When I used to think of Venice, I would imagine gondolas gliding down the canal with gondoliers singing and standing on the back. I have always thought of it as the place that people fall in love and take romantic boat rides together. When I arrived, I realized that it is so much more than that. Venice is decorated with colorful buildings, artistic bridges, and blooming flowers everywhere you look. It is a quaint island with history and character. It is almost as though the streets have a personality, because you can walk along them and truly get lost and forget about reality. When you stroll through the mazes of buildings, you have no choice but to appreciate the beauty of architecture and humanity. You are constantly surrounded by tall structures that can put you in a tranquil state of mind. It is clear that the Venetians put effort into the exterior design and appearance of their apartment or home. All the colors of the walls on the buildings, clothes hanging from string, and flowers in window boxes coordinate with each other. When you walk deeper into the calmer parts of the city, you can see people walking by, taking their time. There does not seem to be any type of hurry for the locals. When you enter the busier parts of the city, you can find unique shops that have homemade crafts or food. You can even see some stray dogs prancing down the cobblestone streets. It is shocking that an island held up by wooden posts could have so many shops, buildings, and churches. One of the churches I got to see was St. Mark’s Basilica, and the art on the outside of the church is jaw-dropping. It reminded me of a castle that had paintings and statues all over it.

The last few days of being in Florence we all had the opportunity to climb to the top of the duomo and or the tower. Maddie, Calie, and I chose the duomo. We climbed up 463 stairs to get to the top. I had no idea that tourists could even make an appointment to climb to the top. We made an appointment for Friday the 24th at noon. We figured that would give us time to do things in the morning and enough time to climb it before class. When going up I wasn’t sure what to expect but the small spiral staircase wasn’t it. There was just a regular staircase that had a few turns but nothing too crazy. Going up there were small windows to look out and see how far you were up. Once we were about half way, it took us to an upper deck with a railing. that took us from one side to another. From that point on, we started the long trek up many steep steps. None of them were just like going up a regular set of stairs. It took us only about 20 minutes to get from street level to the amazing birds eye view from the top of the duomo. Once reaching the top it was the most rewarding feeling in the world. nothing compares to climbing up the 463b stairs to get to see the most beautiful view I have ever seen. We spent about a half an hour at the top just looking at everything. Going from one side to the other in awe. I knew that climbing that was only a chance of a lifetime so I am glad that I took the opportunity to do so.

Much of Venice is a Fish is about guiding the typical tourist to experience the best parts of Venice. All you have to do is listen, ask, see, or get lost. In order to be found, you must first be lost. This can be taken in a multitude of ways. It could mean that you are lost in the streets and you can find the areas that no tourist knows about. Or it could mean that you can find out who you are while you are here. I have done both. I got lost walking to AND from the San Marco Basilica. In doing so, I had found a piazza that was filled with children screaming and running around playing futbol, or what we call soccer. Just standing there and listening to the sounds of the piazza and watching the Venetians walk around was such a wonderful experience. It’s one of the many things I will never be able to forget about of this trip. In the way of finding out who you are. I have found that I am learning and gaining so much from this trip. If you couldn’t tell from my last blog or through the one you are currently reading. I never thought I would connect the readings to Italy or to myself on this trip. But it’s happening. This trip is changing who I am and in this trip changing me, I am finding myself. Another thing I learned while in Venice is that I should have brought my moleskin with me on the gondola. Which was amazing! It had such breathtaking views. However, what I really wanted to have it for was so that I could write down all the information and history that our gondolier was feeding us. The one time I had actually wanted my moleskin, I didn’t have it. I wanted it because our gondolier told us that the water was salt water, Venice was hand built from the water up, and it contains four hundred some odd bridges and one hundred some odd churches. He would tell us about what things were, especially churches. There was one that was from the 15th century. I wanted my moleskin so that I could get the exact number he said but sadly I didn’t have it. I really wish I had it with me! Everything was a beautiful site and every turn was worth a picture. From the views off the bridges to the first site of the grand canal when one walks out of the train station and to each and every turn you make in the city. One of my favorite sites, besides the gondola of course, was San Marcos Basilica. The entire ceiling was gold but my favorite spot was on top of the roof. While I did have to pay 5 euros to get up there, it had such a beautiful view of the piazza and the water. Definitely worth the 5 euro! It was an amazing “free” day...

On our one free day off from classes, I traveled with my peers by train to Venice. It was definitely my favorite part of the trip, as I was mesmerized by the beautiful sights this city had to offer. While I knew in advance that the city was surrounded by and built atop water, I was absolutely stunned by seeing this in person. I loved the bridges and cobblestone pathways which lined the river. Our day started by getting off the train and checking into our hotel. It was not ready for us when we initially arrived, so we walked around the city and began doing some shopping. I picked up fresh pasta to take home to my family, which I am very excited to prepare along with side dishes after having the cooking class with Chef Marcello yesterday. After shopping, we later went together on a gondola ride around the city. This gave us the best, most incredible view of the city from the water. It was perfect because we went in the early evening just as the sun was slowly beginning to set, making for some pretty incredible pictures. Finally, we got dinner and gelato! The restaurant at which we ate provided outdoor seating right next to the river, a divine view after enjoying the gondola ride. I ate the most delicious ravioli, and after dinner and gelato we made our way to the Rialto Bridge. By this point, it was nearly 9:30pm, and so the city and shops were all lit up and shined so brightly. This too made for amazing pictures. Overall, Venezia was definitely my favorite part of the trip so far. I wish I could have stayed for more than one day, as I’m sure that, like Rome and Florence, there is so much history and culture this city has to offer. I hope to return to Venice someday!