Bling Bling!!

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This morning I woke up with a bunch of red bumps on my legs and feet. The first thing I thought of was bedbugs!!! It wouldn't have surprised me if it was indeed bedbugs as this hotel on the outskirts of Venice was by far the worst hotel of the trip. After a very sub-par breakfast, which was very typical of our Italian breakfasts, we all headed back on the coach for our full day in Venice. Since Venice was an island, we had to catch a water taxi which took about 15-20 minutes. It was a very quiet ride as it was still a bit early in the morning but yet people were still filled with the quiet anticipation of seeing Venice. Once the first views of the Camponile Bell Tower came into view, you could see everyone's spirits rise.

Venice is like a tourist's playground. It wasn't even 9:00, but yet Venice was already packed with thousands of tourists. We walked along the waterfront trying to maneuver around the hordes of visitors towards the Bridge of Sighs. This was a small enclosed bridge connecting 2 buildings. Apparently, it gets its name from when convicts would look out the window for one last look at Venice before they were put to death. We walked into St. Mark's Square and had to dodge huge numbers of pigeons. Matt gave us a quick orientation. He pointed out St. Mark's Basilica which is one of the most prettiest churches I've ever seen, the Camponile, and all the overpriced cafes that line the perimeter of the square. His best advice to us was to simply get lost among the many small alleyways and to get off the beaten track. Matt then informed us that today was to be our lucky day as we would be witness to the flooding of the city. I've heard many stories of how Venice is sinking. So when there is an unusually high tide, the seawater comes right into the city causing floods.
Before we were left to wander Venice, we were offered a demonstration in glass blowing. I believe everyone in the group went along and we were all horded into this tiny shop. They showed us how blown glass has been made in Venice for the past several centuries. This one guy quickly transformed this glob of molten glass into a glass horse. It was pretty neat and amazing but since I really had no interest, I was getting ancy real fast. Afterwards, we were led into the shop to browse. I quickly headed for the nearest exit to wait outside. While outside, I saw Matt having a cappuccino. He informed me that Venice had some of the best coffee in the world. I decided to test his claim by ordering an americano style coffee which ended up tasting like anything I could get at the corner 7-11 back at home. The 6 of us decided to take Matt's advice and get off the beaten track. Outside of the glass-blowing shop, we knew all the major tourist attractions were to the right, so we went in the opposite direction. After walking for a few minutes, we felt like we had the whole city to ourselves. Besides a few locals going about their daily errands, there were simply no tourists anywhere near us. This stands in stark contrast to the Disneyland atmosphere in and around St. Mark's Square. While walking through this neighborhood, we were able to get a small feel of city life for ordinary Venetian residents. After walking aimlessly and enjoying the peace and serenity of getting off the beaten track, we decided we needed to get an early lunch. All of us were starving since the mediocre breakfast at the hotel this morning. Little did we know that searching for lunch was going to be a chore in itself. Searching this neighborhood for a restaurant turned out to be a very difficult task. We could not find a restaurant or even a trattoria that was either open or moderately priced. After stopping at a few places and not being satisfied, everyone started to get agitated at the situation and at each other. I guess traveling with the same people for more than a week straight will do this as people's personality quirks start to get under one's skin. Eventually, we found this small restaurant that was just opening up for lunch. It was here that we had our first authentic Italian meal. I ordered lasagna which was so delicious and satisfying. Either that or I was too starving to notice. Food managed to pep up everyone's mood as everyone was ready to get back out there and explore more. Before that though, we stopped in a gelateria to get some delicious gelato. I chose a cherry gelato which turned out to be so good that it was the only flavor I would get the entire time in Italy. While walking back towards the main touristy area, we decided to check out some of the great shopping. Most stores were either high end upscale European designer boutiques or touristy shops which sold a plethora of Venetian masks, blown glass, lace, and other tourist trinkets. We were mainly just browsing and window shopping while deciding what to possibly buy later. Once we got back to St. Mark's Square, the tide had already come in and the square was flooded. City officials put up these walking planks across the square so you could get from one end to another. However, many of the tourists were simply wading barefoot through this murky water. I've heard of how polluted the canals of Venice are and along with all the pigeon poop in the square, the thought of walking barefoot through this water seemed very