Italia, Day 1 (Venice)

Dear world,

I am pretty lazy about writing blog entries. So I present to you, straight from my journal in list form, my first (and part of my second) day in Venice last April. I am aware that it is now July. sorry about that.

----

ON GETTING HERE FROM THE AIRPORT

• Boarding the Alilaguna boats to get from the airport to the city-- just barely didn't make it onto the Orange line boat (which would have taken me directly to my hotel) and instead of waiting another hour decided to take a different line that dropped me off in the touristy but scenic San Marco Square.
• Live orchestra?? What?!
• Venice is breathtaking. Like Frederica (my seatmate on the plane) said, the whole city is a museum, a throwback. It's like it just... stopped. Somewhere in the fifteenth century.
• LOST on the way to the Hotel Belle Epoque
• rain. gross.

THOUGHTS ON MY DINNER

• This meatball is spectacular. Wow. What did they DO to it?
• Heavily seasoned pasta in red sauce with shrimp. Big shrimp. With heads. And claws. Kind of a musky taste, entirely reminiscent of everything that is the sea... the kind of salty heaviness of it, but also a bit enigmatic. Shrimp of Mystery.
• Bread: dry and not good. Disappointing.
• Tablemates: Randy and Maureen Reddington from Jersey City (holy Jersey accent, Batman). Visiting daughter studying abroad in Rome. Very nice and talkative dinner companions, from basketball to contract law.

THE SIGHTS

• Walked around all day, but thoroughly explored San Polo and San Croce via getting lost a lot. It seemed like mostly locals in these areas.
• You can get un-lost by following tourists! They are all going to the Rialto bridge. Or San Marco square.
• Rialto produce markets! mmmmmm. also gelato.
• Museum Scuola Grande di San Rocca-- breathtaking baroque art. Just another beautiful building in venice, except the walls are almost entirely covered with dramatic Biblical paintings by Tintoretto and his studio. A spiritual experience, for sure.

First view of Venice from the Alilaguna ferry boat

And then there was a live orchestra in San Marco Square. For some reason.

A canal, as viewed from the Vaporetto (water bus)

First view of the Rialto bridge!

The ubiquitous gondolieri

My room at the Hotel Belle Epoque-- just big enough to fit this bed, with a tiny bathroom attached

Dinner!

Continental breakfast at the Hotel Belle Epoque

Lobby of the Hotel Belle Epoque

Picture I snapped at the Scuola Grande before getting yelled at by a docent

The tasty-looking Rialto produce market

Look at that! I guess they have a summer home.