The girl can finally read a map.

5 girls. 4 hours of sleep. 3 trains. 2 cities. 1 day. That was Saturday.

         Back when we booked the trip, we did so with slight overconfidence. We had just tore through Florence with ease and we received insider advice about Italy (spolier alert: it was horrible advice). So we waltzed into the travel agency and booked our Saturday down to the minute. 6:50am train to Venice. 3:00pm train to Bologna. 9:00pm train back to Rome. Slice of pizza, right? No. Wrong. Very wrong. We all promised each other and ourselves we would go to bed early Friday night, which we did. But given our horrible sleep schedules, I could not fall asleep for the life of me. And the more I thought about how early I had to get up, the more awake I got. Our 5:00am alarm came way too quick and for a second I thought, "maybe my bed will be better than Venice today." I quickly snapped out of that and got up and ready to go. We walked out of the hotel doors but 6:10am in desperate search of a cab to take us to Termini station. Because 6am is actually the dead of night for Italians, there was not a car in sight. We finally waved down a lone taxi that told us he couldn't take us, but he would show us someone who could. Sounded legit. He sped away and we ran after him through the streets of Rome into some sketchy taxi hang out. It was weird. But we found a guy who could take all five of us so we hopped in and headed to the station. For those of you who don't know, train stations in Italy are bigger than some airports in the U.S. It's very overwhelming. Luckily, with our small experience from last weekend, we found our train and shuffled on. One banana and an Italian granola bar later, I still didn't have any more energy than before. Against what everybody tells you, Haley and I both fell asleep. I woke up every hour to make sure all my stuff was there and that I was still clutching my beloved leather bag, and then would fall back asleep. I know this wasn't the smartest thing, but I honestly do not think I would have made it through the day if I didn't nap on that train. We all got to Venice in one piece and walked with confidence out the doors of the train station. It was beautiful. It was like we stepped out of the real world and into a story book. As we walked through the tiny streets and over the bridges that linked the city together, we took it all in. It was like jumping from one little island to the next. The water looked like green glass and the red, pink, orange and yellow houses lining the canals were the perfect contrast. By the time we got to the Piazza di San Marco, we were already in awe. When we saw the San Marco Basilica, we were simply speechless. It was gorgeous. From there we went to the gondola station to get ourselves a gondola. At first, it literally felt like a ride in Disneyworld because nothing around us felt real. It wasn't until the gondolier started talking about the history of the city and the buildings we were passing that it felt like an actual city. After that we did some shopping (Venice is famous for their handmade murano glass and masks) and got a cappuccino, then it was back on the train to our next destination: Bologna. When we got there, we were surprised. We just left fairytale land and entered a completely urban town. After a little bit of confusing and a lot of being lost, all we wanted to know was why Aldo (the hotel desk worker) told us this would be a fun place to be. The more we walked the worse we felt, so we headed back to the train station to see if we could change our tickets to an earlier train. Of course, this was impossible. Oh no. So we walked out and decided to give it another try. This was our second chance. I asked a cab driver how to get to the main piazza and somehow, don't know how, I successfully got us there. Mom, Dad, it's true. I, Katie Morrissette, got us where we needed to be. I even read a map correctly. We walked around and shopped and stopped at this awesome restaurant for dinner. I got homemade pasta with Bolognese sauce (in Bologna! LOL). It was delish. However, at this point, I was so tired I thought I was going to die. I actually thought I wouldn't make it to the train. Somewhere inside me I found the strength and we made it home on the last train back to Rome, finally.
          It was one of the longest days of my life and at times I was so exhausted and a bit confused, but every time we travel, I notice myself getting a little smarter, a little stronger and a little more grown up. So yeah, we probably should have given ourselves a little more sleep and yes, we probably should have researched Bologna a little more before we started aimlessly walking through it, but I am realizing that it's ok to make a few mistakes and it's ok to not know. I am a nineteen year old girl exploring a country and continent I have never been to. Not everything is going to be perfect, but everything is going to make me a smarter, better, more well rounded and independent person. And I think that's worth losing a few hours of sleep.