Venice, Italy

Friday, October 5 – Sunday, October 7, 2012

Venice: the city of bridges, masks, glass, lace, canals, gondolas, vaporetti, beautiful sunsets and… tourists? Considered one of the most Romantic cities, arriving in Venice was truly a treat rewarding a long school week; however, I instantly understood why as of late, Venice has been characterized by the thousands of tourists that visit each day. Nonetheless, Venice was neither dim nor dull and completely beautiful. Our first action upon arriving was to buy a three-day water taxi, or vaporetto, pass. These taxis would serve as our means of communication as we toured “the sinking city.” Our hostel was right on the water and I was happy to enjoy an amazing sunset and the company of friends. Taking the night easy, we went to Margarita Square and found some great zucchini pizza. This meal would serve as my go-to meal for the weekend as we put good eats on the back-burner and instead chose exploring.

St. Mark's Square

Like always, we forced ourselves to roll out of bed early on Saturday morning. We went to the Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark’s Square, first. This island is the most visited and most popular of the 118 islands that comprise Venice. We decided to return to this bustling plaza on Sunday and in turn went to the island of Murano. This island, known as the glass island, well lived up to its reputation. As we popped in countless souvenir shops, we made sure to take note of glass artwork labeled specifically as a product of Murano and true Venetian glass. Sadly, as a recent Rick Steves article pointed out, foreign glass imports to Venice have skyrocketed and thus, local glass sellers have been losing profits. The secret behind true Venetian glass blowing was a sacred tradition; for this reason, in 1292, all glass makers moved to the island of Murano. Before we headed off to another island known for its artistry, we ate a delicious meal at a restaurant outside on the water.

Colorful houses in the island of Burano

We then traveled to the island known for Venetian lace, Burano. While I enjoyed both islands, I enjoyed the island of Burano most. Nearly every home and shop was painted a bright color. Also the quietest island, we were free to easily wander the streets, with my favorite coffee and raspberry gelato in hand, clear of packs of tourists. Heavily dispersed among miles of lace were Venetian masks. No matter what island we went to, it seemed we were unable to wander further than fifty feet without passing either a shop or market stand with masks. We were able to find fake ones for only a few Euros; however, we passed by artists painting masks which were priced upwards in three digits. Regardless of the price, one constant remained: any slight movement signaling the motion of taking a picture resulted in quick yells to think otherwise.

 

Gondolas

One treat we were able to take home with us was the amazing music of Native Americans playing in a square in Burano. Matt, Kacey, Holland, Gretchen and I all put in a two Euros and after Matt’s sly interaction with one of the band members, we walked away with a CD loaded with awesome music at a discounted price. While one may think this is not the best comparison from halfway across the world in a completely different environment, the music reminded me of one of my fondest memories at Disney World senior year when walking around Epcot senior year. Saturday night we spent time near the San Rialto Bridge, one of Venice’s architectural icons, and sat near the water. After busy days of touring, I savor the more genuine and relaxed moments sitting by water and watching a beautiful sunset.

The Senate Room

On Sunday, we enjoyed the luxury of traveling closer to home. Since our train did not leave until 17:00, we were able to wander the city as we pleased with one obstacle: our backpacks. Since the islands were only accessible by the unreliably scheduled water taxi, we opted to keep our backpacks with us, rather than backtracking to the island on which our hostel, an old warehouse turned multi-floored dormitory, was located. This problem was quickly alleviated when unknowingly, a bag check was compulsory when we entered Doge’s Palace. The doge, a historical Venetian figurehead rather than person of power, was the most senior ranking official in Venice. The views inside the palace were absolutely breathtaking; however, you’ll just have to take my word for it since we were not allowed to take any photographs in this national treasure. Each room offered something completely unlike any of the other rooms. I specifically took note of the many fireplaces; they were unlike anything that would be duplicated today and served as almost paintings that told a story. Gold, marble, and rich wood lined both the floors and the walls but did not overpower the intricacy of the murals which spanned both ceiling and full walls. I especially enjoyed looking at a wall on which a family tree, dating centuries back, was painted. 

The Bridge of Sighs

One of our last stops in the palace was where we finally let ourselves sit for a few minutes. The courtroom and Senate room are said to be one of Europe’s largest rooms, however, I, particularly, was more captivated by the grandeur of the decoration rather than the room’s size. I imagine it would’ve looked significantly smaller if all of the decoration left the walls. From the courtroom, we then walked the same march as convicted prisoners, crossing the Bridge of Sighs which links the palace to the prison. Unlike the prisoners which caught their last glimpse of Venice, we instead enjoyed sticking our hands out tiny openings and making a connection with tourists taking pictures and waving back at us.

Going with our ever present track record of things magically going our way, even if they had not been as planned, we encountered not one, but two of these occurrences on the train ride back to Capolago. After a few of us ended up on the wrong train with the wrong reservations, we spent thirty minutes in a train station coming up with a game plan until getting back on another train home. Just to our luck, the train car we walked on to was the car of our remaining friends who were traveling home on, unbeknownst to us, the right train. Quickly after, Cody, who had been sitting in another train car, came in and asked Melanie if she knew that her best friend’s parents were sitting next to him on the train. Completely shocked, it was safe to say Melanie enjoyed the best ride home… lucky for us we hopped back on the train that everyone else was on! I continue to learn that things in Europe have a crazy way of happening like this. It seems as though we bump into people more here than we do at home. When coming back from Cinque Terre on a train we were not supposed to take, I called out as Kacey and I exited, “Oh! Americans!”  I then realized and stated— these were not just Americans; they were wearing Mason sweatshirts… “That’s near my house!” Still oblivious, I was caught completely off guard when a girl beneath a hood in the rain exclaimed, “Stefanie!” How miniscule were the chances that we each just so happened to be in the same place in Europe, boarding and exiting the same train, at the same time, and using the same door. As I’ve now learned to say, “…only in Europe.”

Snuck a picture with a mask, just for you, Dad.