Have Master's Will Travel: Reflections in Venezia

We arrived in Venice after 13:00 which meant we could check baggage upon arrival to our hotel. Anne and I walked in the direction we were pointed towards and made our way through the tiny streets and countless bridges, squinting to read street names and follow arrows that we later discovered were often misleading, as in turn left when the most appropriate way to turn is a u-turn. Leaving our backpacks at the hotel, we set out to discover what the city had to offer.

We had a city map thanks to our hotel, and this was great because we found out Venice is one of the few places that does not offer maps to their visitors. They are priced between 2,50 and 5,50 euros depending on the type of map and the type of customer. Just a few feet away from where we had started walking, we say down near a canal bridge and took our lunch: leftover pizza and fruit! We had decided to have two sit-down meals while in Venice, and we chose both to be dinners. Besides, we always have gelato to fill the gap between a meal and the next.

After our lunch we explored St. Mark's basilica, where the dress code is strictly enforced. Strictly, of course, unless the guy in charge of the code becomes distracted by a French-Spanish tourist engaging him in conversation... Our interaction with Lorenzo, Larry as he tells the tourists to call him, began when he scolded Anne for getting too close to one of the walls of the outside church courtyard. All visitors had to pass through this tiny spot and be qualified as able to go in or immorally dressed. The latter had to pay 1€ and be handed a large rectangular piece of cloth to cover shoulders, upper arms, and upper legs when exposed. Lorenzo then turned to me and asked what I wanted and I simply answered, "Nothing, just watching you work," signaling a woman entering with a tank top. Quickly Lorenzo stopped her and yelled out one of three phrases I observed him say in about five different languages: cover the shoulder, cover the leg, one euro please. This got us talking about whether I was covered enough to go inside (which I had been) and whether or not I was a "good person." Instead of answering Lorenzo, whom I refused and refuse now to call Larry, I posed him the question of benevolence. He said he was; I said I called his bluff. The conversation ended up with me helping to call out the non-good people, and there I was shouting in all my languages: cover the shoulder! cover the leg! one euro for the church! Lorenzo then offered to show us around Venice, which I politely declined. We were in Venice doing our own thing, Lorenzo!

After the basilica, we headed out to the Grand Canal, the main little river that runs through Venice. There were plenty of tourists around, and Anne's guidebook says the town is busiest between 10:00 and 17:00, while all the tourists who are staying at either mainland Venice or on a cruise are granted access. We walked around aimlessly and came upon a smaller church. Walking inside, we realized it was after hours for the tour, but we walked around anyway and got to see most of the church before the residents' mass ended and we were all kicked out. We saved about 3€ by not paying that day. Yay!

After getting kicked out we looked for dinner places and found a good pizza-pasta place that was recommended in Anne's guidebook. We sat down and after water each ordered an item. We had planned to share, but I ordered a pizza with seasonal vegetables, while Anne ordered what we thought to be a fancy mixed greens salad. A few minutes later, bread was brought to the table with olive oil for dipping. The our food arrived: a veggie pizza for me and octopus pico de gallo for Anne. Yes, our insalate choice had actually been an order for a seafood dish. Since I do not really like seafood (especially octopus!), I happily shared my pizza with Anne while she was being adventurous in her dinner choices. We also didn't realize that we were being charged a cover fee, not for listening to lovely music while we are, simply to eat at the restaurant. Additionally, we were served bread at the table and had to pay 4€ for it. Anne said, "we are in Italy. If people can find something to charge you for, you bet yourself they will."

After our dinner it was around 23:00 and we walked around Venice to discover what the city looks like at night. We were stopped by at least three different groups of guys and men asking if they could buy us drinks. Instead of feeling uncomfortable and politely denying, I decided to speak any of my languages as long as it wasn't the one with which we were being addressed. When an Italian man came up to me to tell me "bellisima" I would answer, "désolée monsieur, mais je ne parle pas italien." My favorite was a group of what appeared to be American guys. They came up as we were walking down a bridge and asked, "hey they girls wanna get a drink?" I was a bit tired by then and over my language game, so I just shook my head. Mr. American, however, took that as a signal that I didn't speak any English, so he said, "No English for you?" I had taken the bait, and responded in very fast German. I have to give it to him, he tried very hard and produced a telegraphic sentence that went something like this: "you come chamomile drink with I your friend come chamomile too drink, one night yes." I laughed and shook my head and then Anne and I finally found our way back to our hotel. It took us about an hour, but without a map, we made our way back safely. Venice at night was much quieter and much more fun than with all the cruise people and the mainland tourists.

The next morning we ate breakfast at our hostel and then walked around some more. We visited two museums, one right next to the basilica at St. Mark's plaza and the other right across the plaza. I had fun counting how many museum employees, those in charge of ensuring no shenanigans occur around the halls, walkways, and rooms of the museums, were asleep and/or snoring. In total I counted eight sleepers and five sleepers+snorers.

