Venise

Our trip to Venice began with an overnight train ride six hours north east from Rome. We waited on the platform for our train to arrive, under the impression that there is assigned seating once we get on. We climb aboard and calmly walk to our cabin, only to find out that it is occupied by people who were already sleeping. They shut the door in our face and we keep walking.

In the mean time, people have been making mad dashes to any cabin they could find. This should have been an indication to us that the reserved seating was not enforced. Whoops.

We had already broken up into two groups, and Venise, Antony, Jen and I are searching for a cabin. We finally find one, but it doesn't feel very cold. We're running out of options and we figure there's a possibility the air just isn't on because the cabin is unoccupied.

No such luck... the A/C is definately broken. But we've already put our bags up and tried to pull out the seats so that we can lay down. The seats are stuck as well, but we make do. Venise has a very badly swollen ankle that we're trying to keep elevated and Jen has been devoured by bugs that have mercilessly attacked her legs.

Shortly into our train ride a gentlemen pokes his head into our cabin and asks if there's room for one more. All the other cabins are full and he's tired of searching. He helps us pull out the seats further and he joins us in our very hot and humid misery.

Some of us got a little sleep, but I remember all six hours. I remember not knowing when we were supposed to get off the train. Venice is actually a series of islands with a portion of the city on the mainland. We could have gotten off on the mainland, but we had paid for tickets that took us all the way out to an island.

We finally get off the train and are irritated to find out that it's actually colder outside than it was on the train. And then we find the rest of our crew and all I can say is "You're wearing sweaters?!"

Turns out their A/C was broken as well, and they spent their entire night too cold to sleep. Just our rotten luck, right?

We sit inside the train station for a while waiting for the Venitian equivalent of buses to start running. Hooray for water taxis.

I was excited to leave the station and see canals. We were even in time to see the sun rise. And below is one of the statues that was right next to the train station.
Eventually we each pay 10 euro for an all day pass... it might have been 12, someone please correct me if I'm wrong... and we load onto the boat.

I'm looking forward to seeing the city, but I don't know much about Venice and I didn't really have the chance to do my homework. We decide to ride for a while to figure out where we're going. Except we're so tired, as soon as we sit down we start dropping like flies. From left to right we have Jen, Kat, Antony and Sarika. The reflection in the window shows that Venise is still awake, but that doesn't last long.

Venise and Trevor, both passed out.

I've got plenty more... Christina, Antony after he's moved, Kat... but sleeping college kids is only entertaining for so long. I mean it was so bad Kat said she'd "blinked longer than she'd slept." No, it's not quoted properly, I replaced I'd with she'd and not used [ ]. I know...

Most of us sleep through the morning rush, and I watch the locals get frustrated with a bunch of young tourists asleep and taking all the seats, all the while lamenting the fact that we're in VENICE and all we're doing is riding around in a mini motorboat. But I understood how tired we all were and at some point briefly succumbed to sleep as well.

After riding around for nearly two hours and taking in the scenery twice, we get off at Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark's Square, home of St. Mark's Basilica and Campanile. It's the tourist hotspot and a beautiful one at that.

Did I mention I loved Venice? I love Venice. Anyway...

The square is very unique. This will give you an overall idea of the layout.

The water is to your back, the Campanile is to your left, the Basilica and some buildings with beautiful facades to your right, and the square continues off to your left around the Campanile. It's more of a backwards L shape if you will. And now for the close ups.

I don't know much about the Campanile, but I know that the Campanile on the Berkeley campus is modeled after it, and somewhere around here I have a picture of all the Cal kids standing in front of it. Christina, Venise and I were the only non-Cal students of the bunch. Hmph.

Found it. It was taken on Trevor's camera and I just borrowed it from his Facebook...

And this is one of my favorite shots of the Basilica with all the tables and chairs that fill the square from the nearby cafes. The compression just kills the shot. From another angle... This portion of the square is also filled with tourists feeding the pigeons. I know I just heard about twenty people say ewww, but for some reason we did it and it was hilarious. We bought two bags of birdseed for a euro a piece from a woman in the square, and we fed the birds. Let me tell you, those are some smart birds.

And yes Mom, I washed my hands afterwards.

As we were running out of birdseed someone suggested that Antony lie down and we cover him in it. Well, I wouldn't have mentioned it if he hadn't done it, would I?

Following the feeding frenzy we broke up for a little while to do our own thing. I of course walked around and took pictures. I didn't go into the Basilica, but Trevor did and he said it was pretty cool.

Here are some details of the Basilica and the surrounding buildings.
To give you a better idea of just how big the square is, I have a little video for you.


And of course, what is Venice without some water and gondolas?We meet back up and decide it is time to check in to our hotel. To do that we have to go back to the trainstation to go back to the main land to take a bus to get to our hotel. The trainstation via water taxi and mainland via train was easy. The bus was not so easy.

