Verona and Venice

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On the way to Venice, we stopped at Verona to see Juliet's balcony. There is a rumor that "Juliet" (there's a legend of a real Romeo and Juliet that inspired the story) lived in that house and in the 1930s, a balcony was built to satisfy tourist needs. It also may have been the basis for the balcony in the 1930s movie (or maybe the other way around). In any case, the balcony overlooks a tiny courtyard and there is a statue of Juliet beneath it. Somehow, it become a tradition to rub the breast of Juliet's statue because it would give you good luck in your love life. As a result, the said breast has become a different color from the rest of her body. We all took turns rubbing it and taking pictures. Dan also gave us a quick walking tour, pointing out the Roman ampitheatre, the fortress gates, etc. We had lunch there and then continued on to Venice.

In the morning, Dan gave us a walking tour of Venice. I don't think I have to explain to anyone the unique and beautiful setup of Venice. I was satisfied with the views of water-filled alleyways and bridges connecting buildings. After the walking tour, we had a venetian lace demonstration and it was really interesting to hear how many months it takes to make decorative lace and how you have to be careful not to make a single error or else all those months will be a waste. Even though the lace is pretty expensive, when split among the group of working women, it is actually not much of a salary for each. We then all split off into groups to do gondola rides. The gondolean (?) that I had unfortunately didn't sing for us but we got to hear singing from neighboring gondola rides as well as an accordion playing. We enjoyed the views of the city as we floated along. After the gondola rides, we had a venetian glass demonstration. To my great happiness, the man made a horse and literally shaped its form within ten seconds. The glass swiftly went from a lump to a horse before our eyes. Apparently glass-making is a family business and Venice. You can't go to school for it, you have to be brought up knowing the trade. After we had some lunch, a group of us went to see St. Mark's Basilica and then up the bell tower to see some views. We just wandered around after that, walking along the water, and I bought a Venetian mask which I had been holding out on throughout the rest of Italy until I got to Venice! Then I went to Doge's palace and saw the luxurious and art-filled state rooms before heading back on a Vaporetto (water taxi).

Another interesting fact about Venice is the pigeons. According to Dan, they are protected in Venice because they were rumored to have found Venice (I think by finding land from a ship or something) so that is why there are a ton of them there. However, I haven't found information about this anywhere on the internet other than the fact that they are a protected species. There are indeed a lot though and they are becoming a nuisance, especially with all the monuments that they poop on so the city is adding spikes to ledges to prevent them from landing on them. There is a famous picture of "coca-cola" made out of pigeons in St. Mark's square, as well as a bunch of other ads that have copied that idea. Speaking of protected animals in Italy, cats are also protected by law because they are associated with liberty and divinity. It goes back to Rome's association with Egypt.

Well, that was our last day in Italy! I definitely love Italy, it may be my favorite country!

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