Venice, Padua, and Oktoberfest (Munich)

This weekend we went to Italy!!! It was awesome to be there again, and I had so much fun.
We left Thursday night; we had to run the whole way from the dorm to the train station (over a mile) because some people were late. We caught the train, but just barely. What a way to start a trip, right?

Several trains and 18ish hours later, we arrived in Venice. We checked into our camp ground hotel and then went to see the city. We saw San Marcos square and then went in search of a gondola. In the process we lost half of our group, and looked for them to no avail. After a time, we figured they knew what they were doing, so we wandered through Venice and some people got on the gondola, while some of us just waited on church steps, talking and people watching. We had problems on the bus home as well, but made it back, finding the people we had lost in the process. So we all had gelato to celebrate.

Saturday we went to Padua to see the university, one of the oldest in Europe. We stopped by a market before returning to Venice to shop at their market and wander the city. I bought several souvenirs, rode in a gondola, and ate more gelato.

We caught a train that night that took us to Munich, where we spent Sunday at Oktober fest. I wandered around for a while with one group, before we met another group, who were waiting in line to get into one of the places they serve alcohol. So I switched groups and joined them. I got in line around 8:40, and we waited there until 10, when the doors opened. The mob pushed us inside, where we found a table. Between the five of us, we split two liters of beer and a half liter of wine. It was not bad, but not good enough that I could chug any of it. I tried, split some, and the German guys next to me told me not to waste the beer. We had a great time, and didn't get too drunk, though I'm never drinking before noon again. Being tipsy + crazy bright sun + cheap, broken sunglasses= pain.

We left Munich, endured more train mishaps and group separations, but arrived home Sunday night (an hour later than we meant, but not a big deal considering we took the wrong train to Cologne).

I would post pictures, but I need to pack for Vienna; we leave in a few hours and still have class to go to...

So many exciting happenings

So more happened last night in four hours of partying than I think have ever happened to me in my whole life. I tagged along with a group of people, mainly headed by two senior guys who are pretty cool.
First we went to a pub called the Shamrock, where I got a beer (last time that will ever happen) and a rum and coke. Then we went to a "coffehouse", if you understand what the quotes mean. Sadly, one person didn't have their ID so they wouldn't let her stay, so we all left and headed for the pub where they were having the international drink. It was a club of sorts, with dancing and crazy loud music. I had another rum and coke, and hung out with people. It was lots of fun, because the alcohol (or maybe just the atmosphere) really loosened a lot of people up, and we were dancing and talking and meeting other foreign students, and it was really cool. Some of those I came with decided that we would leave at 12:30, so we could get home and go to bed, since we had tons of stuff to do today.
Slightly before we were about to leave, I, encouraged by alcohol, approached a guy who I'd been trading glances with for a while. We talked for a long time, and danced a little, and he even bought me a glass of wine. He's a really neat guy. My friends did leave as planned, and a little after 1 am I came to my senses and told Bram (that's his name, like short for Abraham) that I needed to go home. He offered to walk me back and I accepted, as I didn't know the other Baylor students still in the bar, and I doubted they wanted to go home. It sounds a lot less intelligent in the day time, doesn't it?
Anyway, I made it back safe and sound, since he really is a nice guy. He got my email and promised to drop me a line. I learned that the Dutch kiss each other three times on the check.
We're going to meet up for a drink or something later this week.

And that was my night. Most of it anyway.
To my more conservative fans, don't worry, because I got my comeuppance for drinking so much. I mean, thinking about it now, the beer and wine were both big enough that they were two drinks, so in reality I had about 6 drinks. And no water. I drank some when I got home, but it wasn't enough, and I had a tiny (quickly cured with an Advil) hangover.

My clothes smell like weed. It's really everywhere.

So, now that I've shocked you, maybe you'll leave a comment?