Day 6- Venice, the Haunted City

We got up early and I found out that Alvaro was sick. We forced him to stay home and be sick for a day so he could recover quickly. On the way there, I saw Verona, the city that Romeo and Juliet took place in, and Padua, the city of Taming of the Shrew. All I could think was, "I've come to wive it wealthily in Padua!" "No, bro, go back, this train station's creepy!" Italy's countryside is more industrialized than Germany's. Germany's countryside is gorgeous, and I sort of missed it outside my train window. I got a little spoiled in Germany by going there first a few years ago, I'll be honest.

Molly and I took the train to Venice, and I was so excited. 

I never imagined I’d be here EVER. And I’m here in the winter, so the “stink” was down (the canals get really smelly in the summertime). She kept on telling me about how Venice was a really unique city, but it was also really creepy and that you could imagine it was inhabited by vampires. I tried to tell Molly about Doctor Who. She doesn’t get it. 

Yet.

We arrived in Venice, and basically, we took a crazy path literally around the city, but I think we saw everything. Molls has been here a few times with her work, but rarely for fun. I'm pretty sure it's going to be my favorite city in Italy when I leave. It's very creepy, in general, but that could be because it's so different from any other city I've ever seen. I like the macabre and the scary.

The Grand Canal outside the Venice Train Station

Venice was originally a bunch of mud islands that were built up by men. It’s basically in the mouth of where the water run-off from the mountains of the Po and Piave rivers (freshwater) blends in like a lagoon to salt water. Therefor, it’s not truly salt or freshwater. It has a distinct smell and blue-green color that I haven't really seen anywhere else. It reminded me of the lagoon water in Opryland from when I was a kid, before they destroyed it for a mall.

Grand Canal

It was settled by a group of Romans from Veniti that were fleeing north to escape the Roman empire. It became a major center of commerce and trade in the 1300s and Venice is incredibly important to Italian history. The Moorish and Spanish influence over the city and the architecture were intense and blended with the Roman culture.

The north point of Venice

The islands were later fashioned into canals and tiny, narrow streets. There were no cars, but there were some bikes and a LOT of boats!

Venice looks like a fish from the map.

It’s not a terribly big city, so it was mostly explorable in one day. The first thing I noticed is that the buildings are close to together and very tall, too. They go up about 4-5 stories each. There were allies so narrow that you could have leapt from rooftop to rooftop, no problem.

My sister in the Venice "streets"

An actual University! Can I study there?

We went to the Jewish District, and got to see the Holocaust Memorial. People from the New Jewish Ghetto were deported to Concentration camps, and Venice had a large ghetto already in place. It was an incredibly rich and successful center of trade before World War II.

I kept on thinking of Shakespeare’s the Merchant of Venice. I’m glad I got to see the memorial.

I immediately noticed that when the tide came in, the sidewalks disappeared under water.

They put out these risers that had wood sheets over them when the water got too high on the sidewalks and the businesses put up water-tight seals over the bases of their doors to keep the water out. Venice is sinking! Parts of it will crumble or sink into the sea, eventually. 

We had lunch near Fieyero Square, where a church was. I had a tuna and onion pizza (no comments from the peanut factory, it was delicious!) and we were surrounded by French tourists. We also had white wine, which the bars here keep on tap!

We basically did a whirlwind tour. We went to San Marco Square, where the movie the Tourist (and probably countless others) were filmed.

A Solar Clock in San Marco Square

I got to see the San Marco Tower, that 100 years ago, collapsed into the square. But, miraculously, nobody was killed! They rebuilt it and it’s really, really tall now. At the end of the square, there’s the Cathedral of San Marco. The square itself gets flooded during high tide, so my sister and I were having to enter the cathedral on the risers. It’s one of the most beautiful, Orthodox-looking cathedrals I’ve ever seen, but the sad things it, the experts are thinking that it was crumbled into the sea in the next 50 years. I’m so sad that this is going to be the only time I’ll ever get to see this beautiful piece of work in worship. The floors were beautiful marble craftsman ship, but it was getting warped from the foundation unsettling. I felt it as I walked. So many bishops are buried there, it will be so sad when that happens. 

After this, my sister and I went to ride the Gondola. Our Gondolier was a funny guy, and had gone to school for driving the Gondolas, Gondoliering was not in his family. We had to lean to the sides so we could go under bridges, and by now, it was late in the afternoon, and the Christmas lights were on. We saw Casanova’s House, Marco Polo's place, and the French Consulate on the canals! Can you imagine having to take a Gondola to work everyday! Rowing up and down the beautiful Canals and entertaining tourists? Can I do that, please?

More Venice pictures:

Carnivale Masks

Tee hee. You can wear the Medusa mask in front!

Body armor made of carnivale masks

Not even the most expensive carnival mask I saw- I saw one over 1600 euro!

We rode the water taxi home, which is pick-pocket central. All I had to do was keep my theft-worthy items in the zippered pocket of my bag, and keep my hand on the zipper, and I was fine. Molly and I started playing “Chandelier Watch” as we travelled back to the train station. There were some fantastic houses on the grand canal! Can I please move there?

We went home, and brought some proseco! The train ride home was pretty fun!