Venice: Part 2

The top 10 of course. But in this case, it is the top 6, as Venice is a fantastic city, but is less about the sites and more about the atmosphere.

6. Costumed Carnivaliers The "ploy" of this trip (I booked it through a travel company, and they provided the bus ride, lodging, and breakfast) was that is is Carnival in Venice. This is the event the city plans for years in advance. For two weeks, Venice is jammed packed with tourists from all over the world, surely causing the island to sink with the weight of their luggage and expectation.

Masked Carnival-goers wander the streets of Venice (their destination is always San Marco, the central hub of Carnival) in unbelievably extravagant, extensive, colorful, and detailed period costumes. They usually come in couples, and they really only seem to have one thing on their mind: to be admired. Hundreds of tourists can crowd around an especially elaborate costumed couple, all taking pictures while ooooo-ing and aaaaahhhh-ing.

I'm not sure if these Carnival-goers were Venician or not. It was hard to tell anything about them, as I'm not sure I even saw their skin they were so thoroughly covered, and they could hardly speak, as their masks always covered their face and mouth completely. But I suppose that was the point, and the point of the original Carnival that originated hundreds of years ago in Venice. To lose your identity. To become someone else. And in 2009, to try and set the world record for the most people who don't know your name but have a picture of you in their scrapbooks at home.

5. The people: Italians truly are one of a kind. They are so warm and welcoming. They smile easily, and adjust when they realize the only words you know in Italian are "grazie" and "ciao".
But, they are also quick to speak their mind, and although I never saw an angry Italian while in Venice, I don't think I would want to be the path of an Italian chewing-out session.

The woman who served us breakfast at the hotel was the embodiment of a loving, yet severe Italian mother. She was attentive, but impatient. Always smiling and always joking. Her voice and laughter echoed off the walls every morning, and made me ready to face a full day of walking.

4. Basilica in San Marco: It is a "salad bowl" of architecture and art (according to Annie's travel book), but it was a salad I thoroughly enjoyed.

The inside was incredible-- the hours and hours of meticulous labor it must have taken to mosiac every surface is unbelievable. And most of the tiles were gold, so when the sun shone in at the right angle it was as if everything was shimmering.

By far the best part was sitting on the rooftop and enjoying San Marco square minus the thousands of people in masks and costumes in the street. It was a breath of fresh air. I could see the sun shining on the Adriatic Sea in the harbor, and all was right for the world for the five minutes I sat down and closed my eyes.

3. Venice is an island? I know, I should have figured, right? I suppose I just hadn't thought of it like that before leaving. Whatever the case, Venice's island-ness is a good thing because there are no cars in Venice. The streets never have a real direction, and are hardly ever more than 100 meters long before they dead end, merge with another street, or simply change names.

Rumor has it that the mailmen simply deliver based on numbers assigned and ordered a certain way by district, as the street names hardly mean a thing. I really liked this about Venice, but it meant finding ourselves on the map was a sit down at a cafe or grab a gelato kind of event.

2. Murano: The island famous for its glass, Murano was like a little Venice minus the crowds and confetti and silly string and stands upon stands of vendors selling masks.

The shops sell everything from lamps to cups to jewelry to ornaments to wine stoppers to glass candies to clocks. It was all beautiful and colorful and endlessly fun to look at. I was content to simply look and not buy, as my clumsiness hardly allows me to own anything glass. We spent all day Sunday on Murano, and it was by far my favorite day.

1. Gondola Ride: Although expensive, I'm so, so glad I embraced this experience. It may be a tourist trap. It may be something that was once authentic, but is now commercialized. Whatever the case-- I don't care. It is wonderful to sit in a boat as a nice man in a sriped shirt and straw hat navigates your through narrow canals, allowing you to marvel at everything around you. It was quiet. The first time I heard nothing in Venice.

I would love for everyone to think I live an idyllic life where traveling is easy and I never get tired/hungry/bored when exploring a new city, but this is simply not the case. But, I would say that the good things ALWAYS outweigh the bad. So, as an added bonus: The top 2 worst things about Venice.

2. The Crowds: I'm glad I saw Venice during Carnival, but I have never seen so many people in one place at one time. During one venture, we were stopped still in a street for about 10 minutes as people crammed their way through. I felt that Venice lost some of its Italian character with the swarms of tourists.

1. The Hotel: This is not Venice's fault. It is the company I booked the trip with. Our hotel was located about an hour and half from Venice. This just meant a long end to the day and early, early mornings as we had to plan for travel to the island. We couldn't experience the nightlife as we had to catch a certain vaporetto back to the hotel at a certain hour. The hotel itself was nice, the location simply left something to be desired.

You live, you learn. All in all, I went to Venice-- no complaints here.