We had lunch by the canal this time, with leftovers from dinner the night before. Afterwards, we walked around to look for souvenirs and to explore the city without a map. It's a lot of fun walking around and seeing how different streets are either tourist- or resident-minded. These streets can be right next to each other yet cater to very different types of folks. We stumbled upon (ok I admit it, we looked for) the gelato store from the evening before and ordered a scoop of creamy goodness. I had ordered a lemon-strawberry combination the precious time and this time I ordered a flavor called Tango, mixed plain yogurt with mango. It was the perfect thing to savor while walking the sunny streets of Venice. We came upon another end of the seaside street where it was less touristy and quiet. We sat there for a while enjoying the last of our gelato. Once finished, Anne began writing in her journal while I updated this entry. After a few minutes, Anne asked what I would like to do in our last hours in Venice. I thought about it and realized I wanted to finish my entry right by the water. I usually don't get to finish these entries until long after we have left the location I write of, whether we are on a train to our next destination or during the early morning hours as we reach our new overnight refuge. I thought it would be pretty special to finish an entry while still in Venice, so I thought I would take about half an hour to finish writing it up. Anne decided she wanted to explore more of the city and we decided to meet back at the main plaza after half an hour.

So here I am, sitting by the water, the small ripples caused by gondolas, motor boats, and taxis. I have a lot of fun traipsing through each city we get to, exploring each of their main tourist attractions, and getting lost as we walk about the city and discover places not on our guidebooks. Just yesterday, we were looking for our dinner location and could not, as much as we squinted and looked, find the street on our map. We decided to just wing it and head in that general area; it took us a while, but we came up on the place and had an adventurous dinner! It's also really fun knowing that I am visiting so many countries in the short time that I am here. I could sit for hours just watching the people of each city go about their daily routine.

Nevertheless, there is a part of me that seeks a quiet tranquility during the day, a time I can take to reflect on the things I have experienced during my waking hours, a time to take a few deep breaths and regroup. Perhaps it is the introvert in me that longs for time with myself and my thoughts. All the hustle and bustle of a whirlwind backpacking trip is great and I am so thankful to be living it, but I am regretful as I admit that I haven't been taking that time for myself lately. With the pressures and high expectations of such a rigorous graduate program, it took me a while to find a good balance between getting so much done and centering myself with these quiet moments during my week.

This new experience for me has also required some adjustments on my part. No, I do not feel it appropriate to stay in a hotel room all day while journaling or blogging, but I feel this is my outlet for my own thoughts and musings, and just as I had to find a balance between such a stressful master's program, I'm beginning to find it here in Europe. I may miss half an hour or forty five minutes of city exploring, I might not get to see a certain monument or museum piece that everyone says I should, but I will be sitting and taking LIFE in while on the other side of the world, miles away from the comfort of my hometown, while on an incredible adventure that is making me grow in more ways than I could have ever anticipated. Perhaps I won't get to walk onto a quaint street with beautiful windows of which I would have taken pictures of for my picture collection, but then again, I will never be back in Venice at this time in my life, smiling and waving to the people on boats as they pass by, smelling the fishy air and thinking to myself, after months of struggle and pain, "My, how far I have come." That, my friends, is a gift I will forever cherish, and a memory from this quaint little town I will keep in my heart until memory escapes from me and someone reads from this blog to make me smile.

Arrivederci de Venezia

Anne and I on the train to Venice. There were no seats for us so we gladly sat on the steps and munched on breakfast. In Sharon's words, "we are so flexible!"

Anne loves these but hasn't found them in the US. When we saw them at the market I convinced her to get them for our lunch. Rum, sparkling soda, and fruity goodness. Yum!

At St. Mark's square. See all the tourists?

Lorenzo as he saw all the immodestly-dressed trying to sneak their way into the church. Tsk tsk tsk...

Even men are made to cover up. No exceptions! Cover the shoulder you man!

Some bare legs and arms are allowed to I through, especially if the person is sleeping through the whole tour like this baby.

I lot a candle for a very special someone I know, and I lit one for a few other special people (baby L in particular!).

Anne lighting hers.

My friend Juliana! She is from Brazil but spent time studying on Sicily. I knew I would meet someone from there, I just knew it!!

Even better, she had on a World Cup manicure to support Brazil. And they won!

Ledge. Need I say more?

Trend setter I am, everywhere I go.

My friend who scolded me for throwing my tasting cup away. "Save the earth!" Alessandra said. We ended up the best of pals.

These guys and gals make sure no one picnics at the plaza or buys/sells counterfeit designer purses.

No counterfeits here, just good ol' gelato!

This little guy was trying to get Anne's cone. Anne obviously won.

Little canals, little rivers, little Nich.

Selfie with the selfie-takers!

I walked into a beautiful scrapbook and stationary store. If you know me well, you know what a find this was. SC would know, but I didn't stay there long I promise!