Thursday we took a train into Venice and I got my first real glimpse of the sea. When we got out of the train station, it seemed unreal that a canal was right before our eyes and there was not a car to be seen. Nonetheless, the streets and the waters were very busy. We had to walk for about 45 minutes to get to our hostel, but it didn't seem to take very long because there was so much to take in. The map of the city is very confusing, so over the course of the weekend we would turn a corner and be lost, and then turn another corner and know exactly where we were. Later that night, a couple friends and I had some "spritz" (a Venetian specialty consisting of sparkling white wine and an orange liqueur called Aperol) and then attended a play that our soon to be Commedia teacher, Marcello Bartoli, was in.
On Friday we got up early and took a boat out to one of the islands, Giudecca, to meet up with two of our teachers for movement and voice class. It was a great little residential area that hasn't been swallowed up by tourism. Our studio space was beautiful, and we even got a little tour of the local professional theatre building. After that we took a little trip to Murano where we browsed the glass shops. I called it "The Nantucket of Venice". Later that night we came across a cute locally owned wine bar, and we each had a glass of the most delicious wine I've ever had. We took our time savoring every last drop. If I remember the name of it, I'll add it in.
Saturday, on our way to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, we took a 5 minute gondola ride across the canal that only cost .50 euro! That was terrifying but incredible at the same time. It certainly woke me up. I absolutely loved the Guggenheim. It was such a beautiful house, and it almost seemed impossible that so many famous, not to mention beautiful, works of art could be crammed into such a small space. I was especially thrilled to find some beautiful Kandinsky, Chagall, Picasso, Dali, and Magritte paintings, as well as to browse around the Italian Futurism wing. We wandered around this area of Venice for a while and then went to the Galleria dell'Accademia, which to our delight was free on that day. Next we met up with the rest of our class in Piazza San Marco to do a little improvised theatre game, which actually attracted a bit of a crowd!
Later that night we went out to dinner, which was great but pricey, and my friend Ilse got another 'Venetian Specialty' - Spaghetti with black squid sauce... Not gonna lie, it was actually pretty good! After dinner a few of us wandered around on a mission to find tiramisu (I had never had it before). While walking back from a bakery at around 10pm, we heard an orchestra coming from near by and discovered that we were in an alley next to an opera house. We sat down in the street and ate our dessert while listening to the opera for a good half hour - it was one of the best moments of my semester so far.
In the morning, we got up at 6:30 am and left the hostel in our pajamas to watch the sun rise in Piazza San Marco. Our philosophy teacher, Scott, recommended this because it is a rare opportunity to experience the city without being surrounded by tourists. It was well worth the walk and the early rise. Words could not describe how peaceful and beautiful the city was. I'll make a separate blog entry for pictures of the sunrise.
On the day we left for Venice we took a leisurely hour to browse a great book store. By the time we left though, I got really irritated by the crowds. It was stressful enough trying to get across town to get to the train station, but I was sick of pushing through people and seeing the endless shops selling fake ornamented masks and glass jewelery. If I ever come back to Venice, I would love to explore the more quiet, residential areas where people actually speak Italian and aren't trying to sell you things right and left.
I can't complain though - I got to go to Venice for a whole weekend as part of the school's program! The city is so unique. I never got to used to walking over bridges and along side canals. I'm so glad I got to go, and I would definitely go back again.
Photos from Venice:
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A view of a canal
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Ilse by the water on Fondamenta Nuove
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On Fondamenta Nuove
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Picture taken on boat taxi
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By the water on Giudecca
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In the theatre building (Giudecca)
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Some laundry (Giudecca)
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Ground level of the building of our studio space (Giudecca)
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View from the window of our studio space (Giudecca)
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A lotta blue on Murano
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Glass sculpture below clock tower (Murano)
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View from a bridge (Murano)
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View from water taxi leaving Murano
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View from the Rialto bridge
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Graffiti on the Rialto
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Another view from the Rialto
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Rialto bridge
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Gondolier
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Josh and Anna
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Ilanna, Jenny, Anna, and Josh
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Giudecca across the way
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Cute
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Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
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Some canal
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La Salute from the side
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Part of the church
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Josh jumping into the canal
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Sculpture on the point
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Another view
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View from Accademia Bridge
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Other side
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View of La Salute from the bridge
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Pretty building
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Inside a bizarre store that we found
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Anna and the rat
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Canal
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A canal at night
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