A little late on Venice

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Dream on.

One and a half hours of sleep later I was up and in the shower preparing for this five day long journey to Firenze and Venezia. The latter being my number one travel destination since I was an itty bitty. At 5am, my brain was running on auto pilot as I went through my daily preparational, not to mention boring, routine. As 5:30 rolled around, I had a skype session with a friend back home. Sometimes it's difficult being on the other side of the world with this hassle of a seven hour time difference.

We departed the apartment at 6:15 or so and arrive at the train station to find out that our train number had changed. An interesting venture for frazzled early-morning minds. The two hour ride to Florence was basically non-existant as I slept the entire trip there.

With a similar setting as Rome, Florence was alive with serial tourists. The Ufizi and Accademia were the two proposed stops in the four hours we had allotted for in Florence.

The Accademia houses the perfectly sculpted "David" by Michelangelo. Much larger than life, David has a booty to oust that of most men today. That's the gist of that.

Back on the Eurostar, we had another two hours to Venice. Once again, I passed out on the table between the seats before the train even departed the station. When I woke up, we were in the San Lucia Station in Venice. I pulled my luggage down from the overheard carrier and trudged out into the main atrium of the station. It then hit me that I was in Venice, Italy after all these years. A childhood dream destination accomplished. Adrenaline coursed through me as we pushed our way through the doors and the Grand Canal unfolded before us. I was completely speechless as I watched a colorful mixture of boats and water buses weaving along their respective routes. The evening sun reflected a warm glow off the water and at that moment, I fell irrevocably in love with Venice. The waves from the passing boats pulsed rhythmically against the small piers jutted out into the canal. We walked towards our hotel, conveniently located a five minutes walk away from the station. Small alleyways branched off the main pedestrian paths. Within the main island of Venice, there are no cars; A welcoming change of scenery. For a couple of days, I wouldn't have to worry about being run over by Vespas on the sidewalk.

The Hotel Villa Rosa was located on an obscure street, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Many of the side streets are barely large enough for one person, let alone two. After checking into our rooms we went and ate dinner along one of the back canals. The sun finished its day as we depared for some exploration. Even at night, Venice is abrasively hot and the humidity never veers from the 100% it sits at.

The next morning, we headed out to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. By far the best place I've ever gone here in Europe. A modern art museum was a nice change from all the Renaissance paintings we're used to seeing. Since my muse here is de Chirico, seeing his first major work, The Red Tower (1913) on display completely floored me. Other workds by Kandinsky and Dali were phenomenal to see as well. I don't think my sketch book has ever gotten that much use in its short life span.

After the Guggenheim, it was my turn to do the mapping to Scuola San Roco. I forgot how much I enjoy mapping and navigating. This labyrinth of Venice was perfect for getting my fix. Little shops were exquisitely placed along the side streets making every turn a sight worthwhile. Suola San Roco wasn't a disappointment. For when we walked into the upper chamber, a baroque ceiling overstuffed witht he ork of Tintoretto and his workshop was awaiting our arrival. With his defining night scenes with dark clouds, Tintoretto is not an artist worth forgetting.

As the rest of the day came and went, more exploring took place as well as fantastic food and great times with friends.

The next morning was the last 'group' day. At one, the rest of the class left, with Ashley, Meghan and me staying behind for two extra days. We hauled our bags onto the boat out to Lido, the east island. It houses the only cars of the city there. As we approached the boat stop, I spotted our hostel... right next to the only stop on the island on the water's edge. We managed to score a three person ensuite room in a hostel for only 22 euros per person/night. I would have to say this hostel was better than the 100 euro/night hotel. There were a few stains on the walls but, 1) The beds were more comfortable. 2) We had free internet (the other hotel didn't). 3) We had a fridge. 4) We were on the only island with a beach. 5) We didn't have to turn in our keys when we left. 6) We got one hell of a deal.

After checking in, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe, my first time going. We watched the Ghana/Uruguay game and was rather pleased with the outcome. It was an early night since the three of us had a jam-packed day planned for tomorrow.

This next day proved to be great as I was able to knock two things off my bucket list. In San Marco's Square, I pulled out my box of granola and beckoned to the pigeons. Within seconds, I had a 'ball o'pigeons' swarming around me. Hopping from arm to arm and landing on my head, this cluster of pigeons gobbled up the entirety of my granola. Little did I know that feeding the pigeons was banned on May 1st of this year. Well, I still consider this bucket list item a success seeing as I didn't get arrested. I've come to find that I'm fantastic at accidentally breaking the law here. The experience was quite the ego booster though seeing as all of the tourists in the square were video taping me with the pigeon frenzy.

After that, we went to Doge's Palace. As we descended into the prisons, the temperature dropped and steel bars replaced the open wooden windowsills. Seeing the old carvings in the separate calles really gave it the atmosphere it reflected. We crossed the Bridge of Sighs where they led the shackled prisoners below to the cells.

After all is said and done with our trip, I started to get extremely sick. I will spare you of the harsh details but I ended up having severe heat exhaustion and a minor heat stroke.

So, when out in the sun, drink water. And don't forget to eat. I think that was my downfall.
But all in all, best time in Italy.

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Photos

David
His perfectly engineered butt.