Venice: A City on Water
So here it is...the long awaited account of my trip to Venice. And long is exactly what it will be!
I went to Venice with some new friends I've made. Their names are Ailin (Ilene), Zeb, Brande(Brandy), Valerie, and Frank. We were kind of a "thrown-together" group. Brande and Frank are both KU students. Zeb goes to Iowa State, Valerie goes to Purdue, and Ailin is from O.C. California, but attends University of Oregon.
At 6:45 a.m. on Friday, Frank, Ailin, Brande, Zeb and I got on a bus to Bassano. (Valerie went the night before, but met up with us in Venice). The bus was packed so we had to stand, with our large travel packs. The buses here move fast, and they rule the road. Get out of their way or else. By the time we got to Bassano I was a scary shade of green and was shaking from motion sickness. Never again will I stand on a bus. I will sit, even if it means the floor!
In Bassano we bought train tickets to Santa Lucia, the train station on the island of Venice, then grabed some breakfast in a bar attached to the trainstation. Bar here means cafe, although they all sell alcohol. We witnessed a train conductor ordering hard liqour at 8:00 in the morning...a little scary. Finally we borded a train, and I slept for most of the hour trip into Venice. When I woke up all I could see was water and a few buildings.
We got off the train and immediately ran out to see the city. The train station is right on the Grand Canal. You walk out the front door, go down a flight a stairs and are immediately by the water. One thought that kept going through my head the entire trip was that the water in the canals reminds me of the water in the rides at Disneyland or World's of Fun...a weird blue green color that prevents you from seeing anything beneath the surface. Lets just say I would never want to swim in Venice!
When we met up with Valerie, we started the walk to find out hostel. The streets are narrow and always filled with people, vendors, and surprisingly lots of dogs. There are street dogs, dogs on leashes, dogs in fur coats, dogs in carriers...dogs every where. The dogs are even allowed into shops. We often witnessed shop owners petting and playing with dogs then handling money or food for the customers. The walk to the hotel was amazing. We saw a old theatre. As we were admiring it, a lady stopped and told us that it is no longer in use, but is now a univeristy of foreign studies.
To get to the hostel we had to cross the Rialto Bridge. It is the most famous in Venice. The bridge is a bunch of shops that cross the Grand Canal. It is really big, but in my opinion, it wasn't the most beautiful bridge in Venice. We of course took lots of pictures, but the internet is so slow here, I don't know how many I will actually be able to get up. Keep an eye out.
After wandering for about 30 min we got to where our hostel was supposed to be, but we couldn't find it. We walked up and down the alley finally spoting a tiny sign, about the size of a P.O. Box label that said "B&B Rota." It was so incredibly shady. The green paint on the door was cracked and faded. We pushed the door open only to have it creak like a horror movie. Inside was dark, deserted, and had obviously been flooded in the past. We walked up a set of cement steps and knocked on the door of the hostel. We were all freaking out a little bit, but once we got inside it wasn't too bad. You always get what you pay for. Two of us were in a private bed room, two of us were in a 4 bed all girls room, one boy was in a mixed dorm room, and the other boy had to share a room with the guy that ran the hostel. We locked all of our bags in the private room, and carried all of our variables with us. They probably would have been safe at teh hostel, but we didn't want to take any chances. After a while the hostel kind of grew on us. It had a neat atmosphere and was somewhat antiquated and quaint. We are thinking about booking it again when we go back to Venice for Carnival!
After all of our stuff was dropped off we started exploring the town. We grabbed a light snack at a cafe on the way to Piazza de Santa Marco (St. Mark's Square). We all split a couple of calzones. Yummy! Once at St. Marks we were blown away at the beauty....and the pigeons
While deciding what to do first we hung out in the square. If you bend down, put your arms out and cup your hands the birds think you are holding food. They will fly up and land on your arms, just long enough to get a picture. When they realize you tricked them they fly off in search of someone who will really feed them. We have some great pictures of our group standing there with pigeons on us. It was one of the "Funnest" parts of the trip, and a memory that I didn't know I would make in Italy.
