Venice (by far) is my favorite Italian city that I have visited! We arrived after the sun had set, and the first impression I had of the canals lit up underneath the moon was absolutely striking! After getting a late dinner, a few of us headed out to explore the city at night. Without a map the narrow ‘streets’ of Venice are very easy to get lost within! Wandering around, we walked in the direction that we thought was towards the main part of Venice but instead ended up on the complete opposite side of the main San Marco Piazza (as we later discovered). After an hour of being lost, we finally found ourselves by the cruise terminal and knew how to get back to our hotel from there even though it was a good thirty to forty minute walk away! Getting lost and wandering around the canals of Venice without all the tourists of the main area made the night very memorable. We had a lot of laughs and it was a gorgeous night all around.
In the morning, we walked around the city for 'class'. It was nice because we finally got to see the main areas of Venice that we had never found the night before!
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| Kelly, me, Melissa, and Marj in San Marco |
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| A side street canal- the boat and gondola drivers are soo skilled at maneuvering through these! |
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| Grand Canal |
After class, a few of us headed out to the islands of Murano and Burano. These are famous for their crafts of making glass and lacework. It was enjoyable to spend the day seeing the glassblowers at work, exploring the shops, and walking through the colorful town of Burano. Each house there is a different color of very bright hues-think Pepto Bismal Pink, Kelly Green and Fire Engine Red! Kelly and I stayed there long enough to watch the sun set. Looking out towards Venice, the view reminded me so much of the Monet poster of San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk that I have had hanging in my dorm/apartment for the last three years! It was an amazing sunset, and made even more special due to the fact that the painting came alive before my eyes. I had once known the painting was of Venice, but it never crossed my mind while looking at it that I would ever in my wildest dreams watch a sunset over Venice.
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| Murano glass! I couldn't get over how pretty all of the glass necklaces and ornaments etc were! |
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| Glass blowers at work at Murano |
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| Burano |
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| Sunset over Venice (different viewpoint from Monet, but you can still see the same icons) |
Our second afternoon in Venice was bittersweet. At that point our class portion of the fieldtrip was over, and everyone split up to do their own individual travel. The group of guys we usually hang out with was heading to London for five days. Meanwhile Kelly, Melissa and I were headed to Paris. Having seen everyone 24/7 for the past 2.5 months, it was weird to be separated for quite a few days without talking at all! Spending the last couple hours before everyone had to head out to the airport, we grabbed lunch and a bottle of wine. We found a spot on one of the bridges overlooking the Grand Canal, and it was the perfect way to spend the afternoon in the sun. Saying goodbye to the guys as they headed off, meant Melissa, Kelly and I were off on our own to explore Paris!! We spent a few hours shopping in Venice and traveling to the airport. Finally in flying to Paris, we began our second week of travel.
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| Eating lunch on the bridge overlooking the canal |
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