Venezia

Oh Venice, what an amazing city.
I got back home to Florence just a couple days ago Sunday evening after a wonderful day in Verona and weekend in Venice. I know I’ll cherish the memories I made there for the rest of my life, as cheesy as that sounds. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Venice, take it immediately.

Early Friday morning I headed off to the train station, climbed on a bus and rode up to Verona. We had a tour of the Roman Amphitheater, and climbed all the way to the top-man, those stairs will tone your legs. After that, our tour guide took us around Verona and explained different parts of the city and its history. During free time I went to Casa di Giulietta with some other students. We had the chance to see Juliet’s famous balcony (which is really a 20th century addition), and receive good luck in love by touching the right breast of the statue of Juliet! We also found the “Verona in Love” festival and bought strawberries & chocolate with whipped cream and sampled the free chocolate and wine. The city was charming and I would suggest visiting it if you have the chance. Verona was the perfect place to spend Valentine’s Day!

We settled into the hotel in Venice then began exploring. I learned very quickly that Venice is a confusing city with curving roads that sometimes lead to a dead end, water, or a completely different destination than expected. So we wandered the streets of Venice for a few hours, thankfully we found a restaurant to receive sustenance for more wandering later in the night. It was really interesting to explore the nearly empty streets and discover Venice by ourselves. The main streets had blue and white lights strung up and the Rialto Bridge was shining brightly. The glow from the stringed lights made the city even more enchanting. Along with lots of walking, we also took the water bus and were able to navigate it easily.

Saturday morning we had a three hour walking tour with a local Venetian. She took us around to the main monuments and areas of town and told us a little about the everyday life of Venice. For example, apparently Venetians argue often about their neighbors placing their garbage in front of the wrong house; and it’s quite common for them to peek out from behind their curtains and observe people going by. We walked to San Marco and toured the beautiful Byzantine style inside. Sadly the exterior of the basilica is covered up for cleaning/restoration. We strolled past the Bridge of Sighs and Doge Palace (another image on a flashcard from high school I had to memorize and daydreamed about visiting!) We ended the tour in the historic Jewish ghetto and learned about past and contemporary life; it’s important to see all aspects of a city, even if the past is painful, it’s how we learn not to make the same mistakes. Even though the tour was a bit long I enjoyed it; I really appreciate knowing the history of the cities I visit so I can understand, at least to a degree, what it is I’m looking at, walking through and living in. After the conclusion of the tour we explored more areas of the city, got the hang of the water buses (which make travel through Venice much faster and easier), and bought Carnival masks.

Most of the program participants gathered in San Marco square Saturday night to celebrate Carnival. (Carnival is supposed to start on the 22nd, but it’s been pushed earlier in the recent years to accommodate tourists.) We all had colorful, sparkly, scary, fun, and crazy mask on! There were other tourists and locals out, some dressed up in old-fashioned costumes with masks. As usual, we walked a lot, down side streets, through campos, over bridges and past rios-it’s a great way to see the city and experience the culture. Everyone’s mask seemed to match their respective personalities very well and it was interesting to see the many different styles and colors. Some were full-faced with holes only for eyes or sometimes mouths, others had huge feathers and lots of sparkles; all of them were unique.

By the time we got back to the hotel Saturday night, or actually early Sunday morning, my back ached and my feet were sore. Walking through Venice for hours had taken its toll, but it was completely worth it to explore Venice dressed up in a carnival mask with good friends!

In the morning a few of us headed off to attend mass at San Marco. What an amazing experience! I’m Christian not Catholic, but it is something I would recommend for everyone no matter their faith. The interior of San Marco is filled with Byzantine style mosaics with gold backgrounds and brightly colored figures. There are so many details and images all over the interior, I saw something new every time I looked up. The acoustics in the church are beautiful, every time the choir sang I heard their voices echo and bounce around the giant building. It was awesome to just sit and listen calmly to the singing without understanding any of the words. I shook hands and greeted my neighbors, gave an offering, took communion, and light a candle. It was truly a wonderful cultural and spiritual experience. After mass we wandered through Venice one more time and bought some last minute souvenirs, (I try to get a magnet from every place I go), before making our way to the train station and back down to Florence.

As I said in my last blog, Venice is a city I had always dreamed about visiting. When I was there I had to pause every so often and remind myself where exactly I was, it felt surreal. It was a blessing to be able to stay in such a beautiful and interesting city full of history and excitement. I had an incredibly fun weekend exploring Venice with friends and definitely plan on going back-still need to go on a gondola ride!

Now I’m home in Florence (it’s still strange to think Florence is my home!) and have to get back to school, but there are plenty of exciting events coming up to look forward to- this weekend Carnival in Viareggio!

Addio,

Brigitte