Venezia

First of all, thank you to everyone who is reading my blog. It really means a lot to me that my thoughts are important enough for you to want to read, and I love all of your comments. I apologize for the long delay in posting my thoughts on Venice. The fact of the matter is that I have such strong feelings for the place, and as such, I wanted to give it the time and consideration it deserves and as I had midterms the week after my visit there, followed immediately by nine days in Greece, poor Venice was put on the back burner.
Even after the long period of time I had to think about my time in Venice, I still don't know where to even begin. The trip started very early Friday morning at the Termini train station in Rome. Our 6:57 am train got to Venice around 1pm. I was overwhelmed by Venice even just upon walking out of the train station. The Grand Canal was waiting just outside. Venice is the place I named whenever I was asked the question "if you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?" All I knew of Venice, when I would reply as such, was that it was a city built on water, and that there were boats instead of cars, and that was enough for me. Give me water and a boat and I am one satisfied customer. Also, the way Romantic novelists spoke of Venice and its old buildings and windy alley-streets, gave it such a magical quality that I was drawn to it without ever experiencing it.
What I found Venice to actually be like however, was beyond all of my imaginings, and no description I ever read in a book prepared me for the beauty of the Rialto Bridge overlooking the Grand canal at night. Nothing could have prepared me for the beauty of the contrasting black gondolas with their red velvet interiors against the turquoise water of the canal.
Our hotel, Hotel Caneva, was practically hidden down a tiny cobblestone alley bordered on both sides by tall white stucco buildings covered in vines. Our room smelled like sausage but the hotel itself was adorable, and we had a private bathroom and a window/balcony that opened over a quiet branch of the canal. Gondoliers often came down it with passengers and every once in a while we'd get a singer.
Hotel Caneva was only about a 5 minute walk from the Rialto Bridge so we spent a lot of time wandering around that district. There were so many little shops where we went crazy buying gifts like jewelery and scarfs and knick-knacks for friends and family. There were many shops with beautiful leather goods,and food stands selling freshly caught fish and fruits and vegetables. I bought a cup overflowing with fresh pieces of cantaloupe, honeydew and pineapple from a street vendor for one euro.
During the days my friends and I lived off these cheap street markets, paying only a few euro for fruit and bread, and then splurging for dinner at night (though I use the term "splurge" lightly). The first night we wandered through the streets for a long time looking for the perfect restaurant. We wanted a place that offered ambiance and a several course meal for one given price, termed "al menu" in Italy. Venice has tons of restaurants, and each one looked very uniwue, but we settled on a little tavern-esque family run restaurant with a cozy looking interior and an "al menu" dinner for nineteen euro. The meal included champagne to start, of course fresh, hot bread, salad, first course of pasta (the best spaghetti pomodoro I've ever tasted), a second course of just caught salmon in a lemon butter sauce with sauteed vegetables, and tiramisu and assorted cookies for desert, all accompanied by red wine or course. The restaurants owner, a charming little old Italian man, was very friendly and hospitable.
After dinner we walked the streets, then dark but still crowded with people. Venice took on a whole different feel at night- even more magical if it's possible. We climbed the Rialto and all the majestic old buildings and restaurants along the Canal were lit up. The moon shone brilliantly off the canal and reflected off the gondolas gliding down the river.
The second day we got up early and took a vaporetto, Venice's water bound bus system, to the Peggy Guggenheim museum which housed an impressive collection of contemporary art by painters like Picasso, Kandinski and Pollock. I especially like Magritte's "Empire of Light" and Picasso's "On The Beach".
From there we went to the Accademia to see some Early Renaissance artwork by artists like Bellini, Giorgione, Carpaccio, and Tiziano.
Then we went off on a vaporetto again to the island of Murano, which is famous for it's glass work. Murano glass is beautiful and rich with color with intricate designs, all beautifully shaped by glass blowers who give free demonstrations of the process. The glass is shaped into beautiful jewelery and chandeliers and dining sets. I bought several trinkets from Murano, and every store wrapped my purchase up in pretty and delicate Venetian paper which made the experience even more magical.
I really enjoyed Murano, but I was excited to get back to the main island for dinner and nightlife.
We had pizza in a traditional little pizzeria and then went to a pub called "devil's forest" in hopes to find some locals. The pub was terribly americanized but we got a tip from a Venetian man of a nearby piazza where there were some cool wine bars and lots of locals on the other side of the Rialto so we headed over there and mingled for a bit.
The next day we went to the Piazza of Saint Mark and the Doge's Palace, again by Vaporetto. The piazza itself was absolutely breathtaking. St. Marks Basilica and the architecture of the buildings bordering the square was just incredible. The rich reds and blues and greens of the artwork decorating the church against the gold dome was unlike anything my eyes had ever seen.
An interesting part of St. Marks square was the massive pigeon population. They were all over the place, and vendors sold pigeon food to tourists who fed the birds. The pigeons would land right on people. Also while we wandered in and out of the shops around the piazza there was a band playing instrumental Beatles covers from the middle of the Square. This caught me at a very vulnerable moment and I started crying while they played "Let it Be", my favorite Beatle's song, due to the sheer beauty of it all. The sky was very dramatic that day as well.
I don't know what my favorite part of Venice was, but I adored the Canal of course, and the windy cobblestone alleyways with interspersed shops and restaurants. I loved the Peggy Guggenheim, and I could have spent hours just standing on the Rialto bridge watching the sun go down. The beautiful, traditionally Italian looking buildings in white, red and green stucco, covered with vine, all along the canal are sinking, but something about their descent is so graceful that they command tremendous respect. It makes me so sad to think that there will be a time Venice will not exist. I hope to spend as much time as possible during my life there. I want to live in one of the little white houses overlooking a quiet branch of the canal with a black wrought iron balcony from which I'd grow lovely little red flowers and listen to the sounds of the city. I love Rome, but I left my heart in Venice.