Rambling: A Weekend in Venice

FINALLY I have time to post the last of my pre-Spain travel pics.  Jeepers it only took forever.  After Molly and I parted in Cinque Terre, I headed to Venice by myself for the weekend.  It took four trains and a lot of lugging my suitcases up and down stairs (on one I accidentally ended up on the first-class car, then while trying to move got stuck in the part between cars because I couldn’t figure out how to open the door... turns out there was a button, as the conductor showed me. Wah wah, embarrassing).  Venice was just like everyone describes it – beautiful, but full of tourists.  It feels like it’s two places competing for the same real estate – historical Venice, with gondolas and art and Venetian masks, buried under the money-making hot spot of today, which lures in 17.5 MILLION tourists a year.  My favorite part of Venice was when I woke up early to watch the sun rise - the city (besides the delivery men, street sweepers, and early-bird locals) was sleeping so it was actually relaxing.  Pics: 

About 6am and the city is still sleeping :-)

It's CRAZY to see this street empty, because during the day it's a loud, pushy, consumer rat maze 

Just me and the early morning deliverers

Pizza at 7am?  Why not!!

Piazza di San Marco, street sweeper

Waiting gondolas

Good morning, Venice!

Just chatting up some fishermen

Perfect breakfast 

Curry spaghetti?  CHOCOLATE SPAGHETTI?? SALMON SPAGHETTI???

Basilica di San Marco really is amazing, so ornate and gold, but with the huge crowd, roped-off lines, and turnstiles to pay for certain exhibits, it felt more like a Disney ride than a holy space. 

The system they've developed for deliveries is crazy!

The second day I took a waterbus out to 2 small islands close to the island of Venice - Murano, which is known for glass-making, and Burano, which is known for lace-making.  They were AWESOME because not only are they artsy and historical, but SO COLORFUL.  It's like walking through a painting.  Or a toy town.  PLUS, all the colors reflect off the canals, giving you double the color.  

Cutest island ever

I think this is the first church I've ever seen with boats parked out front. I like.

Wandering around the non-tourist side (and getting weird looks).  What a town to grow up in.  I met an old man who's lived here his old life.  I wonder if the kids now love it or can't wait to leave for somewhere bigger.

I'll take that backyard

I want to work in a yellow school!

The ladies were literally sitting in the Lace Museum, and probably just as old.  They were so excited to get their photos taken :)

:-)

So many glass stores!

Made friends with some British guys while exploring this teeny island, Torcello

We went to this old church, founded in 639, to see the Byzantine design.  Turned out there was a wedding happening.  Awkwardly standing around underdressed. 

Oh just the bride and groom taking wedding photos while we poke around to see the architecture.  NBD.

Sunset

Back in Venice.  This is blurry but I like it :-)

Giant piazza where the college kids hang out

Another exciting thing about Venice is that this is where I had my first ever sit-down meals by myself :-) Obviously I've eaten at cafes like Panera, but I had never been to a full-out, multi-course, wine-alone kind of restaraunt by myself - it felt not nearly as awkward as I was expecting and actually empowering.  The first night I got bruschetta and lemoncillo on the house, and the last night I got chocolate pudding on the house... I can't imagine they see many young girls eating alone in Italy, and I will gladly take their pity handouts :-) 

Then I took a handful of trains to Bergamo, the town of the airport, to catch an early flight in the morning.  I headed to Pasta Basta, an all-pasta restaurant near my hotel, and settled in for my last night of wine and over-eating.  The people at the table next to me invited me to join them halfway through dinner and they were awesome! They didn't speak much English, and I realized that I actually spoke wayyy less Italian than I thought... turns out that ordering dinner or asking for directions is a lot easier than understanding a story about waterguns or explaining your life goals.  Using 3 languages (Spanglishtalian), excessive hand gestures, and cell phone translators, it was a great night :-)  I saw that what Molly has said really is true - Italians just love Italy, love being Italian, and want you to know it so you love it too.  They said to let them know if I'm ever in Bergamo again and I would gladly do so - I love how non-American cultures are so hospitable and not-awkward.  We parted with the cheek-kiss, I quickly fell asleep, and woke up bright and early to head to Madrid!  On to the next adventure....