As Fi Bows to Peer Pressure

For Natalie (and everyone else that needs a hug today)

Yesterday and today have been rather weird weather-wise. While being rather warm and beautifully sunny, the odd but thick haze covering the city has led to an insane lighting effect that makes everything look a little like a combination of dusk and those overly-warm photos I have of buildings around Europe. Still it is nice to be able to eat lunch outside in Gordon Square, the delightful park on one side of Passfield that has grass and flowers and yummy dirt paths that make it seem so much more proper despite it’s lack of size.

Anyway Italy . . . and Switzerland . . . in a reasonably short post . . . photos will follow when I get myself organised with editing them.

I left for Italy having had 3 hours sleep because I am silly. The trip from London to Venice, while sounding simple enough, was insane. Taxi to Victoria Station, National Express bus to Stansted airport (an hour or so out of London), Stansted to Treviso (40 minutes away from Venice) on a plane, Treviso to Mestre on a bus, Mestre to Hotel . . . well I hadn’t really worked that bit out when I left but anyway. Going through London on the bus to Stansted made me realise how little of this city I have been to and how weird it is to feel so very at home in a city I barely know. Odd! Having bought my train ticket for Venice->Bern in Mestre I managed to con the Hotel into coming to pick me up and had a lovely ride through the Italian countryside (which was deceptively sunny that day) with a man that spoke no English or Spanish. A very quiet trip!

Venice was incredible and I was equally incredible at getting lost most of the time, despite the fact that I had a very detailed map. However discovering large signs pointing to key destinations just above eye level made finding Piazza San Marco a lot easier the second time. The first time I found it because a lovely Italian man told me where to go after asking me out in a strange Spanish/Italian mix that I had going for most of the trip (even in Switzerland where is was totally useless). While I like compliments, travelling alone makes me a little warier of overly friendly guys that I’ve just met. For the next two days, Venice was cold and wet and I had a lot of fun puddle-jumping. I shopped, ate a lot of pizza, visited amazing buildings, drank a lot of coffee, went to the top of a bell-tower with an amazing view over Venice and made the fatal mistake of deciding that despite the rain and hail it was better for me to stand outside for long periods of time to enjoy Venice. When it stopped raining, the night before I left, I enjoyed a gorgeous water-bus ride down the Grand Canal. Truly spectacular and beautiful and amazing and I’m gushing. I also got to see a Baroque orchestra perform in 19th Century costume, not often that happens methinks, although also not something many would necessarily want to see.

Bern is the capital of Switzerland and it is amazingly pretty and everything you expect of an insanely old European city. The Old City, where my hostel was, is actually a UNESCO World Heritage site. My train ride from Venice to Bern was fantastic. I shall go to Northern Italy properly sometime, I would like to go to Verona and the little villages by the big expanse of water that we passed. As we worked our way over the Swiss Alps, snow began to be dotted on the ground and as we emerged from one tunnel we were greeted by an white landscape with everything covered in snow. Snow began to fall and it didn’t stop for the next three days. I went up a mountain and played in lots of snow, got caught in heavy snow fall, traveled around the whole city on buses and trams to escape the snow for a few hours, found the bear pit and decided the poor things looked miserable, and then met two Aucklanders embarking on a month’s tour of Europe. An excellent time had by all! Oddly there were a lot of pharmacies and psychiatrists in Bern and they lack good coffee shops, however excellent chocolate shops made up for this. I had a fantastic time, took lots of silly photos, and got very cold and wet.

Coming back to London on Saturday was tiring but nice. I spent the afternoon in wet and cold Paris but couldn’t take much more wet and cold so having walked up to Notre Dame and got soaked, I caught the metro back to the Gare de Lyon and headed off to CDG airport for my flight home early. Despite not having my own bed, or even a bed at all, to come back to, arriving in London was fabulous. Knowing where to go is good and it felt like I was coming home, which was a nice feeling. I’m crashing in friends’ room and beds until tomorrow when I get my own room back . . . my own room!!!

I had such a good trip, there were times when the coldness and general wetness of the trip was a little frustrating but I had a blast anyway and I got to play in snow properly which was amazingly cool. They’re definitely both places I’d recommend to friends and hopefully I’ll make it back there . . . I have to go back to Venice because there’s all sorts of places I didn’t explore and I have to get a replacement for the lovely blue glass ring I bought myself that had the thoughtlessness to break when I was in Bern.

I think I’ve done a pretty good job of summing that up concisely, photos will appear soon soon dearest all. I know I say it a bit and you probably don’t believe it because you never hear from me properly but I really do so miss you all my New Zealand friends. I have told Cynthia that she must bug me about emailing more often, and so must you! 

It’s funny to think that despite a distinct lack of posts all term, some 40 people apparently visit my blog each day. I wish I was better at keeping it up . . . sorry darling NZ friends. I *really* am thinking of you often and despite the lack of emails, blog posts and general talking, I can reassure you that I do exist and miss you all so very very much. I have amazing friends at home who are so good to me.

As some know, Dave and I broke up early this term. I realised I was being an awful girlfriend by not finding enough time to talk and the strain of being so far apart finally too its toll. Thanks to all for the texts and calls to check I was ok. Although it has been another term filled with bouts of homesickness, I’ve made it through to the end of it and I think I’ve done ok . . . I hope I’ve done well. I’m very lucky to have people on both sides of the world to keep an eye on me/look after me when things get a bit tougher. I greatly appreciate your/their love.

Lent Term ended today and my friends are all in the process of leaving Passfield/London for a 5 week break. Some will come back in a couple of weeks time to write essays, projects and prepare for exams, while others I don’t get to see for 5 weeks. Sad but that’s life! I have exciting plans for the first week of my Easter break but first I will tell you the long list of things I must complete over break:

1) Two development essays - One for “poverty” and one for “african development”

2) Consultancy project - Part work for the Overseas Development Institute and part coursework

3) Social Research Methods take-home exam

4) Dissertation outline (2000 words or so) - since I only finalised my topic on Thursday, I think this will be a particularly fun thing to write.

5) Exam study because I’m already behind and the first couple of weeks of term are dedicated to dissertation workshops so I want a running start when my exams start.

For those that don’t know, which is probably most, teaching/lectures only happen in the Michelmas and Lent Terms in the UK, then the Summer Term  is totally focused on studying for exams and then sitting said exams. It makes exams seem a lot more important when they have a whole term dedicated to them.

Anyway, to get a break away before I start in on the work I am running off to Europe for a week on Sunday. I’m flying to Venice, spending three days there and then heading over the alps on the train to Bern, the capital of Switzerland. Another 3 days there, where I plan to spend a fair amount of time looking at a lake and bears. Next Saturday I leave Bern early in the morning and take a quick train across Switzerland and France to Paris. I spend the afternoon perusing the streets of Paris, before flying back to London late that night. Three countries in one day. Bring it.

I have really enjoyed this term for many reasons though, I saw my first inner-city snow . . . I even saw it actually snowing!!! Sooooo exciting! Then the daffodils have begun to come out in the last couple of weeks and my room is returning to it’s oven-like status so I think spring has sprung. The parks and gardens are looking gorgeous and the ays are warm enough to contemplate picnics and ice-cream. Mmmmm . . . Haagen Dasz ice-cream has been one of my discoveries this term, excellent excellent stuff! I have also been to see Hot Fuzz, a brilliantly funny so-wonderfully-English movie, and been to Scala. It’s been fun!

However I shall keep more stories for later and  tell you all about my European escapades at the end of next week. Thanks again to all for everything . . . particularly for being patient about updates.