He Won't Sing For You???

I am exhausted, absolutely exhausted. Italy is wonderful, but it really does tire me out (I think it is all the stairs…). Today was no exception because today I went to Venice. I was very excited to see this famed city. Merchant of Venice was one of my favorite Shakespeare comedies and I was very pumped to see its famous sights (because you all know how much I love to look at famous things, take pictures, and talk about them forever).

I got up really early and walked to the bus station with my friends, camera ready and boarded the bus. I felt really rested and I was going to get that picture of the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Sadly, I never got the picture – I fell asleep five minutes after we started and woke up at the bus station in Venice. Something tells me I have to go into the Tuscan countryside and actually stand in it to get a picture.

We took the waterbus everywhere and it was the perfect way to see Venice (since it is a city built upon water). The group decided to go to Burano first, a island off-shoot of Venice. I have decided that I want to have a vacation house on Burano. The houses there are every bright color of the rainbow – electric blue, hot pink, lime green, and canary yellow. The colors were so out of the ordinary but they worked so well. A bride was taking wedding pictures on a bridge and her dress looks so beautiful against all the crazy colors. It was like being in a fantasy land that was colored in with a bunch of crayons.

All the pretty houses!

After Burano, we sailed off to Murano, the home of the most beautiful glass in the world. Sadly, they stopped glass blowing demonstrations on the weekends so we just had to shop… not too bad. I loved looking in all the little shops and seeing all the glassware, sculptures and jewelry – these are real craftsmen. Everything was so beautiful you wanted to cry, then make yourself feel better by buying it all.

Our boat ride back to mainland Venice was very entertaining – the port was filled with many cruise ships and we occupied ourselves by waving frantically at the people on the cruise ship decks. We were interrupted when we pulled into port and we saw the wonderment of Venice. We could see the top of St. Marc’s church and the gondolas. It was amazing.

Our guide (who walked really, really fast) led us past the docks and we launched ourselves into the hubbub of St. Marc’s Square and all I could say was wow. It was so incredible. So many people have described how wonderful and beautiful it is but it cannot prepare you for the real thing. Everyone should try and see it in their lifetime.

The Square!

We made our way to the Rialto, making our way through side-streets and over canals. We were walking up a small street and then we saw it, the Rialto, the famous bridge. It was so spectacular and a lot bigger than I thought. It is very similar to the Ponte Vecchio in Florence (they both have shops on them) but it is much larger. From the top of the bridge, you could see all the gondolas in the canal. It was magical.

Dinner was pasta and meat sauce, so simple and so good. I wonder if the beef is from Tuscany – I want to be a locavore for as long as possible. As we waited for some of our group outside the restaurant (which is on a little canal), a gondola went past. And the gondolier wasn’t singing! My friend and I contemplated this fact. Isn’t it said that it is very romantic to take a gondola around Venice and have the gondolier sing you a love song? Well, when the next gondola came around the corner, we decided that the people should be sung too and if the gondolier wasn’t going to it, we were. So we belted out a song for the people, who laughed and clapped (they were American so they understood our song choice) and got a nasty look from the gondolier (who now has to hear about the two American girls who sang to his passengers). It was really fun.

We went back to the Rialto and saw it all lit up and we got amazing views of Venice and the Grand Canal all illuminated. A quick waterbus ride and then we were back on the bus. I promptly fell asleep and awoke as we pulled into Florence bus station. It was a wonderful day, full of exploration and wonder.

Ciao!

By a canal in Venice!!!!