On a different random note, I had a realization. Lots of people here have bumper stickers that say CH, which, obviously stands for Switzerland, and the two things that Switzerland is most famous for, CHocolate and CHeese both start with CH. Coincidence? I think not.
Ok, back to Venice. On Monday, Melanie and I left in the morning for Venice. We took a train to Milan then caught a train to Venice. We had reservations at a little hotel not too far away from the train station, so our first vision of Venice was walking to the Hotel Dalla Mora. The nice thing about taking the train is that the station is located right on the Canal Grande so you don't have to worry about taking a water taxi or anything.
I will say this: Venice is utterly enchanting. It's a place where you can get lost in mystery and delight, potent with historical intrigue, tragedy, comedy, life. Yes, it is absolutely stunning on the surface- ancient stone, intricate detail on every building- but it goes deeper than that. Like New York, how it's a beautiful maze of concrete gardens exploding with diversity, but what makes it is the feeling of electricity in the air, the thrum of life that can only come from the essence of the city itself and those who inhabit it. Similarly, in Venice, there is something rich and magical in the air, not found in tourist shops or fancy hotels, but in glimpses into the past, in observing the layers of life, the patterns rooted in the foundations of the city that continue to be lived out today.
I have already decided that if I have children, one of them will be named Venice. The only thing that is not utterly enchanting about Venice is having to pay 2.50 for a bottle of water when you are parched on account of the heat, but apart from that, I do believe I am in love.
My first vision of Venice.
Warning: you will be seeing quite a lot of this Venitian lion. I took quite a fancy to it and therefore photographed it more than was probably necessary.
We took a water taxi to the island of Murano, famous for glass blowing. The pieces for sale in some of the shops were absolutely incredible. I almost an offer on the one behind me in the picture, but I didn't think US Airways would be too pleased about transporting it home.
It was incredibly hot, as you can probably imagine. I honestly don't know how these guys were able to do it- we were sweltering and we were a ways away from the fire.
We watched one of the masters make this horse. He made it look to easy to turn this blog of glass into a piece of art. He took those big tweezer-like things and pulled out the legs and the head, and it was incredible to watch.
Aren't they beautiful?
The water taxi driver doesn't always steer, but when he does, it's with his foot.
Not sure the history behind this statue, but it had my favorite winged lion, so I needed a picture.
The Bridge of Sighs. On the right is the jail, and on the left is the courthouse. This is the bridge that prisoners would cross on their way to their trials. As they were often sentenced to death, the little windows on this bridge provided the last sunlight they ever saw.
Whee!
People who get married come here and put locks on this bridge to symbolize their relationship. I wonder if they toss the key into the water and there are a bunch lying on the bottom of the canal.
I know these are basically the same picture but I had fun messing around with the focus. Which do you like better? (And yes the one below is enhanced by a filter)
Some resting gondoliers.
I can never remember what this bridge is called but I know it's significant because it's one of the original ones to cross the canal.
Saint Marc was looking particularly fine.
After some exploring, we went back to our hotel and got changed to go to dinner.
Ready for my pre-dinner swim!
Apparently it's better to wait till later in the evening to eat so we sat along the canal and did some people-watching.
Dessert!! This was amazing.
After dinner we went to St. Marc's Square to see how it looked in the evening. Unsurprisingly, it looked incredible.
My favorite lion makes a reappearance.
On Tuesday I woke up early and it was too pretty not to go outside and do a morning photo-walk. So I did.
This was the view from our hotel room.
Early morning reflections.
Some kids and their mom on the way to school. Can you imagine growing up in a place like Venice?
After breakfast, we went to St. Marc's with the hope of getting there before it opened so we could get in line and see the inside but we got there and already the line was longer than it was midday! Someday I would like to see the inside but I think that will have to be sometime in the winter when there are less tourists. Anyway, we decided to go wandering through some of the alleys and look in some of the shops. It should be noted that the checkout time for our hotel was 11, and that we did not check out before leaving in the morning because we thought we would be back in plenty of time. It should also be noted that it took us about 45 minutes to walk to St. Marc's. Around 10:30, we decided the time was ripe (well, overripe, actually) to head back to the hotel to make checkout time. Consequently, we had to run part of the way back, dodging tourists and gondoliers and getting really sweaty because it was hot and we were both wearing black. I personally thought it was really fun and hilarious but that's probably because I'm weird. :) Thankfully, we made checkout time and got to leave our bags in the lobby so we didn't have to lug them around the rest of the day. Mind you, we didn't have a ton of time because our train left at 1:20 so we would arrive in Bellinzona in a timely manner.
Our awesome little hotel. It was perfect for our needs- cheap, clean, and with free breakfast.
It's goodbye for now, Venice, but I'm coming back for you one day, just you wait. :)
