Venezia!

The hotel we stayed at in Venice was wonderful. It used to be a convent, and it has maintained most of the architecture and the feeling of peace. They have a beautiful private garden that we walked around multiple times. Sitting there before dinner one evening, I smelled the roses from the arbors, listened to the birds chirping and the bells ringing in the distance as I sipped a glass of prosecco. Bliss.

(No way will I be able to stay in places like this when I’m traveling on my own. Thank you, parents!) 

Venice is very crowded on the tourist routes, but it is very beautiful too. It’s incredible to see houses and doorways opening right onto the waterways like streets. Being here makes me want to learn more about Venetian history, because it was such an independent city. Most of my images of historical Venice, sadly, come from the movie "Dangerous Beauty."

We go on the obligatory gondola ride, which is overpriced (this is what happens when people have monopolies) but fun to see the city from the water. The gondoliers still wear the hats and striped shirts, and we passed one boat that was being serenaded. Ah, nostalgia. 

We traipse over bridges and down narrow alleys, past cries of “Gondola-gondola!” from clusters of gondolieri, as we peruse the shops. Venetian masks are pretty famous, and sold almost everywhere (ranging from cheap to expensive). At the nice places it's an art form - they're beautifully, intricately painted and designed. I bought one at a shop where the woman who sold them was sitting right there working on her next one. We hit the main sights: first, Basilica San Marco, which was overwhelmingly gold, and had a great view of crowds and pigeons in the piazza from above. The Doge's Palazzo was impressively imposing, especially the giant state room, but my favorite surprise was in between the basilica and palazzo. 

The statue of the Four Tetrarchs is wedged between the two main tourist sites, carved on the base of the basilica but almost completely overlooked by passers-by (no signs, nothing to distinguish it). It's kind of wonderful to finally see the works of art I've studied in art history up close and in person, especially when they pop up unexpectedly like that. We saw The Tempest (by Giorgione) in the Accademia Museum later in the day, and today in Rome we passed Trajan's Column, which I remember discussing in an essay.

 St. Mark (the patron saint of Venice) and his symbolic lion on top of the Basilica

Family at Basilica San Marco

At the end of the day we sit in Piazza San Marco, the main square, having a drink and listening to the 'dueling' orchestras from the open-air cafes. The pigeons are very bold here, to the amusement and/or chagrin of various tourists. Then we take the boat back across the water from the main city to our hotel, and watch the sun set over Venice.