Of Romance and Venice

I am back at Warwick after 12 emotional yet wonderful days in Italy. Though I had come back at 3:30AM, I didn't go to sleep until 4:30, fearing that I might wake up and find the past days to be a dream. Next to France, Italy has been the second place that I had always dreamed of visiting. To take the Grande Tour like so many master artists and philosophers of old and to walk among Roman ruins and statues...that's amore, as they say.

And the verdict for Italy: it's a quilt. Each city we visited was its own separate entity, with different auras, flavors, and beauty.

Let us begin in Venice, the city for the dreamers at heart.


Venice, or Venezia

It began like any other day in which I had essays due: I only had four hours of sleep and was running around like a madwoman in the morning trying to edit my essay, print it out, and turn it in on time, MLA format and all. To add to that stress, I had no access to my bank account at all since my bank canceled my debit card (thus, I was penniless, literally).

It was times such as that which made you appreciate the little things in life, such as:

• Complimentary sandwiches and drinks (including alcohol) on a 1.5 hour flight
• A really nice hotel room for 16 per person per night with 4 beds, two TV's, clean towels, a hairdryer, and a toilet which shoots water up your butt.
• A gelato cone for only 1.20 for a scoop (the cheapest it was ever going to be in Italy).
• Comfortable shoes because due to the fact that there is no public transportation along the small streets of Venice, you are walking A LOT. Sadly for me, I decided to test out my tennis shoes at the wrong time.
• Wonderful friends who will not bash an eyelash at paying for your dinner, bus ticket, and toothbrush at a time when you are completely destitute and kind of pathetic due to the fact that your bank (damn you Bank of America) decides to cancel your ATM card (on issues of identity theft, they said, and not even e-mailing you to tell you they did that) and thus, you are left in Italy with absolutely no money and need to have your parents send your new ATM card to you, which will take a week and a half. But, in short, I love you guys!

We arrived into the city at night and thus, were treated to sights such as this:



"This is way better than the version at Vegas" - me after seeing real Venetian canals

Built upon 118 islands and known for its iconic canals, Venice has always been associated with romance and Italian music (usually sung by the men rowing the gondolas). The reality of it was not too far from the fantasy. The city itself oozed mystery, exemplified by the fact that the street was impossible to navigate.

The main reason to go to Venice is to just walking along the small street and see what new treasures await you on every corner. There are the main sights such as the Doge's (the mayor of Venice) palace, St. Mark's Basilica, and the Rialto, but more importantly is walking on the street, having a gelato, and enjoying the aura of the city. You do not (and cannot) rush in Venice, the streets themselves make it impossible to do so. They say even the natives of Venice get lost (exemplified when I was trying to find a Western Union office and the man giving me directions had to pull out a map and directory - that had yellowing pages signifying that it was probably at a couple of years old - to see himself).

"Let's get lost..."

I had always dreamed of going to Venice, something that spawned from when I first visited the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas when I was 14. Though it was a disturbingly commercial way to be introduced to such an iconic and usual city, it inspired me to want to visit the place someday, something that grew when I learned that Venice was home of artists such as Titian and Bellini.

Even though I was awe-inspired upon glimpsing the main city for the first time with its extravagant bridges and the stairways and doors leading straight into water, the feeling quickly dissipated after I realized that even though the city was beautiful, it also suffered from commercialization and excess of tourism. Fish-smelling canals and over-priced gondola rides (80 euros! So much for that dream) aside, there did not seem to be anything real and authentically Italian about the city. Not once there did I see any Italian going home or from work, or carrying briefcases even.

St. Mark's Basilica, a primary and awe-inspiring example of vibrant and colorful Byzantine architecture.

Even when we wandered away from Saint Mark’s square, away from what we thought were touristy areas and into the more secluded piazzas, side streets, back alleys, the postcard stands with their knick-knacks of mask-shaped jewelry boxes and lace fans were still prevalent. There were still the same mask stores, murano glass jewelry, leather purses that repeated themselves. It was as if the whole city was a tourist zone, I did not see anyone looking as if they were going to work or going home. There was only hotels and the calls of “gondola!”

The front of a mask shop, they were everywhere!

Though I must say, the gelato was fantastic and definitely one of the cheapest I have seen yet in Italy (though it was the only thing cheap, the food was exorbitantly expensive). The rule of thumb for good gelato, go to the place that sells it exclusively. There are “snack bars” which sells the tasty treat along with calzone and pizzas but they are not as good. Though in comparison to American gelato, even the snack bar gelato tastes like heaven (as exemplified by Allison's very enthusiastic "MMMMmmmm!" upon tasting her first bite). There was an amazing gelato shop we consistently went to while we were there which only sold 10 flavors but who were very generous in their portions, creamy in the gelato consistency, and located relatively near Saint Mark’s Square.

Though Brendan might just kill me for writing negatively about one of his favorite cities in the world, when you are looking for authenticity and all you get is commercialization, then the point of traveling is lost. Suddenly, the Venetian Hotel in Vegas no longer seems as inaccurate. Despite that, there is still something about walking along the Rialto bridge and looking at the gondolas on the water that just causes you to sigh in romance.

Come in, the water's fine...

Tips:

• Beware of Venice during high tourist season, the streets are very narrow which render it unfavorable to crowds. Just walking down the streets near Saint Mark's square, which were only half filled with people due to the winter cold was still a slow experience. I shudder to imagine it during the summer.
• For cheap hotels, stay in Lido, which is the next largest island in Venice and right next to the main island. There are less people, it's quieter, and you are a short walk away from the beach leading to the waters of the Adriatic. The hotel we stayed at was right on the waterfront and only 16 euros a night per person.
  
• Beware of the pigeons in Saint Marc's square, they fly in droves.
  
• The best way to travel around Venice from island to island (or even from one end of the island to another) is via waterbus (called a vaporetto). If you want a cheap ride down the Grand Canal and do not want to pay for a gondola, the waterbus is the best bargain and you get to meet some interesting people along the way.
• "Ciao" = the Italian version of "aloha" in that it means both hello and goodbye

Venice: the photo album