unhygienic and disgusting. After standing around watching people play in the flooded square, we decided to head off to the post office so Amy could mail home some postcards. Here, we decided to split up as Patrice, Mar, and Amy all decided to do some major shopping. However, Clay, Suzanne, and myself still felt like exploring. So we parted ways and continued on. We ran into Andria and Jason whose wedding anniversary was today and were having a romantic day to themselves. We continued exploring into another more quieter part of Venice. It was more of the same; quiet alleyways, peaceful piazzas, and more side canals. We crossed some bridge over the Grand Canal which gave us some nice views of the Santa Maria della Salute as well as show us how busy the Grand Canal was. The canal was busy with vaporettos (water buses) and gondolas transporting people around the city. Clay wanted to check out the Peggy Guggenheim Museum but was disappointed to find out it was closed. We continued to just wander around for a bit before heading back to St. Mark's Square..
Back at the square, we decided to climb the Camponile Bell Tower. We stood in line for a relatively short time. Thankfully there was an elevator in there. I wasn't in the mood to be climbing a steep claustrophobic staircase to the top. The top afforded some really nice views of the lagoon, surrounding islands, and red-tiled rooftops of Venice. After the Camponile, we still had some free time before our gondola ride. I decided to have some alone time and just wander around a bit. My plan was just to wander the alleyways, soak in the Venetian atmosphere and pick up a bottle of wine for our gondola ride. While window shopping, I ran into Cassie. Apparently, she had just arrived here in Venice after going to the hospital 2 days ago in Austria. She seemed lost and confused and appeared glad to have found someone from the group. I helped her find a pharmacy to fill the prescription the doctor had given her. Not wanting her to wander around by herself, I agreed to tag along with her while she did some shopping. She appeared to be a quick and efficient shopper. In the relatively short time we had, she managed to pick up quite a few items. I ended up going back and buying the tapestry of an ancient map of the world that I had seen earlier for about 50 euros. Cassie wanted to purchase a Venetian print but couldn't find one of reasonable price. She eventually found one at the Rialto Bridge thanks to the advice of a fellow tourist. The 2 of us made it back to St. Mark's Square where most of the group was already hanging out waiting for our gondola ride. Each gondola could carry up to 6 people and the 6 of us managed to get one all to ourselves. In all, there were 6-7 gondolas for the whole group. We started off slowly cruising down the Grand Canal. We had purchased a cheap bottle of wine prior to the ride and were given some plastic cups. What better way to enjoy a gondola ride than to be sipping on some cheap wine. It was a very relaxing way to see the sights of Venice complete with the backdrop of a near perfect sunset. The ride lasted about 45 minutes and we meandered through some of the narrower canals through the city. We tried to get our gondolier to serenade us with an italian song but he would have none of that. They didn't seem to be really authentic, just there to accommodate mass tourism. After disembarking, we learned that Dave had proposed to Mandy. I thought it was kind of weird that they had a gondola all to themselves. Apparently, Matt had helped them arrange their own private gondola. With tears in Mandy's eyes and a big smile on Dave's face, the newly engaged couple stepped off their gondola to the cheers and applause of the entire group. Most everyone was in a good mood after the gondola ride and those of us who signed up for the optional dinner headed straight there afterwards. Mar & Amy along with about half of the group decided to skip out on this optional dinner and venture out on their own. The meal at this restaurant was very sub-par but at least it was limitless red wine. Clay, Suzanne, and myself must have finished up an entire bottle ourselves. Afterwards, I took the remainder of the wine bottle with me for us to enjoy while walking the streets of Venice. The walk back to the water taxi was a memorable highlight of the trip. Most of us who did the optional dinner were quite tipsy due to the free flowing wine as well as the bottle that I kept passing around. Everyone was in a good mood just being silly and loud. With everyone drinking out of that wine bottle, I knew it was just a recipe for me catch a cold. While waiting for the water-taxi, we were surrounded by the "bling-blingers". These were North African immigrants who would lay out their cheap imitation wares on a blanket and try to sell them to us. One of the sellers was trying to sell cheap jewelery and would yell "bling-bling" to get our attention. So thus the nickname "bling-bling" was given to all of the sellers. Some in the group ended up purchasing imitation Louis Vuitton and Prada bags for like 10 Euros. Back on the water-taxi and then on our coach, it was a long 1 hour drive back to our nasty bed bug ridden hotel. After a long day of sightseeing, everyone just went up to their rooms and called it a night.

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