I woke up this morning with a fatigue so strong that for a moment, I forgot about Venice. Once I remembered where I was, however…once I heard the birds chirping and the boats motoring on by, I couldn’t help but to be happy. I was in Venice! Venezia!
We ate breakfast in the hotel’s garden, and then walked to a ferry that would transport us to the Island of Burano (apparently famous for its lace). We had no idea what we would do once we arrived in Burano, but Jenna had heard it was beautiful, and who can pass up an island’s beauty? We had to transfer several times before we reached our destination, but once we stepped off of the ferry, I was instantly amazed. We walked along a canal in the middle of the island that was surrounded by the most colorful buildings I have ever seen. Blues, yellows, reds, purples, greens…each house/building was so bright and full of personality that we all walked around with our mouths dangling open for at least fifteen minutes. The entire island looked like something out of a children’s novel, something that Dr. Seuss would have written and illustrated. It was so amazing, so rich, that I walked around the island too enthralled to speak to the others. Words would ruin the atmosphere.
Finally, around 1pm, we decided that lunch was in order. We left the island and made our way back to the mainland of Venice. It was a win-win situation. I bought pasta salad and pineapple juice in the grocery store, and a calzone from a café and we took food back to the hotel room to eat away from the intense heat. We then proceeded to walk to the train station to buy our tickets for Naples, Italy tomorrow. Our ship would be docked in Naples the following day and Jenna would find a hotel in Naples to spend another few days with us.
While we were in line buying tickets, I overheard this guy asking for a ticket to Vienna. Having traveled to Vienna, Austria before, I wanted to ask him about his travels there. Apparently, he was studying abroad, like myself, and his studies were going to take him to Austria and Switzerland and the Czech Republic. After explaining to him the trip I was on, he told me that his favorite city in the world is Istanbul, Turkey. He said he’s visited it six times and still cannot get enough of it, which made me really excited to travel to Turkey.
As we were trying to figure out what to do next, I told the group that I came to Venice to ride in a gondola. If I could fulfill that dream, it would be such bliss! So in good spirits, we walked to a gondola platform and paid our money to the driver, named Franco. His gondola, we were told, was named Titan. I asked if he would sing to us (because that’s what riding in a gondola is all about, of course!) He smiled and said that they only sing in the movies. He did whistle and sing a bit throughout the 40 minute ride, and those were the sweetest moments I could have experienced. The gondola itself was extremely gaudy. The seats were in the shapes of hearts (I felt like I should have been on my honeymoon, sitting in those seats), and the ropes had red fluffy carpet balls attached to them. I believe the gaudiest pieces of bling on the boat were fake gold mermaids that held up the ropes along the sides. Those mermaids totally set the mood, let me tell you.
After the most amazing gondola ride, we took the ferry over to San Marco Piazza, which is the famous pigeon-filled square. Billy and I bought some bread and held our arms out to see if the pigeons would land on our arms. I think I had about five pigeons on my arm at one time, and as their greedy claws dug into my skin, I was laughing the entire time. It was the coolest, dirtiest feeling. After we had our fair share of the Piazza, we made our way to Rialto Bridge, which overlooks the Grand Canal. It was such the pretty sight. I chatted up an Australian couple who stood at the top of the bridge waving to boat-goers below (we had that in common). The woman seemed interested in mine and Billy’s studies and asked all about our future career paths and what it was like going to school in America. She had a good heart.
We bid our farewell to the vacationing Australian couple and decided to go out for a nice Italian dinner. Jenna remembered a particular café that we had passed earlier that overlooked the water, and we set off in hopes of finding it. After about an hour’s worth of searching, we sat down at this café and order the most amazing meals. I had spaghetti with eggs and bacon (mixed in). It had this smoky flavor, and was delicious. I ordered my much awaited Pina Colada, which brought me back to Austrian days, and was just as amazing as ever.
It was such a nice night, one that I will remember with clarity and light-heartedness. Nothing can quite compare to eating in a Venetian café, sipping a pina colada, and letting the Mediterranean breeze gently frame your hair around your face.
Arrivederci, and until next time!
A.
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