We toured St. Mark's Basillica. It was beautiful. The entire inside was covered in gold plated mosaics. I was blown away at the architecture and the time that was lovingly put into this building. There is nothing like it in the states. There were depictions of all the old testament stories, many new testiment stories, and even prophetic depictions from the book of Revelations. Ailin and I are the only two who knew very much about religious history, so often we were explaining the meanings to the others in our group. It is a good witnessing tool, but it also becomes boring for those who don't understand the beauty and worship behind the art.
Supposedly when the church was built, some explorers went to Alexandria and stole the body of Jesus's disciple Mark. They brought him to Venice and buried him, and the church was built over him. Mark is the patron saint of Venice. His symbol is the winged lion. You see it all over the Veneto region. It is even the symbol for CIMBA - my program.
We got to go on the top of the building. You can see amazing things in and around the square, and the water. After that we went to find some lunch. We ate at a cute little pizzaria, that we thought would be cheap. We all split 3 pizzas. The tricky thing about Venice is that all restaurants have seating charges per person, and tip is always automatically included. What we thought would be a 7 euro lunch ended up being about 12 per person. We learned our lesson though, and will always check what the charges are before we sit.
After lunch we headed back to St. Mark's square to tour the Doge's palace. The Doge was the ruling figure in Venice from its inception in the first century A.D. until 1797 when Napolean invaded. Venice was Europes longest lasting empire. It even out lasted the Roman empire which is far-more well known. Venice for a long time was equated with virginity because it was impregnable because of its location...not fully on land...not fully on water. The palace was amazing! The art was decadent. We saw the largest oil painting in all of Europe! Most of the art is fairly religious. Venetians often thought of themselves as a chosen people of God. For a while they were the "defendors of Christendom" from Eastern invaders. The tour included the courtyard, which butted up against the Basillica, the living quarters of all the Doges, the Senate seats, the rooms that held the Council of Ten, the rooms that were used for receiving the priest, and finally the armory and the prison cells. The armory was super cool and the guys were thankful to be seeing something other than art and decorative walls. They had all kinds of weapons from crude swords and shanks to one of the first mulit shot weapons. It looked like a revolver on crack. It had to sit on a specially made stand and was probably 2 feet long. I would love to go back to the Palace and spend more time there, just exploring. One of the best parts of that tour was imagining what it would be like to attend a ball there, or just be someone in the court. I could picture myself in a beautiful dress, preparing to meed the Doge, waiting for his blessing. Or attending Carnival there! I have a little bit of an over active imagination.
We then headed back to the hostel to formally check in and take a 30 minute siesta. We were trying to decide if we should take a gondola ride. They are most definitely only for tourists, but they are also one of the main things people think of when they think about Venice. We decided we would take one around dusk. So first we went to buy Carnival masks. They are everywhere, all shapes and sizes, colors and designs. I really wanted an intricate one, but we ended up all getting smaller ones that only cover your eyes. It will be easier to breath and talk that way. Mine is emerald green and has green feathers. Its going to be great for Carnival, but will also make an awesome souvineer.
Finally we got to the gondola. For 6 of us it cost 120 euro for a 45 minute ride...2.5 kilometers. It was worth it! We got to see parts of Venice that we didn't know existed. We saw Marco Polo's house, and a house that Cassanova lived in for an extended period of time. Venice has a mystic quality at night that is only heightened when you are on the water. Our gondilier's name was Fabio and he was about our age. We asked him what we should do after dinner and he said there was absolutely nothing to do in Venice late at night. "No discotecas" were his exact words! We later found out he was right.
