Venezia, Ti Amo!

This past weekend I made it to Venice, and I don't think my words will do it justice so I will be sure and include lots of pictures! I don't think I knew quite what to expect, but I think it was almost better having few expectations because I really enjoyed traveling to what felt like another Italy.

Well, I was totally sold on the city since the first thing I did after a short 2hour train ride was take a water taxi/vaporretto along the Grand Canal to my hotel. I made sure to take the slower boat that took more stops so that I could really get more of a feel of the city. I felt like a crazy person taking as many pictures as I did, but so many people around me were just as shutter happy as I was. Here are some of my first glimpses of Venice:

















It truly is a city of elegant decay!

One expectation I did have upon arriving in Venice was that I must accept that I would get lost, but after getting off at Accademia stop to cross over into the Dorsoduro district, I really didn't have much trouble finding my hotel. My hotel was great! It was an old 16th century building with lots of staircases, and windows looking out over the water.





Shortly after dropping my stuff off, I decided to walk around and make it to some of the major sites. I had my map all ready in case I got lost, but to tell you the truth I didn't end up using it at all. My new friend Rick Steves, said that it is sometimes better just to follow the signs for the major landmarks to orient yourself instead of worrying about all the particular street names.it seemed to work really well for me!









I first went to San Marco's Plaza where there were several large cafes with competing bands playing all the Italian classics.



There were people feeding pigeons, and tons of street sellers offering you purses, gondola attire, masks, scarves, and other souvenirs. While I found this city to be extremely touristy (where I heard more English spoken than anywhere else I've been in Italy), I still found Venice wonderful, and especially at night almost magical! I went inside the St. Mark's Basilica, where I saw more Byzantine mosaics then I have ever seen in my life (the first time I saw mosaics like this were in the Haggia Sofia, but there were only two large ones uncovered). The entire ceiling was covered with mosaics, and I can only show you what the outside ones looked like because we couldn't take pictures inside.











For the rest of the evening, I went exploring and window shopping at all the little shops near the Rialto Bridge before finally grabbing some food to eat and taking it to enjoy by the water just as the sun was setting. And I thought I liked Venice in the daytime...

















Venice felt very safe to me, and even at night as I was walking around there were the sounds of many people chatting, the waves slowly coming in, and the boats going past. There is nothing like a city where your only options of transportation are either by water taxi, boat, on foot, or on a gondola (I heard many gondola "drivers" singing as they took people around haha).

The next morning, I awoke again to the sounds of the water rolling in, and opened my window to discover the beautiful sun already out! Here are some views from my window.











After having breakfast in the hotel, I went to the Gallerie dell'Accademia. When I got my ticket, I asked the lady if they had any student discounts for art students (since I still have my student ID), and she told me that they aren't really supposed to do that unless you are a student in the EU, but that if I didn't say anything that she would let me in for half off! Sweet! The museum was nice (obviously not as amazing as the Uffizzi...that would be hard to beat), but it brought me back to thoughts I had when I first started my art history courses about how many different ways artists interpreted what the Baby Jesus should look like. Let's look at a few shall we...some of them are just plain strange to me:























Which one do you think looks most like the Baby Jesus?

After the museum, I wandered and then decided to take the boat over to the island of Murano, where they make the famous Venetian glass. The boat ride was a good 45 mins. with all the stops, but well worth it! When you get on the island, you can watch a glass blowing demonstration, which I think is just so amazing.











Then you can explore the many shops with more of the Mirano glass. Upon returning from the island, I took the boat back to the train station to head back to Florence!

What a fantastic weekend! I got many gifts for people back home:) I think everyone should go to Venice at least once in their lives!

Well, only two more weeks in Italy and I plan on some day trips to Reggio Emilia, Cinque Terre, Lucca, Siena, and then a few days at the end of my adventure in Rome!

Ciao,
Rachel