The guy at the trainstation told us we had to take the 9 to get to our hotel. He also told us how soon it would be arriving. He got the bus number right and the ETA very very wrong. We wait for more than an hour, and even venture off two at a time to get food and drinks while waiting. Some of us fall asleep... the whole bit. The bus finally arrives and we make it Hotel "R" around 1PM. We take turns getting into the shower and putting on clean clothes. I had changed by shirt at the trainstation earlier that morning, but some people were still in the clothes they had worn the day before in Rome. And if we weren't showering, we were definately napping.

I think we made it out of our hotel around 3:30PM. Two and a half hours for 8 people is pretty darn good. But for some of us, me included, this was our only day in Venice, and we wanted to see as much of it as possible.

We make it back out to the island and we have a few things on our list. Dinner, a gondola ride, gifts and gelatto.

At some point during our walk Antony suggests that we steal some guy's boat. Trevor is instantly up for the idea. I look at it and see POLIZIA down the side. Now I don't speak Italian, but I'm pretty sure I do know what that means. I know they're joking, at least I think they are, but I still decide to tell them "You guys know that's a Police boat." They hadn't notice that yet, and everyone busts up laughing.

This would be "that guy's" boat...

We continue on our walk as the sun starts to set.

We do some shopping and I picked up two masks for my sisters. I wanted one for myself, but it was a full size mask with peacock feathers at a bargain price of 325 euros. I knew it would neither fit in my budget nor my suitcase and I sadly left it hanging from the rafters of the shop I found it in. It's one of those things I'll pick up on a return trip. Finally we find a gondola. We tried to stay away from the popular places figuring that the price my be cheaper if there wasn't a line around the block. Gondola rides are a total tourist attraction. No one in Venice uses them, they take the water taxis or they have their own boats.

This gondola is like the Ferrari of all gondolas, tricked out and tacky in red and gold. It's a little much, and we're all making fun of it until we find the gondollear and realize that the Ferrari is his. Kat and I don't really want to spend the money for the ride, and the boat only seats six anyway. She and I also aren't about to go find our own boat and pay 45 euros each for a 30 minute trip up and down a canal.

It is however something I will do when I go back.

So Kat and I watch the rest of the group load up and float off, and we wander.

... but not before taking a classic tourist shot on a bridge looking into the sun.

We find gelatto and enjoy. I believe Kat had peach and was savoring every last spoonful.

Next comes dinner. Yes, we had dessert before dinner. Sarika on the other hand had dessert for dinner. The ice cream sundae she ordered was larger than her head. It's definately dark by the time we're done eating and I take advantage of window sills and spot lighting.
We're not quite sure what to do now that we're done eating, so we head back to St. Mark's Square. The square is full of vendors selling paintings and trinkets. There are also more tables and chairs lining the square, and we figure out that there are three restaurants from the end of the square to the Basilica with outdoor seating. Each restaurant has it's own live orchestra playing, and it's almost like they're dueling. It sounds fantastic and creates a very romatic atmosphere. We sat down at one of the tables and planned on ordering a drink, but when we found out that a coke was 8 euro, we decided to grab drinks from a local store and sat in the middle of the square instead. The air had finally cooled down and the stone of the square was still warm. It was perfect. I just sat there watching it all, taking it all in.

Here we have the Basilica at night...

It gets late and we decide it's time to head back to the hotel. Four of us have to get up early in the morning to catch our flight and it's been a long day. We load up on a water taxi and we start the trip back. We had to catch a different boat then usual because of how late it was, and there was some confusion as to when we were going to get off. Unfortunately, Trevor got off one stop to early, and before we could get him back on the boat it pulled away from the dock. We drove off watching Trevor stand there all by himself.

We all felt terrible because we'd managed to lose Trevor. I mean first Venise in Rome and now Trevor. You could say we were a bit disorganized. So we waited at the last stop until Trevor was found and we all got back to the hotel safe and sound.

Those of us who are leaving in the morning pack our bags so that we're ready to go. We set alarms and go to sleep, ready to wake up in the morning and catch our plane out of Treviso, a nearby city, back to England.

If only things were so simple.

Roma - Part 3 Continued

After leaving the museum, Kat and I made our way around to Piazza di San Pietro, or St. Peter's Square. Funny how they name things that aren't square in shape... squares. Of course when something is this beautiful, you can call it whatever you want as far as I'm concerned.
This is the Piazza taken from the cupola or top of the dome... at least what is accesible to the public. But how did we get there?

Here it goes....

Kat and I wander the Piazza. It's ridiculously hot and humid, so we change out of our warm clothing that covers us from below our knees to our shoulders. She gets asked by other tourists to take their picture in front of one of the fountains. The two fountains sit on either side of the obelisk in the center. You can just barely see them in the shot above.