AFter the ride we tried to find something for dinner. After walking around for about 30 minutes and not coming to an agreement we went back to the Grand Canal and ate at a restaurant that had a "tourist menu." For 15 euro you got a glass of champaign, an antepasta (first course), an entree and a side, and finally dessert or coffe. It was a pretty good deal considering we sat outside right next to the canal. Plus the seating charge and service charge was already included! But we did have to pay an additional 3 euro for a bottle of water! I got lasagna, grilled seabass, baked potatoes and gelato! Delicious! We sat there for quite a while just chatting and relaxing.
Afterwards we walked back to St. Marks square because we heard there might be a concert there and dancing. The only thing we found was a square that was beginning to flood. There are little holes through out the town that allow the water to rise in safer places. The square floods every night and morning with the tides. It was weird to see such beautiful buildings being surrounded with water, but they have stood that way for hundreds of years!
On the walk back we found two small street bars that were still open and playing music. They were swamped with Americans partying. Americans bring their party style all over the world. It was kind of annoying. Around 11 though, more Italian youth started showing up. Most of the Americans were so wasted by that time they were starting to head home. The party was a lot cooler after the Americans left and the Italians could be themselves.
The one really annoying thing about Venice was some of the street vendors. They would bring flowers or gadgets and try to sell them to you. Once a guy gave Valerie a flower and tried to make Zeb pay for it. It was actually really funny.
We finally got back to the hostel and just crashed. When we woke up the next morning no one really wanted to do anything. We had cramed so much into the first day that we burnt ourselves out. We checked out and grabbed a quick breakfast at a cafe. Sunday morning is a great time in Venice. I could have sat for hours at the cafe watching the people come and go. There are older couples linked arm in arm, children running through the streets playing games, and families out for an after church stroll.
We took side street back to the train station. It was a great way to see the "real" Venice! Plus the second day was much sunnier, so our pictures are a lot better! Frank and Valerie left earlier than the rest of us. We walked around the town some more, ate lunch in another small cafe and decided we were tired and headed home.
We got back into Bassano around 2:45. We checked the bus schedule and thought one should arrive at 4:20. We decided to walk around Bassano until then. WE happened upon an outdoor mall. It was great because Bassano has "passo giata" which means walk about. Everyone in the town comes out Sunday afternoons to walk around the town square. It was awesome to be a part of. Plus Bassano has a beautiful view of Mounte Grappa. Of course we sampled the local gelato and headed back to the bus station. 4:20 came and passed and no bus. We decided to wait for the next one which was supposed to come at 6:50...it didn't come either. By this time we were upset.
At 7:00 a bus finally arrived, but as we boarded we found out it only went to Crespano, a town about 3/4 of a mile from Paderno, where we are staying. It was our best option. When we got off the bus we had to ask directions on how to get back to Paderno. The man at the cafe said straight up the street. So off we went. About 100 yards into the walk one of the girls said I don't think this is the right way. So we started back tracking and took an unlit gravel path...smart right? Well we ended up in a Catholic graveyard. Being sunday most of the graves were decorated and many had candles lit. I thought I was going to have a panic attack right there. I'm not a fan of cemetaries in the daylight, let alone creepy, hundred year old Italian ones in the middle of the night. Obviously not in the right place, we backtracked again, and went back the way we came. Unfortunately the road we were walking on did not have sidewalks or even sides of the road. We were literally backpakcing across Italy on the curvy, unlit, Italian highway. Not the most pleasant experience...but definately unforgettable. Especially because dogs were barking, cars were whizzing by, and I was already on my last nerve. I jumped and screamed at about every turn. I about took out my entire group when I saw a man squatting down ahead of us. Well that "man" turned out to be a funny looking fence, my imagination just got the best of me.
About 30 minutes later we finally saw some familiar sights and made it back to campus just in time for dinner. It was definitely a fun story to tell and one I will always remember. Things I learned from this trip: Get all the extra charges before you sit down, don't do too much in one day, and buses don't run to Paderno on Sundays!
Next up: Florence! I'm headed there at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning!
Verse of the night: Psalm 56: 3-4 "When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?"
