Venice - Day 77

Date: November 3rd, 2009
Distance: 12km
Country: Italy
Song of the Day: Stork & Owl - TV on the Radio

Woke up and went to get some supplies, as in food. It was raining just a bit when I left the hotel I was at. By the time I left, it had stopped.

So I headed out down the road to the camping site I was going to stay at the night before. My first experience with Italian roads was a bit unnerving frankly. In town (Mestre, just outside of Venice) it wasn't so bad. But getting onto the highway was pretty hairy. There was no shoulder and big trucks were passing right by me. Then there was construction on one side, so there was even less space. I was only comforted by an old guy (with no helmet) going the same way I was. He didn't seem to notice all the cars going by. The vehicles also did slow down a lot in areas where it was tight. So after a bit I got the idea that this was normal and I wasn't going to be killed.

When I got into the camping it was actually going to be more expensive to pitch a tent then to rent a bunk in one of their cabins. I don't know how that works out, but okay I got a bunk. It was just in a mobile home style trailer, still it was inside and there was a bathroom. Plus I wasn't intending to stay inside.

I caught the next bus into the city. I still just had my shorts on. The German guy next to me said that I was being optimistic about the weather, which I thought was amusing. It turned out to be right, though. By the time I got into Venice the sun started coming out.

Now Venice is a maze of little streets bordered by buildings and canals. Frankly I was almost surprised by how much land there was, though. I know most of the city was just built on wood pilings in the water. So to have things like piazzas and trees is a bit like putting them on a boat. (Or maybe like having a swimming pool on a cruise ship.) In any case, you could often walk for hundreds of meters without seeing a canal.

Still, you just can't design a city like that. It is just so amazing to walk around and see how it evolved. For instance, some of the bridges were at an angle when crossing a canal. The streets on either side didn't line up, so they just built an angled bridge. In other places I saw a bridge with steps leading down to two small passage ways on one side. Or (private) passage ways connecting two buildings on opposite sides of a canal. I can't imagine doing any surveying work in the city. The difference between private and public spaces must just be a mess.

It is also probably the least bike friendly city I have been too. This is why I didn't bring my bike into the city. Still it was a big difference from the other city of canals, Amsterdam. Where Amsterdam was a city on land that canals were carved through it, Venice was water with stuff built there. The canals could be almost as small as some of the streets. So all of the canals are crossed with arched bridges that have to be tall and short. So they have steps. Just not a good place for a bike. Which is okay, they would really be out of place in Venice. Instead goods get around the city on boats. It was funny to see mail delivered by some dude in a boat.

I really can't describe the city effectively though. Even with pictures, I just don't think it gives the impression that you get from just being there. Plus I still don't think I got enough pictures. It is just a cool place.

I even managed to get through it without a map. (They wanted 2€ for a stupid map.) So I figured I couldn't get too lost in the city. It isn't that big, plus it has definite boarders. I really didn't know where I was going anyway. I just walked around until I found something cool. I got around just fine.

By the time I got to the Rialto the sky was almost clear. When I got to Piazza San Marco it was bright and sunny. For a day that I thought was going to be raining the whole time, I was so glad it wasn't. I would like to credit divine favor the generally pleasant weather on my tour, but that would incline you to believe that I somehow deserve divine favor.

In the piazza I went to see two things that I wasn't sure about when I got there. The first was the Basilica di San Marco. On the outside it is covered in mosaics. Some of which I think are done in gold leaf. I just thought that if it was on the outside, the inside would be a bit boring. Frankly, I have been to a lot of cathedrals in Europe. But I went anyway. Boy was I wrong. Inside was even more magnificent than the outside. The walls and ceilings were covered in even more gold mosaics. Just cool to be there.

The second place was the Doge's palace. It was 12€ to get in. I actually walked out after seeing the price.When I took one last look and saw the courtyard, I reconsidered. I am glad I did. It was actually worth it, something I didn't expect. The places you can visit are amazing. They start with simpler rooms and work their way up. So the Doge's apartments are actually kind of plain. From there it moves to the council chambers. Imagine rooms where every surface is covered with paintings and art? The rooms keep getting bigger as well. When you get to the largest room it is about the size of an Olympic swimming pool with the ceiling covered in paintings. Frankly I wanted to pull out a pillow in lay on the floor for a while.

Now, I should tell you that there are winged lions all over the palace. Right away I picked up on the fact that this was the symbol for St. Mark the evangelist. I felt pretty good about remembering this. (More weird useless knowledge stuffed into my brain somewhere.) It turns out that St. Mark is sort of the patron saint for the city. So the lion was in many of the paintings (when the city wasn't being represented by a beautiful woman.)

Oh, and they had an amazing armory. They had swords from a three hundred year period. Crossbows most of which had a rack and pinion style crank to cock the thing. The quivers of bolts were cool too. I guess the arrow head was made flat and then the base was bent into a cone to fit it onto the shaft. Oh, and they had an amazing variety of halberds and pole axes. Some which had a crescent shaped fork on top instead of a spike. Plus flamberge, glaives, and corsicans... I could really go on about this. I took as many pictures as I could until they asked me to stop. (I don't see why. It isn't like a painting where the flash will damage it.) In the last room of the armory they had guns of various kinds. Mostly wheel-lock. There was one neat piece, it was a sword-gun. I walked through twice.

The only slightly disappointing part of the tour was the prisons. Yes, I got to walk over the Bridge of Sighs. But there prisons weren't well described like the rest of the palace. It was just a bunch of rooms with no explanations. Iron bars, yep. Bare stone cell, yep. But no history on what it was or who would have been put there. Still the whole thing was worth it, and I stayed until they kicked me out.

Then I grabbed a bit of dinner at a restaurant. I know, it was expensive. Still I felt like I really wouldn't have had the whole Venice experience without at least one sit down meal. So I had a lovely little dinner of tortellini e prosciutto.

After dinner I took one last walk around the city. There were still shops open which amazed me. (Most of Europe seems to close shop by 8:00 PM.) Other shops were closed by had their lights on. Some were peddling food or tourist trinkets. There were two other major categories for the shops though. It looks like Venice is a major center for glass work. (Actually I leaned that work was done in the nearby town of Mirano.) It also has a huge number of mask shops. The masks seemed almost as much a symbol for the city as the gondolas. (I didn't take a gondola ride, actually. I figured as a single guy that would be about as sad as going out to dinner by yourself on St. Valentine's day.)

It was then why I realized why the city was so romantic. First there are all these little shops along the tiny streets. You could, if you were with someone, just stroll around in the evening, hand in hand, along all the little avenues. Looking in the shop windows you could buy presents for that special someone. The second reason is that there are no cars. It is quiet and calm. After dark it is just a perfect place for a quiet conversation or to listen to your own thoughts. So if you a) want to spend money and b) you want a girl to fall in love with you, I suggest Venice.

Since I didn't want to do either I took the bus back out of town and went to bed.

-Dravis