One big cup of Sangria at 5 pm and my lovely roommates got drunk, which made this first time exploration even more irritating and fun. Venice was such a tiny city but very easy to get lost. Street's name was hardly found on the map and street signs on the walls have two arrows pointing to opposite directions. Stores and food stands are selling similar masks and souvenirs. Italian people spoke broken English but they were very welcomed to us- the tourists.
Hannah and I were big fans of the movie 'The Tourist', in which the whole story took place in Venice. We tried to look for the places where they shot the film and tried to imagine we were in the film. Actually Venice was such a tourism city that was crowded and loud at day time but quiet and kind of mysterious at night. When we were wandering on the streets nearby our hotel around 11pm we felt insecure and uncomfortable because of some homeless people and some drunk Italian guys. Especially when we saw some boats berthed under bridge we felt like a gunfight was going to take place.
Maybe it was just our imagination, nothing happened to us except for great music played by a guitarist in front of out hotel every night.
Love the Piazza San Marco although it was really crowded and pigeons were really annoying. If you don't want to waste a whole day on line going into the Basilica di San Marco, if you don't want to spend 15 euros for a cup of coffee, then just linger around the piazza, listening to free music, and relaxing. I always felt I didn't have time to go through everything in a new city and it was ironic that if you want to go through everything you are going to spend less time on each. That's why sometimes I just slowed down and enjoy the moment of doing nothing. That was also why I escaped from busy Manhattan and went to laid-backed Europe for the summer.
It was interesting that in Venice you have to either across bridges or take boats to your destination. I remember there was an article in my Chinese class of elementary school that introduces the Gondola of Venice. I also read what Mark Twain wrote about Venice in "The Innocents Abroad" over a century ago. Taking Gondela in Venice has been a dream for more than ten years and today the dream came true!
'The Venetian gondola is as free and graceful, in its gliding movement, as a serpent. It is twenty or thirty feet long, and is narrow and deep, like a canoe; its sharp bow and stern sweep upward from the water like the horns of a crescent with the abruptness of the curve slightly modified.'
It was crowded on the Grand Canal as well but all the Gondolas, boats, and ferries were following a peaceful order so that the Grand Canal was busy but not chaotic.
The gondolier is a picturesque rascal for all he wears no satin harness, no plumed bonnet, no silken tights. His attitude is stately; he is lithe and supple; all his movements are full of grace. When his long canoe, and his fine figure, towering from its high perch on the stern, are cut against the evening sky, they make a picture that is very novel and striking to a foreign eye.
Facial masks, black Gondolas, and bloody red flowers, everything reminded me of 'Phantom of the Opera'.
Love the shadows on the wall which inspired me of using it as patterns or trimmings for my garments.
Travel tips:
1. Gondola ride costs 120 euros for a short round, which takes about 20 to 30 minutes. Bargain with them!
2. Food in Piazza San Marco is really expensive.
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