As everyone knows, transportation is done almost entirely by boat in Venice - it was still kind of cool to see how we were to get to our hotel for the weekend.
Of course, as you can see from the pictures, it was dark when we got in, so its not like we actually got to see anything. The next morning we got up fairly leisurely and headed out for a day of exploring the historic island of Venice. (For those of you that may not know, the city is comprised of multiple islands, the historic center is on but one of them.) We were staying on Lido, though, so first we had to catch the vaparetto (a bus in any other city) to the main island.
While it had been quite nasty when we left Rome, we were extremely lucky with the weather in Venice. It was cold, but absolutely gorgeous, not a cloud in the sky!! I think one of the coolest things was actually being able to see the Alps from the Vaparetto. Not only was it a good reminder of just how far north we were, but it reminded me of one of the things that I love, and all too often take for granted, about home - the mountains!!
We started in what seemed like the only logical spot - Piazza San Marco. While piazzas are definitely becoming more and more commonplace to me, there is always something unique about each and every one. It was still early enough in the morning that it wasn't overly crowded yet, which made for a good inaugural experience. Of course, amidst all the vendors and lines of tourists were people (more tourists) feeding the pigeons - it seemed oddly fitting. So Jasmine and Nick took their touristy pictures just before we went inside Saint Mark's Basilica. (I'm happy to say that with the way my friends take pictures, there is no need for me to carry around my camera - I just steal theirs!! So thank you for the pictures everyone!!)
After we had fully explored the basilica and, to some extent, the piazza, we decided to get to know the city. I have come to learn that the best way to truly experience a new environment is to explore and, sometimes, even get lost - so that's what we did!! We had no map and no real idea of where we wanted to go, so we just wandered the paved streets of Venice all day - it was great!! I have to admit that I have heard mixed reviews of Venice, but Nick and I both agreed that it is by far and away, of the places we have been thus far, our favorite place in Italy. Mixed somewhere in between the combination of paved and water streets, there is just something about Venice that is incredibly beautiful and romantic, in spite of all the tourists. Of course, it is also nice that the historic part of the city is only open to pedestrians - it was slightly surreal to not have to worry about vespas popping up out of nowhere or listen to the incessant sounds of traffic.
(Little did we know that Venice has its own leaning tower. Slightly easier to understand in a city built on the water, but it is rather funny how difficult it seems for the Italians to get anything straight - a list of some sort seems to be par for the course.)
Eventually, after having tracked down some lunch (I forged ahead with my mission of experiencing truly Italian pizza), we made our way over to the Ponte Rialto. Nick really wanted to see it as it is the point from which a lot of pictures of Venice are taken as it spans the grand canal. There were way too many people and we basically had to fight our way through, but it was worth the effort - quite the view!!
After the Ponte Rialto, it was getting into late afternoon at this point and we'd been going nonstop all day, we decided to head back to the hotel for siesta, (seriously, probably one of the best ideas the Italians have ever had!!), before heading back out later for dinner. We all agreed that it was quite nice to be able to rest for a little while - being touristy is not super relaxing.
Anyway, we decided to take the opportunity to do some research on restaurants before leaving since we had no idea where to start. Of course, at this point, Jasmine realizes that she left her Rick Steves' Italy book at home, something that could have been quite helpful at this point in narrowing our search. (We were kicking ourselves over this for awhile.) There are a bajillion websites of course, but that required lots of sifting and none of us felt too excited about that. In the end, we found a place with little effort, but the moral of the story - if you have one, bring your guidebook, for reference purposes if nothing else.
I digress. Saturday we decided to start with Doge's Palace before exploring the islands of Murano, Burano, and Torcello. As it turns out, the decision to start early with Doge's was a good one, we got in before the majority of the tour groups. There is no real getting away from them, of course, but it was definitely better than had we started later. We walked right in when we got there and when we left there was a rather significant line - no lines = winning!! Anyway, it was quite impressive - definitely something to be seen if ever in Venice. The one slight disappointment of the weekend was that the Bridge of Sighs was covered in scaffolding (looked like it was under renovation or something), so we didn't get a good view of it. With that being said, we did get to walk across it and explore the prison itself - all I can say is dark, cold, and dank. For those who may not know, the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of the outside world prisoners got on their way to the prison (hence the sighs) and, on a completely different note, legend has it that if lovers kiss under the bridge at sunset they will be together forever.
So having gotten our fill of Doge's we decided that it was time to move on to the other islands, starting with Murano. Quick side note, when I first booked this trip I emailed a professor of mine back at SMC, she's fully Venetian, her family still lives there, to see if she could make any recommendations. Of course, she said there's so much to see that it's hard to point to anything specifically, but she did recommend the islands, so away we went! Murano is known for its glass and this was our first stop. I figured everyone had at least heard of Murano glass before, apparently I was wrong. Oh well, we all walked away with a very good understanding of the craft. We started with a demonstration by a glass blower (very cool) and then explored the surrounding shops.
Having explored the first island, we decided that it was time to move on to Burano and find a place for lunch. Burano is known, primarily, for its lace, but also for its distinctive color scheme. While the product itself may not have done a whole lot for me, there is definitely something to be said for its quality and beauty and it is pretty neat to be able to see someone making it by hand - talk about painstaking! Otherwise, Burano was really cool because of just how colorful it is - quite unique and fun!!
Our last stop of the day was at Torcello, considered to be the oldest continuously populated region of Venice. My professor recommended it for the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, apparently one of her friends was lucky enough to get married there. Torcello is pretty sparse now, but the Cathedral was beautiful and after all of the population we'd been immersed in all weekend, it was a nice break to see a slightly slower pace.
Finally, we got back on the vaparetto to Burano in order to transfer lines and make it back to Piazza San Marco where we were looking forward to dinner and wine. Perhaps the biggest difference, at least in terms of lifestyle, in Venice is the lack of any real sort of nightlife, everything starts closing up around 10p. Definitely quite different from Rome where most things really start opening around 10p, but it was also nice - it's funny how much Rome makes me miss the quiet, slower paced lifestyle.
Overall, it was a great weekend and I loved Venice!! I look forward to being able to go back and spend more time there one day - great city that I would definitely recommend (that is, as long as you're okay with boats - this is definitely not a city for anyone that gets even the slightest motion sickness).
Okay, time to refine my studious skills, so that I can play more!!
Ciao, ciao!!
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