After much delay...Italy! Part I: Venice

Well, I'm done! My essays--such as they are--are finished, and I finally have time to update this blog. Italy has long been overdue, so I'll start with that.

Venice:

Venice was everything I'd thought it would be, from the gorgeous architecture of St. Mark's Basilica and the Palazzo Ducale, to the Bridge of Sighs, the narrow, winding streets, the canals, the gondalas, the masks, the gelato (goes without saying). And yet for me the most thrilling experience was riding the vaporetti (water bus) from the Lido to the mainland. Our hotel, which was very nice, was on Lido, a thin island that guards Venice from the Adriatic. Strangely enough, the island itself reminded me a lot of Long Island. Ok, they're both islands, so maybe not so strange! Although a bit chilly, since it was still March, it was wonderful to be out on the water again. It was just like being out on Keuka Lake back home: there were motorboats out, and sailboats, and people fishing. The sun sparkling off the water, the wind in my hair---perfection.



Venice is in many ways a fantasy city. I remember loving Disney's World Showcase pavilions at Epcot when I was a kid. It seems fitting that their representation of Italy was basically a reproduction of the Palazzo Ducale (the palace of the Venetian Doge). In many ways, the real thing is still a fairy tale world...for adults. Venice's beauty is almost unmatched; and yet, it exists almost exclusively for tourism. In that sense, I never got the sense that I was seeing the "real" Italy while I was there.



The other downside to Venice is of course the high prices. It's common knowledge that Venice is the most expensive city in Italy (even worse than Rome)! Unlike Dublin, which is apparently the most expensive city in Europe for no explicable reason, Venice is worth it. Yet it was still a bit disheartening to drop 10 Euros on a mediocre buffet dinner because it was the cheapest thing we could find. On the flip side, the gelato was the best and cheapest in Italy (only 1.50 for a huge cone)!

I also loved how Venice was such a peaceful, walkable city. There were no cars anywhere. All of the "traffic" was made up of boats and gondalas on the canals. People's houses were built right up against the canals, so that you could simply open your front door from your boat and step in! I really liked that.



Of course, at the same time there wasn't much nature anywhere...no parks, for instance. The aerial view of Venice is very brown, particularly because the streets are so narrow that they all blend together from above. And woe betide you if you're trying to find a particular place using traditional street directions. There's no such thing as getting lost in Venice, because that implies that you have the ability to navigate your way around. Which you don't. The best tactic is to just wander until you find a sign pointing back to St. Mark's Square, which is the only open space anywhere in Venice. Just watch out so that you're not attacked by the pigeons...they're everywhere!



But it is all of these things that makes Venice so special and unique. I'm so glad I had the chance to visit before it sinks into the sea. If it ever does, the world will be a lesser place as a result.