Venice, Italy

Venice was a postcard city; so unlike any place I have ever visited on this earth. I spent my three days there with a camera attached to my face as everything to see was so beyond the laws of nature. The old-fashioned water systems that were put into place over 800 years ago still stand today, navigating between islands by boat with the sea underneath you and snowy mountains in front of you.

 DAY 1

As I did through most of Italy, I spent my time wandering, getting lost and ending up in parts of Venice that were so true to the Venezian lifestyle.

The view from my hostel

Grand Canal

During my first few hours of my time there, I was able to wander over many bridges, and see a lot of beautiful architecture, directly on the water; no cliffs and sandstone bluffs holding up these wonders from above the sea. I was able to enter into shops and see all of the things that Venice has been known for for hundreds of years; it's glass, masks, and lace, all of which were abundant throughout the islands.

Venezian Mask

DAY 2

Bridge of Sighs and my massive head

I arose earlier the next morning to catch a water-bus over to the Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark's square where the renown St. Marks Basillica stands. Upon arriving I found myself in a mad scene of vendors and artists all trying to sell me something; selfie sticks, post cards, or paintings. It was a mad and overwhelming scene yet so classic I soaked it all in. I ended up pulling out my map for a moment and noticed that I was standing on the bridge that looked out at the Bridge of Sighs (that explains all of the selfies where I was standing). After taking a selfie myself, I headed over to the St. Mark's square and found myself walking on raised planks to get inside the basilica.

 It amazed me at how flooded the area was and how it was such a normal thing for all of the locals there. When it becomes high tide, the water rises up through the drains and floods the square, even rising into the church. However, through hundreds of years of near-daily flooding, the church remains unharmed by erosion, corrosion, or water damage of any sort. It was amazing to see how well-kept everything was and how differently everything was built. Growing up near the water I watched as the bluffs would be pulled away by the ocean over the years sometimes even pulling a home in with it; this wasn't completely uncommon. It was amazing to see how differently things were built to withstand mother nature.

The marble and stone details all remain in tact and admired day after day. We weren't exactly allowed to take photos inside either, so I do apologize for the few that there are that I did sneak-take. 










After spending some time in the square, I hopped on another water bus over to the island of Murano where I stayed until sunset later that evening. I had such an amazing time in Murano just wandering into shops, seeing what each person was making in that shop and how their art contributed to the art of all of Murano. 

 

One person would make miniscule beads from the glass sticks, another would thread them, and another shop would tie together hundreds of strands of miniscule beads to make jewelry. Other shops would make their own beads or statement jewelry while others would create mosaic jewelry by fusing little glass beads into a picture or mosaic. These were my favorite pieces of art and it was so fascinating seeing how they were made. 

By the end of the evening I had covered most of Murano by foot and ended up on the other side of the tourist-ridden island. Here, I found a genuine lifestyle of the Venezian people flooded with churches, animals, gardens, laundry on rope blowing in the wind, and evening dinners commencing. 

Murano Church

By the time I had hopped on a boat back to the main island it had gotten quite cold.

 I ended up in a restaurant where I ordered a pizza and I can say from all honesty that it was the best pizza I have had in my entire life. 

While stuffing myself I received a text message from a girl I had met back in my hostel in Bologna who had an English friend who was also in Venice and told me to go and meet him. While trying to figure out exactly where to go on my new adventure I waited for directions at a famous hole-in-the-wall wine bar where if you purchase one drink you could eat as much as you wanted from the appetizer buffet. Though I was stuffed I did wait with some wine (which was abundant and cheap(!)in Italy) and some new German friends I had met outside.

It turned out that the place I was supposed to meet this friend, was the same place they were all headed! So they took me out with them where we met up with this friend as well as some friends he had made who were Canadian. Our group of four turned into a group of nine and we all ventured out and ended up in an underground  Italian club where there was a live DJ who rapped in Italian! That was one of he most amazing nights since my time in Europe, so unique and unexpected. 

DAY 3

The next morning, I was woken at 5am by an inconsiderate girl who needed to leave the hostel early for her flight and just HAD to turn on the overhead light to see. In all of my time spent in hostels I was shocked as to how inconsiderate that was as most people use cell-phone lights or a bathroom light to grab their stuff and leave; most pack the night before so as to not disrupt others in the room. By ten AM I had to wake up, pack up, eat, and check out. This morning was a little tougher than most as I had been constantly on the go for the last week and had a long night the night before. My hostel, the L'imbarcadero, was such a nice hostel with a fantastic staff and location. I would recommend it to anyone going to Venice(besides the roommate all was wonderful!). 

The woman who ran the place let me leave my luggage there for the day as I didn't have to be at the bus stop until 6 in the evening. I ended up walking over to the Rialto bridge where I did some window shopping and hung out with some of the people from the night before. We ended up going back to the Piazza San Marco, doing some more window shopping and wandering, and grabbing some food before finding our ways to our next destinations. It was a much more mellow day just spent with some new friends to close off an interesting journey. I bought a new book for the bus and flight, and began my trip home to England. 

So many alleyways!

Although it was a difficult trip alone with many language barriers and different types of people, I am so thankful for the experience that I was able to have and the people I was able to meet whilst there. I can't wait to go back to Italy this summer and see the rest of this country's beauty.

 After landing late in the evening in England, I was able to successfully pass through customs with the correct student visitor visa, enabling me to study at Nottingham Trent University the following week!