I went to Venice with some new friends I've made. Their names are Ailin (Ilene), Zeb, Brande(Brandy), Valerie, and Frank. We were kind of a "thrown-together" group. Brande and Frank are both KU students. Zeb goes to Iowa State, Valerie goes to Purdue, and Ailin is from O.C. California, but attends University of Oregon.
At 6:45 a.m. on Friday, Frank, Ailin, Brande, Zeb and I got on a bus to Bassano. (Valerie went the night before, but met up with us in Venice). The bus was packed so we had to stand, with our large travel packs. The buses here move fast, and they rule the road. Get out of their way or else. By the time we got to Bassano I was a scary shade of green and was shaking from motion sickness. Never again will I stand on a bus. I will sit, even if it means the floor!
In Bassano we bought train tickets to Santa Lucia, the train station on the island of Venice, then grabed some breakfast in a bar attached to the trainstation. Bar here means cafe, although they all sell alcohol. We witnessed a train conductor ordering hard liqour at 8:00 in the morning...a little scary. Finally we borded a train, and I slept for most of the hour trip into Venice. When I woke up all I could see was water and a few buildings.
We got off the train and immediately ran out to see the city. The train station is right on the Grand Canal. You walk out the front door, go down a flight a stairs and are immediately by the water. One thought that kept going through my head the entire trip was that the water in the canals reminds me of the water in the rides at Disneyland or World's of Fun...a weird blue green color that prevents you from seeing anything beneath the surface. Lets just say I would never want to swim in Venice!
When we met up with Valerie, we started the walk to find out hostel. The streets are narrow and always filled with people, vendors, and surprisingly lots of dogs. There are street dogs, dogs on leashes, dogs in fur coats, dogs in carriers...dogs every where. The dogs are even allowed into shops. We often witnessed shop owners petting and playing with dogs then handling money or food for the customers. The walk to the hotel was amazing. We saw a old theatre. As we were admiring it, a lady stopped and told us that it is no longer in use, but is now a univeristy of foreign studies.
To get to the hostel we had to cross the Rialto Bridge. It is the most famous in Venice. The bridge is a bunch of shops that cross the Grand Canal. It is really big, but in my opinion, it wasn't the most beautiful bridge in Venice. We of course took lots of pictures, but the internet is so slow here, I don't know how many I will actually be able to get up. Keep an eye out.
After wandering for about 30 min we got to where our hostel was supposed to be, but we couldn't find it. We walked up and down the alley finally spoting a tiny sign, about the size of a P.O. Box label that said "B&B Rota." It was so incredibly shady. The green paint on the door was cracked and faded. We pushed the door open only to have it creak like a horror movie. Inside was dark, deserted, and had obviously been flooded in the past. We walked up a set of cement steps and knocked on the door of the hostel. We were all freaking out a little bit, but once we got inside it wasn't too bad. You always get what you pay for. Two of us were in a private bed room, two of us were in a 4 bed all girls room, one boy was in a mixed dorm room, and the other boy had to share a room with the guy that ran the hostel. We locked all of our bags in the private room, and carried all of our variables with us. They probably would have been safe at teh hostel, but we didn't want to take any chances. After a while the hostel kind of grew on us. It had a neat atmosphere and was somewhat antiquated and quaint. We are thinking about booking it again when we go back to Venice for Carnival!
After all of our stuff was dropped off we started exploring the town. We grabbed a light snack at a cafe on the way to Piazza de Santa Marco (St. Mark's Square). We all split a couple of calzones. Yummy! Once at St. Marks we were blown away at the beauty....and the pigeons
While deciding what to do first we hung out in the square. If you bend down, put your arms out and cup your hands the birds think you are holding food. They will fly up and land on your arms, just long enough to get a picture. When they realize you tricked them they fly off in search of someone who will really feed them. We have some great pictures of our group standing there with pigeons on us. It was one of the "Funnest" parts of the trip, and a memory that I didn't know I would make in Italy.
