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Published: June 27th 2006
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A bit of housekeeping
I know it has been absolutely ages since I have written anything on here and for that I apologize. I have been to so many wonderful places that I got behind and then swamped and then buried by the amount of updating I need to do...so I did not even try. After I am home, I will work on getting pictures and everything added so that you can see some more of my adventures. This week (23 June to 2 July) I am in Italy. I flew into Venice and will fly out of Palermo, Sicily on Sunday. I am doing a better job of keeping a journal while I travel so that it is not so daunting at the end of the trip.
Also, just a note, quite a few people have emailed asking me what my plan was for the near future so I thought I would share. I am finishing my job in Enfield on 21 July, visiting Helen and Doug in the North at the end of the month, and then the first week in August my friend Lauren is coming to visit. She flies home on the 9th and I
Where I slept
The unmarked building where I stayed. will follow (kinda) on the 10th. I am flying into Columbus to first get some sleep, then see my parents and whoever else is around, pick up my car, and head back to Winston to start work on 15 August. Figure I will drive down on Saturday. I will be staying with the same family that I stayed with last summer before I left to come over here until I get a place of my own sorted. I have been talking with the school system and I have a position all lined up to walk into when I get back. I will also be starting coursework to obtain my doctorate degree in Speech Language Pathology. So, I guess that is most everything going on with me. Let me know all the events going on in your lives--I know a handful of you are either pregnant (in fact, I think as part of my job, I will be covering one of your maternity leaves...), moving house, changing jobs, or having other exciting things happen and I would love to know about them all. Email me any time!!! I may not get back to you soon, but I love to see pics
The Campanile
One of the most regonizable places in Venice. of your kids, your travels, and your lives (thanks for the pics Shelley and Tiffaney!) even though I am wrapping up the "British" chapter of my life.
P.S. If you are a member of my family and you have changes to make to the family directory, please email me directly so that I can update the directory to include 2006 changes. Some of you already have, but your messages are buried in my inbox so it would be great if you could email me again.
P.P.S. If you are someone I went to graduate school with and you have updates to add to our grad girl directory, please email me those as well. I am starting to loose a few of you because you are moving or changing jobs or changing email addresses (or you are just too popular and email bounces back). If you have changes or know of anyone else's changes, please email me. Thanks!!!
And now my adventure in Italy....
I smell. I wanted Italy to be hot when I visited, but this in unimaginable. When my plane landed--just after 10pm--it was 30 degrees Celsius. The heat has not improved
Piazza San Marco and the Duomo
I hate birds! And these people paid for birdseed so that the birds would climb all over them. I just don't understand.... The Duomo is HUGE and beautiful in the background though. since then.
I immediately made a boo-boo at the airport when I was following the signs--but there are no signs for baggage. I checked my backpack because of its largeness but found myself outside the Venice Treviso Airport without it. Not a good way to start! I decided to go ahead and buy my bus ticket (to get to Venice proper) and my waterbus ticket (to get closer to my hotel). I then asked the ticket lady what to do about my bag. She did not seem surprised that I was asking this question. She said I just had to try to sneak back in when someone else came out--blatantly disobeying the "no entry" signs. I did.
I was there when the conveyor belt started to move. Picked up my bag straight away, as it was the first off the plane and onto the belt, and grabbed a front row seat on the bus. The bus journey took just over an hour as did the water bus. So now it was midnight. It is hard enough getting orientated to a new city during the day, let alone at night. While on the water bus, I asked a girl
Piazza San Marco
The only square in Venice to be given the distinction of Piazza, with all others being known as campi or campielli. to see her map so I could get a general idea which way to head from the waterbus stop.
Following the directions provided by the hotel, I made it to within one tiny block of where I needed to be. Then I gave up and started to ask random people--in my awful Italian. One man was able to help me and I made it to reception. Got checked in and then was shown to my room...down three streets in an unmarked building. I would not have been able to find it again if I visited again and tried. My room was not five star in any way, but it was passible. Certainly not the worst place I've stayed.
The room was a four-bed dorm with its own bathroom. I was the only one in the room--fabulous! I wholly expected to be awoken at 2 or 3am by the other occupants, but that was not the case. Instead I woke up in the morning sweaty and ready to go explore. I took a lovely, freezing cold shower and set out.
First stop was the tourist office to get a map and then I made my way to the
Details
Above the central door of the Duomo. Piazza San Marco and Piazzetta San Marco. I went up in the camponile (bell tower) to get a bird's eye view of the city. That's the only attraction I paid to get into. I wanted to go into the Duomo and Doge's Palace, but the queues were just too long. Instead I headed down some little streets in search of the Ponte Rialto, one of the three bridges crossing the Grande Canal. There are over 400 bridges in Venice, but most are very small. When my feet got me to the bridge, my stomach dictated gelato. Limone and frutta di bosca were my scoops of choice. It was lovely, but almost not as good as the gelato made at the ice cream shop where I used to work in Greensboro.
From there, I walked through the Rialto Market and then headed south through the sestiere of San Polo. My goal was to end up at one of the service gondola points. Instead of paying €80 for a ride, these gondolas will shuttle you across the Grande Canal for €0.50. Can't beat that!
I was then back in the sestiere of San Marco and heading for the Ponte D'Accademia,
Piazza from above
When Venice floods, this piazza floods as well and the city builds walkways so that people can still conduct their business. one of the other bridges crossing the Grande Canal. I was then in the sestiere of Dorsoduro. My thought and plan was to walk along the southern edge of the island, go to the point with the Santa Maria della Salute and the Dogana de Mare. In their infinite wisdom, they did not put the "no passage" signs at a point where it is easy to change your plan. The entire end of the island where the Dogana di Mare is located was closed. This also meant I could not take the traghetti (gondola ferry) back to Piazza San Marco, which would put me back near my hotel. Argh.
I eventually found the next traghetti location and headed back to grab my bag which thankfully I had been able to leave at reception (yes, I was able to find it, but it took a couple of tries). It was time again to take the waterbus back to the train station and begin my journey to Pisa.
(You will have to check back for pictures since it just takes to long to upload them from the internet cafe. Thanks, M)
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Amy
non-member comment
when in rome....
hey mary, i'm so happy you're visiting italy...just a few tips, the weather will not be what you want it to be no matter what....but at least you are not freezing to death camping out in an actual tent on a hillside in florence. it will at least be warm if you decide to do that. also...make sure you buy tickets for all buses or any other kind of transportation and make sure you VALIDATE them. we learned the hard way and paid 45 euro fines. bad idea when you're on a tight budget. ok so when you go to rome....you have to find this pizza place. if you go to see the sisteen chapel it is on the same street. more than likely the line will be going down the street and then wrapping around the corner. so instead of wrapping around the corner just keep going down the street. about half a block down there's this little shop that sells pizza, and then they put the squares in the oven and heat it up and then you can eat downstairs in the basement. seriously the best pizza i had in italy. and believe me i ate a lot of pizza there. ok i hope you have a good trip and try to get some pizza at that shop if you can. sorry i have no idea what the name is. have fun, love you. can't wait for u to get home!!!