Venice: An Amazing Maze

I'm back in England and now thoroughly recovered from my 4 day journey to three of Italy's biggest cities: Venice, Rome, and Palermo. I had wanted to post last night, but my internet was experiencing some issues so I had wait until today. Anyway, I've decided to devote one post each to each of the cities in order to do them justice. I'll begin with our first destination. Venice.

 Waking up at 2:30 am, my roommate Rachel and I caught an early flight out of London so we could enjoy most of the day in Venice. While on the plane, we got a beautiful view of the Alps, making us even more excited for our trip.

 

Our arrival in Venice was a little less than desirable as it was very foggy and we got a little lost finding our hostel, which was actually in the small village of Tessera, a 15 minute walk from the airport. When we did find it, I was very happy when the owner said I had a very Italian face to go with my last name. However, he then said something I've never been told in my life: "You're very white." Of course, he went on to add I was pale for someone whose families came from southern Italy, but I was still surprised to hear that. Note to self: work on tan.

After setting down our backpacks (we traveled very light), Rachel and I took a 45 minute bus ride into the actual city of Venice. As we crossed the bridge, images of Venice's winged St. Mark's lion greeted us while small islands rose out of the water and mist on either side. As we stepped off the bus, we passed through a small piazza surrounded on all other side by tall modern buildings and full of the usual tourist trap souvenir stalls of masks and other trinkets to our first stone bridge. When we reached the top, we got our first glimpse of the famous city.

 

As we made our way into the city, crossing over countless bridges of metal, wood, and stone and of varying lengths and sizes, Venice became alive. The sweet smell of pastry sugar and the earthy smell of water mixed in the misty air. Native Venetians bustled along their daily lives, striding purposefully forward or strolling along their usual haunts and calling out to friends. Tourists stroll as well, ducking in and out of the various shops and boutiques or stopping at the vendors on every corner and piazza selling homogenous souvenirs. On the canals, gondolas and motorboats bob along on the almost Caribbean green water. We wandered aimlessly, following the crowds or our own inclinations, finding small but beautiful moments and architecture along the way.

It's really no mystery to me now why Venice is such a beloved subject for artists. The earthen browns, reds, and yellows of the buildings with their plants and little balconies, the jewel blue and green of the canals, and the intricate iron,old wood, or aged stone of the bridges make each little canal seem like a picture in itself. Add that to the native flavors of the carnival masks and hundreds of little alleyways, and you'd always be able to capture a new side of Venice.

 

Although we had fun not really knowing where we were going as it let us enjoy a canoli and a cup of tiramisu, buy ourselves a carnival mask each, see some of the ordinary but beautiful architecture and countless small shops we wouldn't have seen by taking the road more traveled, as it got later we made our way to the Piazza di San Marco or St.Mark's Piazza (and got turned around a bit too).

As we crossed the bridge into the piazza, my eyes were immediately captured by a large, marble fronted building, guarded by lions and saints that looked ready to step away into the square. My attention, once done with this building, was overwhelmed by St.Mark's Cathedral. There were so many details on just on side of the cathedral it had to be appreciated bit by bit. Not only was the architecture itself an intriguing meeting of Eastern and Western styles, but the decoration saw Islamic, Hebrew, Roman, Byzantine, and Mesopotamian influences with numerous sculptures, reliefs, mosaics, paintings, and carvings covering almost every available surface. Pagan themes stood right alongside the Christian, yet they didn't seem to clash. On a corner of the cathedral, I discovered a very familiar carving of the Tetrarchs of the Roman Empire.

The other great presences that dominated the square was St.Mark's winged lion and the great clock. The famous clock, with its golden signs of the zodiac, rested beneath a sculpture of the lion. The lion is everywhere in the square, from the top of flagpoles to the bases of lampposts to the most famous one that is said to protect the city from its perch on a tall column.

 

By that time, the mist was settling back in, signalling our time to return to our hostel. Finding our circular way back, we bought pizza for dinner and ate it while looking out over the Grand Canal; a very fitting and satisfying way to end the day.