Also I fell in LOVE with these little lemon drop like things and I don't know what they're called but they look like this and if you know what they are can you tell me? I think they're like Limoncello or something i don't know! 


 xx 

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