We toured St. Mark's Basillica. It was beautiful. The entire inside was covered in gold plated mosaics. I was blown away at the architecture and the time that was lovingly put into this building. There is nothing like it in the states. There were depictions of all the old testament stories, many new testiment stories, and even prophetic depictions from the book of Revelations. Ailin and I are the only two who knew very much about religious history, so often we were explaining the meanings to the others in our group. It is a good witnessing tool, but it also becomes boring for those who don't understand the beauty and worship behind the art.
Supposedly when the church was built, some explorers went to Alexandria and stole the body of Jesus's disciple Mark. They brought him to Venice and buried him, and the church was built over him. Mark is the patron saint of Venice. His symbol is the winged lion. You see it all over the Veneto region. It is even the symbol for CIMBA - my program.
We got to go on the top of the building. You can see amazing things in and around the square, and the water. After that we went to find some lunch. We ate at a cute little pizzaria, that we thought would be cheap. We all split 3 pizzas. The tricky thing about Venice is that all restaurants have seating charges per person, and tip is always automatically included. What we thought would be a 7 euro lunch ended up being about 12 per person. We learned our lesson though, and will always check what the charges are before we sit.
After lunch we headed back to St. Mark's square to tour the Doge's palace. The Doge was the ruling figure in Venice from its inception in the first century A.D. until 1797 when Napolean invaded. Venice was Europes longest lasting empire. It even out lasted the Roman empire which is far-more well known. Venice for a long time was equated with virginity because it was impregnable because of its location...not fully on land...not fully on water. The palace was amazing! The art was decadent. We saw the largest oil painting in all of Europe! Most of the art is fairly religious. Venetians often thought of themselves as a chosen people of God. For a while they were the "defendors of Christendom" from Eastern invaders. The tour included the courtyard, which butted up against the Basillica, the living quarters of all the Doges, the Senate seats, the rooms that held the Council of Ten, the rooms that were used for receiving the priest, and finally the armory and the prison cells. The armory was super cool and the guys were thankful to be seeing something other than art and decorative walls. They had all kinds of weapons from crude swords and shanks to one of the first mulit shot weapons. It looked like a revolver on crack. It had to sit on a specially made stand and was probably 2 feet long. I would love to go back to the Palace and spend more time there, just exploring. One of the best parts of that tour was imagining what it would be like to attend a ball there, or just be someone in the court. I could picture myself in a beautiful dress, preparing to meed the Doge, waiting for his blessing. Or attending Carnival there! I have a little bit of an over active imagination.
We then headed back to the hostel to formally check in and take a 30 minute siesta. We were trying to decide if we should take a gondola ride. They are most definitely only for tourists, but they are also one of the main things people think of when they think about Venice. We decided we would take one around dusk. So first we went to buy Carnival masks. They are everywhere, all shapes and sizes, colors and designs. I really wanted an intricate one, but we ended up all getting smaller ones that only cover your eyes. It will be easier to breath and talk that way. Mine is emerald green and has green feathers. Its going to be great for Carnival, but will also make an awesome souvineer.
Finally we got to the gondola. For 6 of us it cost 120 euro for a 45 minute ride...2.5 kilometers. It was worth it! We got to see parts of Venice that we didn't know existed. We saw Marco Polo's house, and a house that Cassanova lived in for an extended period of time. Venice has a mystic quality at night that is only heightened when you are on the water. Our gondilier's name was Fabio and he was about our age. We asked him what we should do after dinner and he said there was absolutely nothing to do in Venice late at night. "No discotecas" were his exact words! We later found out he was right.
AFter the ride we tried to find something for dinner. After walking around for about 30 minutes and not coming to an agreement we went back to the Grand Canal and ate at a restaurant that had a "tourist menu." For 15 euro you got a glass of champaign, an antepasta (first course), an entree and a side, and finally dessert or coffe. It was a pretty good deal considering we sat outside right next to the canal. Plus the seating charge and service charge was already included! But we did have to pay an additional 3 euro for a bottle of water! I got lasagna, grilled seabass, baked potatoes and gelato! Delicious! We sat there for quite a while just chatting and relaxing.
