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Published: January 9th 2009
(December 19th - 20th) As soon as we were woken up by the ticket taker, Brian looked out the window and asked, “Where’s the water? I thought you said this city was all on water?” I calmly reassured him that we weren’t exactly at the water yet, but it was coming. Sure enough a few minutes later we were cruising across the one stretch of road leading into Venice that looks like an incredibly long bridge over nothing but water. Stepping out of the train station at Santa Lucia, I couldn’t help but smile because Brian was in complete and utter awe. We hopped on the “bus” to get to our hotel and Brian just started laughing to himself as we all loaded onto a boat and started cruising the canals. I told Brian to go look over the side and after one glance he came rushing back with wide eyes and asked for the camera for the first time on this trip. It was amazing! The sun was just beginning to rise so pinks and purples were splashing over the sky like the waves splashing over the boat. Brian must have taken about thirty pictures from every possible angle trying
to grasp as much of the moment before it was gone.
If you’ve never been to Venice, it truly is unlike any other city in the world. Those cities claiming to be “Little Venice” don’t hold a candle to this place. The first time I came to Venice was with my Mom and Cheryl after an excruciatingly long and painful journey staring in San Francisco and traveling to the East coast, London, Belgium, and finally arriving in Venice. Hey, student travel is cheap as long as you’re willing to take the long journey to get there. The sad thing was that on that particular journey I happened not to sleep the previous night and ended up, well, how do I put this politely, “losing my lunch” in every other country. I still owe both Cheryl and Mom for putting up with me, as well as providing the pony-tail holders. And . . . sorry too . . . to those kids behind us on the flight from Belgium, thank goodness for airbags. So the first time I laid eyes on Venice I was still nauseous from the plane rides and bumping around on the “taxi” which happened to be
a speed boat carting us from the airport to the city itself. I obviously didn’t remember much from that experience. This time was different.
Not only was I in one of the most romantic cities in the world seeing it with healthy eyes, but I was also seeing it with the man I love who has never been to the land of his ancestors. Brian instantly dubbed Italy, “The Motherland,” and would speak of it as no other. I was not allowed to mention the word “Italy” in any way, shape, or form, and was continuously corrected and informed to use “The Motherland” in all context regarding Italy.
Venice is all on water, a little creepy to think about. An entire city floating on planks of wood and various materials used to keep it afloat. Brian thought he could make the city move by jumping up and down on the pavement, it didn’t work out the way he planned. With an entire city afloat there are hundreds of canals throughout the city with small bridges to cross the canals and venture throughout the different areas of the city. The water buses and taxis will take you down the
main stretches, but to really experience the canals you have to ride the gondolas. What’s hilarious is Venice plays right into the stereotypical image of what a gondola driver would look like in order to keep the tourist industry flowing, so every single one of them wears a round black hat with a little ribbon, black pants, and a three-quarter length striped shirt as they holler at the tourists trying to pick up passengers. Nothing like hot Italian men asking you if you’d, “Like a ride?” over and over again. Yes ladies, go to Venice.
Another fabulous thing about Italy . . . ahem . . . excuse me . . . The Motherland. Another fabulous thing about The Motherland is, of course, the food! Ah the food! For many a night, half awake, burning up from broken heaters, and wasting away trying to escape Croatia I dreamt of the food! Just like the sangria and tapas in Spain, the port in Porto, the schnitzels in Germany, the Guinness in Ireland, and the trdlos in Prague, the pasta in Italy is mouth-wateringly delicious! Not even sure if that can be used as a word but I’m doing it anyways!
I tried everything from the sweetest most exquisite tasting pumpkin gnocchi to one of the spiciest tomato sauces my taste buds have ever been burnt by (and my Dad’s been weaning me on Tabasco since I was an infant!) All of the sauces were incredibly pronounced, captivating each individual taste and proportioning it accordingly on your palette. And the gelato! Oh the gelato! Although Matt firmly believes ice cream is silly, I think even he would be a believer after savoring the sugary polar treat.
One of the intriguing things about my family is that we all speak different languages. English, of course, is our first, but my Father speaks Spanish, my Mother speaks Italian, and my sister speaks Portuguese. It all happened circumstantially as to where they all wanted to originally travel, and it just happens to be convenient for me that I’ve picked up on bits and pieces of all three languages (well, a little more than a bit in Spanish, but that’s not this story.) On the first trip to The Motherland with Cheryl and my Mom, we would ask my Mom how to say certain things and then test out our new sayings. Cheryl was
exceptional at this and had no qualms at all as she proudly walked up to various people asking directions, bartering for prices, and ordering more wine. I, on the other hand, got lost at 3AM one night and forgot everything my Mother had taught me as I tried to ask a fruit vendor the way back to Piazza Navona (this story will be later addressed in “Rome.”) This time I did much much better. I was able to order food and wine, ask directions, prices, and times, compliment people, and actually understand a few of the things they responded. Mom, you would have been proud 😊 Cher, you’re always proud, so you would have been doubly proud!
Brian and I spent our time in Venice eating delicious meals, wandering up and down the canals, admiring the views from San Marcos Square, creating sunset shadows on the walls, and falling more and more in love . . . both with the city and each other. We ended up buying a rose one night on chance from a vendor and decided to give it to another happy couple we spied. We spotted a couple who must have been in their 70’s
walking up and down the canals. They had their arms around each others’ waists and they continually whispered into their lovers’ ears. The woman was shocked when I handed her the rose and asked nothing in return. I just wanted to acknowledge how beautiful it was to see too people as happy as Brian and I are.
We stayed in an amazing little pension called Ca Centro Pietre (little known and very inexpensive) with beautiful murals of the city in every room, your own personal selection of wines and mini bar, and a Jacuzzi tub with plenty of bubble bath! Life couldn’t have been more romantic. Unfortunately, in these situations, something tends to always go wrong. Well, lucky for us, it wasn’t too critical, but quite embarrassing. Brian and I decided to come home one night and watch a movie whilst laying in bed drinking a bottle of red wine. Note to self: Being silly with your loved one isn’t the best move whilst drinking a glass of red wine (I like the word whilst, I’m bringing it back.) Well, needless to say, there was suddenly a glass of red wine all over the comforter. Since we had no
baking soda and none of Becca’s magic red wine remover, I decided the best thing to do was to poor salt all over the bed. So now we were laying in a pile of salt atop a bed of covers soaked in red wine. Good times . . . good times. The staff was amazingly accommodating and we were forgiven for our mishap. We are now on a strict “No colored liquids in bed” rule until the end of the trip as this situation is most certainly bound to present itself again. On to Firenze!
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Cher
non-member comment
Yay Venice!!
It's just how I remember it! Glad you managed not to "lose" anything on this trip haha and you're right, I am doubly proud that you not only remembered some Italian but even used it! Yay