Monday, June 24, 2013

Venezia

Whenever I visit a new city, I judge it based on a very simple scale: If I don't want to visit again, if I do want to visit again, if I can ever see myself living there for an extended period of time. In the case of Venezia (Venice, for those of you back home) this scale may not be entirely fair. I know that I will never want to live here, but that does not mean that I do not love the city. The main, glaring problem is the number of tourists (I am choosing to ignore the obvious irony here), they drove me crazy after only a couple of days so I can't imagine what it would be like to live there.

Luckly I was able to wander away from the main tourist routes and appreciate the amazing historical beauty of the place. Of course, it should be no surprise that any city where the main form of transportation is by boat (even the busses) is going to be my kind of city.

I think that for Venezia, the photos will be able to speak for themselves:


























I loved how the city was simply a maze of canals and alleyways. I even attempted to get lost a couple of times but never once hit a dead end. And everywhere you looked there were hidden little details.










I was so content with simply walking around (practically surviving off of only gelato), that I didn't get involved in too many tourist activities. I did have to stop inside a Leonardo da Vinci exhibition which displayed some models of his mechanical designs.


And once I took a bus over to the island Lido, which was where the only public swimming beach was located. However, it seemed like everyone else in the entire country had the same idea.


Another time I was wandering around when I heard some activity in a nearby university courtyard. Imagine my surprise when I stuck my head in to discover this:

It was a public art display attempting to raise awareness for the oceanic garbage patches. As an oceanographer attempting to research the very same thing, I wanted to thank the artist for his work in the field. He was nowhere to be found however as he was off preparing for a presentation, and I believe that he only spoke Italian anyway. I did get a free tote bag however. Although I believe that it helped me blend in with the locals a little too well, for when I used it later in the day more than one person came up to me asking for directions in Italian.

The bus also went to the island of Murano, famous for its glassmaking artists.




Now what I am really excited for is a chance to return to Venezia during Carnivale. I mean look at these:





There were masks and costumes everywhere. Both the cheap tourist oriented ones, and the more elaborate handmade designs. I resisted buying one simply because I knew that if I did not have one, that would be all the more motivation to return for the celebrations someday.

I'm almost a bit sad to be leaving Venezia. I could honestly spend a couple more days simply wandering around the alleys and admiring the waterways. But next on the list is Paris, and that is certainly something to get excited about!

Farewell Italy, until next time, e gratzi.

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