Day 15: Venice

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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Partial Canal Cruise
Last night was a monstrous thunderstorm. Wind gusts shook the island, or maybe it was my disorientation after all the cocktails and my giant lunch the day before. When I got up it was still raining, which put a slow mood on the morning. When I finally hit the streets, the tourist crowd had flooded in. For grand views, I took the slow boat down the grand canal to the Frari Church stop and hopped out.

Frari Church
The church was surprisingly easy to find. The crowds were much less than in other parts of the city, and this was a welcome relief. It’s hard to elbow your way through large noisy groups every day, and my patience level is pretty low for that kind of thing. The church charged admission, I think because it is operated entirely as a museum. Inside, there were no pews to hold service. Rick Steves offers a handful of free audio guides for Italy, including the Frari Church. Following the guide, I walked back and forth across the church, gazing up at the various works of art. What makes this church unique is all the grand marble tombs or dedications in the nave.

In the surrounding piazzas I picked up a hot pocket thing for a cheap lunch and headed back to the dock. The boats headed in the direction of San Marco were packed, and I didn’t get to see anything of the southern half of the grand canal. I’m sure it was pretty. Exiting at the san Marco stop, I checked out the line for the basilica. It snaked through the piazza to half way down the Doge’s Palace. I’ll try again later. Even with a late start to the day, I needed a rest, and returned to my hotel for a siesta. I napped with the air conditioning blowing through the room.

San Giorgio Maggiore
I was ready to give the basilica another try. Maybe if I showed up an hour before closing, the line would be shorter. Upon arriving at San Marco’s square, my theory was shot out of the water. The line was even longer. To escape the frantic tourists vying for their last minute trinkets from the street vendors, I boarded the boat for the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. San Giorgio consists almost completely of a church complex, but it’s big attraction is the bell tower, which offers fantastic views of the city. Fortunately for me, you can only take the elevator up. The views were amazing. You could see the entire city and the surrounding islands.

The church was nice too. Its art was minimal, but the clean white façade was refreshing after visiting several churches cluttered with hanging tapestries and murals. There was an installation which, had it been working, would have been very cool. It was supposed to be a tornado of smoke, spiraling upwards, representing the ascension of Christ.

The island was home to a café, so I sat and drank an iced tea while planning my next move. Tomorrow would be my last day in Venice and I realized that my time hadn’t been spent very efficiently. The agenda would be a little busy, but I’d get done the last few things on my to-do list.

Local Opera Performance
On my way back to my hotel, I passed by a ticket booth just outside of a church. Tonight there would be a local opera performance, where singers would highlight arias from various operas. Even without a student ID, I still got the student price, and so for €20 I had a ticket to the opera. It started at 9pm, which gave me enough time to enjoy a cheap dinner of kabob, change my clothes, and get lost on my return to the church. It turns out that I did not get lost, which made me too early. As I waited for the doors to open, I watched the crowd in the piazza. These people were all locals, with few tourists. It was a very quiet scene.

Show time. Seating was first-come first-served, and I got a seat in the front row. The pews in this church were so much more comfortable than the stiff backed pews where I attended mass. The whole space seemed to be organized to make the patrons feel involved, versus punished as in other churches. The performance was simple; one pianist and two singers, alternating solos with a duet and trio involving the pianist at the end. When the first singer began his solo, I got goosebumps. This was the first time I’d experienced a church actually made for acoustics. The sound of his voice reverberated through the entire building and it was almost like having stereo. The concert lasted just an hour, but it was a fantastic way to spend the evening.

**Photos unlabeled, Im in an internet cafe. Check back later for added descriptions. **

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