Venice…oh Venice. I have to say that this is the most beautiful place that the Lord has allowed me to set my eyes on. Gondolas lined the canals and danced in the water. Luxurious wooden paneled motorboats glided through the water to their destination. I immediately fell in love. I took to this place and lifestyle instantly.
We went to our hotel and dropped our heavy bags from our tired shoulders…and ventured outside. I pushed open the door and the humid sea air settled on my skin, but I didn’t care…I was in Venice. We walked for a ways and stopped at a bridge connecting us to another island of Venice. This became my favorite spot of Venice; it became my spot…no one else took to it quite as much as me. This is where I sat and ate, or dangled my feet of the side and read Giacomo Casanova. No one bothered me here; people just went about their day.
My trip did not end there. We took a water bus…just imagine, all of the 120 islands of Venice are connected by bridges and there are no land buses or cars. It was amazing, a huge difference from Florence. I could walk without fear of being taken out by a vehicle or scooter. Our waterbus to San Marco took about 30 minutes. It was one of the most beautiful bus rides I have ever been on.
We arrived at San Marco square to birds…tons and tons of birds.I walked past this girl who was allowing them to perch on her arms and thought she was nuts. A group of us shopped and walked around San Marco until it was time to meet for dinner. As we were waiting for the group Shannon and Aimee decided they wanted to feed the birds…I offered to document this occasion by taking pictures because I thought these girls were just as nuts as that girl earlier. Well, little did I know what would happen next. After they had their moment with the birds I found myself being pushed in the mix with food in my hands. Jane and I fed the birds…I even let them perch on my hand. That girl back there…no so crazy…I was in the same boat as all of them. This was a nice lesson of refraining from quick judgment!
The night was beautiful. We went back to the hotel and washed to sticky sea air off of us and set out to watch USA vs. Italy. So hey…we are in Italy…”when in Rome do as the Romans do” right?
The next day we had two tours. The first was a walking tour of San Marco Island. The second was a tour of St. Marc’s church and palace. The palace was breathtaking. This was a well-rounded place, it was used for: politics, it had living quarters, jail cells, stables, and more. These is where the infamous Giacomo Casanova was imprisoned but, leave it to him, escaped thanks to an admirer. One night someone accidentally left a window open and there went Casanova. It has been a great read…he is an amazing writer.
“God only ceases to be God for those who conceive his non-existence as possible. They could not suffer any greater punishment than this.” –Giacomo Casanova
A trip to Venice would not be complete without a gondola ride. A group of us decided we would go. Knowing there were gondolas by my favorite spot I led the group to them. We took two gondolas to accommodate our group. Our gondolier was a young Italian man named Marco. He was the 6th generation gondolier and he really seemed to enjoy his job. He was quite funny and well informed. He told us a lot about Venice and significant buildings we passed.
Watching him maneuver effortlessly around bends and past other boats I posed this questions to him, “So, how hard is it to drive this?”. He laughed and with a thick Italian accent said, “You come try”. I laughed at him as though he had said a joke. But he continued and said, “Come try”. So I made my way to the back of the gondola…without falling off. He rowed with me for a bit than said ok…you try…so I though ok sure this will be easy. He let go and I practically dropped the paddle in the water. I asked him how heavy the paddle was and he lifted it with one hand…nice. Anyway I have a much greater respect for gondoliers now.
The last day on our trip was bittersweet. I was glad we were going home but I so wanted to stay in Venice. I decided I would take all that I could in. I went to Murano, the glass making island, and the cemetery island, and lastly I finished my day in Venice by heading to my spot, dangling my feet over the water reading Giacomo Casanova.
posted by Michelle @ 1:42 PM
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