Afterwards we walked back to St. Marks square because we heard there might be a concert there and dancing. The only thing we found was a square that was beginning to flood. There are little holes through out the town that allow the water to rise in safer places. The square floods every night and morning with the tides. It was weird to see such beautiful buildings being surrounded with water, but they have stood that way for hundreds of years!
On the walk back we found two small street bars that were still open and playing music. They were swamped with Americans partying. Americans bring their party style all over the world. It was kind of annoying. Around 11 though, more Italian youth started showing up. Most of the Americans were so wasted by that time they were starting to head home. The party was a lot cooler after the Americans left and the Italians could be themselves.
The one really annoying thing about Venice was some of the street vendors. They would bring flowers or gadgets and try to sell them to you. Once a guy gave Valerie a flower and tried to make Zeb pay for it. It was actually really funny.
We finally got back to the hostel and just crashed. When we woke up the next morning no one really wanted to do anything. We had cramed so much into the first day that we burnt ourselves out. We checked out and grabbed a quick breakfast at a cafe. Sunday morning is a great time in Venice. I could have sat for hours at the cafe watching the people come and go. There are older couples linked arm in arm, children running through the streets playing games, and families out for an after church stroll.
We took side street back to the train station. It was a great way to see the "real" Venice! Plus the second day was much sunnier, so our pictures are a lot better! Frank and Valerie left earlier than the rest of us. We walked around the town some more, ate lunch in another small cafe and decided we were tired and headed home.
We got back into Bassano around 2:45. We checked the bus schedule and thought one should arrive at 4:20. We decided to walk around Bassano until then. WE happened upon an outdoor mall. It was great because Bassano has "passo giata" which means walk about. Everyone in the town comes out Sunday afternoons to walk around the town square. It was awesome to be a part of. Plus Bassano has a beautiful view of Mounte Grappa. Of course we sampled the local gelato and headed back to the bus station. 4:20 came and passed and no bus. We decided to wait for the next one which was supposed to come at 6:50...it didn't come either. By this time we were upset.
At 7:00 a bus finally arrived, but as we boarded we found out it only went to Crespano, a town about 3/4 of a mile from Paderno, where we are staying. It was our best option. When we got off the bus we had to ask directions on how to get back to Paderno. The man at the cafe said straight up the street. So off we went. About 100 yards into the walk one of the girls said I don't think this is the right way. So we started back tracking and took an unlit gravel path...smart right? Well we ended up in a Catholic graveyard. Being sunday most of the graves were decorated and many had candles lit. I thought I was going to have a panic attack right there. I'm not a fan of cemetaries in the daylight, let alone creepy, hundred year old Italian ones in the middle of the night. Obviously not in the right place, we backtracked again, and went back the way we came. Unfortunately the road we were walking on did not have sidewalks or even sides of the road. We were literally backpakcing across Italy on the curvy, unlit, Italian highway. Not the most pleasant experience...but definately unforgettable. Especially because dogs were barking, cars were whizzing by, and I was already on my last nerve. I jumped and screamed at about every turn. I about took out my entire group when I saw a man squatting down ahead of us. Well that "man" turned out to be a funny looking fence, my imagination just got the best of me.
About 30 minutes later we finally saw some familiar sights and made it back to campus just in time for dinner. It was definitely a fun story to tell and one I will always remember. Things I learned from this trip: Get all the extra charges before you sit down, don't do too much in one day, and buses don't run to Paderno on Sundays!
Next up: Florence! I'm headed there at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning!
Verse of the night: Psalm 56: 3-4 "When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?"
posted by Niki in High-Def at 9:18 AM
3 comments
.trying to catch up! I guess my organization skills haven't changed yet, but I'm sure thats about to change.
