Rebecca drove to Luxembourg where we caught a plane to Milan. We got off the plane and quickly made our way to the train station to get tickets on the next available train to Venice. It was the per-opening celebration for Venice's Carnival, so we were nervous we wouldn't get a ticket. There were three lines, so we divided up and each got in line. Heather's line won and we all joined her and got our tickets to which the train was already at the station and leaving shortly. We didn't have seats next to each other, but at least we were in the same compartment. We had about a two hour train ride to Venice. We needed to get to our meeting point before 6pm, or else we were going to be charged a late fee.
When we got off the train in Venice at Station di Venezia Santa Lucia, we were awarded with a beautiful view of the Grand Canal and the San Simeon Piccolo Cathedral. Just this one look of Venice and I knew I would love this enchanted city of bridges and canals.
We didn't have a lot of time to meet our host for the apartment, so we bought a ticket for the water taxi and got on the taxi for our destination. Since it was opening night for the Pre-Carnival Festival, the Grand Canal was closed, so we had to take a water Taxi around the island on the back side to meet our host. As the sun set and the moon rose, the buildings we passed while on the water taxi just sprang to life with color and beauty.
We met the host and it took about an hour to get to the apartment and get everything settled. By this time, it was past 7:00 and we were all hungry and tired after a full day of traveling. We stopped at the grocery store not far down the road and picked up some food for dinner and breakfast and came back to the apartment. We had talked about going to the Carnival, but our host told us that it is crazy crowded and they close the road when too many people are at the festival, so we decided we would get a good night sleep and hit up the city tomorrow.
Since today was Sunday, we found a church that was about an hour away and decided to try to make it to church. I put the directions to the train station in my phone and with an hour to get to the station, we set off. As we were walking to get to the train station, we couldn't help but stop and take a few pictures. Venice is simply charming. I loved, loved, loved all the bridges. The walkways are these super narrow alleys between three story buildings. Some of the walkways were so skinny and dark that only one person could pass at a time. Then there were other walkways that were more like main streets and were big enough for a crowd. Venice doesn't have a single car. So, everything is a pedestrian walkway. Even bikes would be difficult due to stairs and bridges.
There were a few large squares that we passed. They would usually have a fountain and cement. There wasn't a single patch of grass to be found on the entire island. But the cement and the way it went straight up the the building added to the charm and beauty.
Either we stopped one to many times, took a wrong turn more then once, or walked extremely slow, but our time was quickly drawing near to the point that we needed to be on the train to catch the bus to get to church on time. We followed the directions and found ourselves staring out over the Grand Canal with the directions prompting us to walk over the water to the other side. Either the map thought we somehow could create miracles, or it thought there was an invisible bridge, I wasn't sure. I consulted the map once more and realized it was telling us to get on a water taxi. We tried to find the correct taxi and realized tickets for the taxis were not sold on this side of the river and we were denied access to get on. I put in directions again and maps kept prompting us to jump in the water. We had 10 minutes to get to the train and by my calculations, it would still take us 20 minutes to get around the river. Sadly, church was not in the books for today. I felt so bad, because I was the one that was leading in directions. I sure felt stupid. Luckily, everyone knew we all had the desire to attend church and that we sure did try, so we decided to attend a local Cathedral for mass and experience the Italian culture and religion for this Sabbath day.
As we were walking we decided to try St. Mark's Cathedral for church and started off in that direction. We had only been walking for about 5 minutes when we came across two gondola driver leaving their boats. When in Venice, ride a gondola, right? So we asked if we could get a tour, and hopped in the boat.
Taking a gondola ride at 9:30 in the morning in Venice is the way to go! There weren't any other boats or people out. The ride was peaceful and beautiful. The driver took us through the water streets of Venice and under bridges. It was pretty amazing watching him steer this long skinny boat through such narrow passageways and low bridges. He never bumped the side of the wall or the top of a bridge once. I was impressed.
After some time of going through the narrow water streets of Venice, we then went down the huge Grand Canal. There were a few boats and people out, but we still mostly had the 'road' to ourselves. It was great to see the buildings and churches and shops from this perspective. It was so pretty.
I have never been in a water city before, and I just had to keep wrapping my head around the thought that there are no cars and boats and feet are the only form of transportation. Seeing buildings, homes and stores coming straight out of the water was something else. I was surprised at how clean the water was, too. I loved it. I loved everything about it.
We walked to the doors of Saint Mark's Basilica and asked when the next mass would take place and if we were allowed to participate. We had a bit before the next mass, so we decided to do a little sightseeing while we waited.
The waterfront by St. Mark's Basilica was so cool. There were artists selling their artwork, to which I bought two, and these cute little pink lights dotting the walkway. The crowds were beginning to pick up and more and more people were coming out onto the streets.
We made it just in time for mass. We sat in the back and were able to get a good look at the church. The entire mass was in Italian and was in song form. There were people who came up and shared scriptures, then the words would be repeated by the entire congregation. The part that surprised me was how much participation the audience took in this mass. The audience stood and sang and chanted along with almost every story and scripture. After about a half hour, there was a natural pause where people were coming in, so we went ahead and left. It was a cool experience, I just wish I understood the words being said.
After leaving mass, we grabbed some lunch and gelato. We found this really yummy take away restaurant that had these fabulous pizza slices. The one I got had basil and tomatoes and arugula. It was so delicious.
We decided to wander the streets and just enjoy being lost in Venice. It was nice and relaxing just strolling through the car-less city. We stopped in some of the coolest mask shops. There were quite a few mask shops and each one was incredible. There were the traditional half masks that just cover the eyes, but then in some stores there were super elaborate animal full masks and the old doctor masks.
When we got to Murano, we tried to find a glass demonstration, but since it is the off season and a Sunday, we found that all the places we tried, were closed. Most of the shops on the island were also closed and there were not very many tourist walking the streets. There just wasn't much to see or do. We finally found one place that was open, but it ended up just being a tourist trap that we walked right into. The demonstration was about 5 minutes and we were herded like cattle. At the end of the demonstration we were taken into their showroom in hopes of buying glass souvenirs that were about 5 times the cost of the shops around the corner. We were all hungry and cold by now, so we found one of the only cafe's that was still open and enjoyed a delicious hot chocolate. The hot chocolate in Italy is like thick pudding. It is the most delicious hot chocolate I have ever had. I loved it just as much as the gelato. Outside of the cafe, there was a super cool glass sculpture. It was made to look like a water fountain. I love all the different blues they used for the glass.
After warming up with hot chocolate, we waiting for the next water taxi to take us back to Venice. We didn't have to wait to long, and we were back at Venice in about 30 minutes. As we walked the narrow streets back to our apartment the sun had set and we found a new charming and romantic side of Venice. The street lights all turned on and lights were pouring out of windows reflecting off the water. Venice is such a crazy beautiful city. I would come back here in a heartbeat. I loved it here.
No comments:
Post a Comment