The Piazza is, to return to a word I used earlier, ginormous. Of course, that means I couldn't fit it all in a single shot.

And clearly neither could Kat. So instead of attempting something futile, I just took a video. And don't worry, I don't think this one will make you nauseous.

Now that the layout makes much more sense, I'll continue. The fountains, although simple, are beautiful and very fitting. And the obelisk... eh. It's all right. People in Europe seem to be big fans of these things. It has a few details. An eagle carrying an olive branch? Sounds familiar. I'm not actually sure if that is an eagle or a hawk. Maybe you can tell.So we had some fun in the square and waited for the rest of the crew to show up. And then we really had some fun. Antony took his usual "running man" pose with Jen as his official photographer. I managed to catch a different view of the scene.

Of course, we had some posing. And this is where the blog becomes interactive. That's right, it's time for some reader interaction. You get to pose with me. Ready? Go

Quick, make like an obelisk!

Make like a basilica!And reader interaction over. Yes, that was me being a total goof ball I was having fun, what can I say. Thank you to Jen for the photography.

But Antony was confused by our little game. Come on Antony, make like a basilica!There you go... kind of.

And then to accompany the posing we had some splashing. Those fountains are certainly versatile. Sarika and Venice pose some more, Antony sets up...Antony strikes! And you can see the reaction all over Sarika's face.

Eventually after more hijinks and posing, we begin to consider actually going inside St. Peter's Basilica. As we get closer we realize that going inside means puting back on all that warm, oppressive clothing. Did I mention it's close to 100 degrees outside? But according to the sign, one legged individuals and people without pants and sleeves are not allowed. See, look! So we debate. Well, some of us do, but Trevor is not missing this opportunity. The rated PG quote would be "I'm going whether you idiots are coming or not." And Trevor begins to dress in the middle of the square. His dressing is somehow enough to convince the rest of us that we should go inside. Only Cristina decides not to enter the basilica and she moves to the rim of the square to relax with our bags.

We go inside and I what I see literally takes my breath away. I mean I'd already seen a few churches, and there were plenty more to follow in later trips, but this was really something.

Immediately off to the right between the Holy door and the altar of Saint Sebastian is the Michelangelo's Pieta. Because of a guy who decided to attack the sculpture with a chisel in 1972, it's protected by a sheet of bullet proof acrylic glass. A hand rail also prevents how close you can get to the piece. Sadness. For a complete layout... at least of the main hall of the interior, see the video below. I just hope you're good at looking at things upside down.


And now that Kat wants to wring my neck....

Here we have Bernini's canopy. As you can see, the low light conditions made things a little difficult for my baby Canon. I used a makeshift tripod, hence the blurred movement. We also have Bernini's Cathedra Petri and Gloria. I'm not really sure which is which.Honestly, there are so many things that we didn't see. For instance, we didn't go into the Tomb of the Popes. I know there was probably a lot of history down there, and I'm pretty sure Trevor ventured there, but dead people just aren't my thing. And I say that as respectfully as possible.

Eventually we all meet up and we decide to climb the stairs up to the cupola, the dome of the Basilica. We had the option of taking the lift part way and climbing the rest, or just taking the stairs. The lift cost money, money we decided we didn't want to spend. Had we taken the lift we would have only had to climb 320 stairs. Since we didn't take the lift, it was more like 580. Talk about the cost you pay to be cheap. The good news is, I could eat all the yummy carb filled Italian food I wanted to, and after the climb we had it wouldn't have mattered.

Antony maintains we'll be fine, so long as we stretch first... and he decides to present us with an example.After a good laugh we start to climb. And we continue climbing. We eventually pass the lift, and we keep going. Shortly after the lift we reach what I would consider to be the roof, at least the flat part of the roof upon which the dome appears to sit. It also has several mini domes and a shop filled with trinkets. I bought my St. Peter's Basilica shot glass from a nun. I love it...That's the shop off to the left.

Also great about this little stop is the fact that you can walk inside the dome and look down into the Basilica. The view is amazing.

Look at the way light streams in...Looking straight ahead, here are some of the details of the dome. It's not centered, and the contrast is a little harsh, but you get the idea.After our little picture section, we return to climbing. As you get higher into the dome, the walls begin to curve. Of course as you continue to climb, the walls curve more, and I seem to recall the roof becoming lower as well. Here is a mild example of the curving walls.We finally reach the top. I mean why start, get half way, and quit. I don't think we could have if we wanted to. Going back down meant a different set of stairs. But we'll get there. The view was worth the climb, I think it's the most impressive view of Rome. For example, the picture that opened this entry wouldn't have been possible if not for the climb. And now for some more of the view.

Here is the view into the Vatican Museum that was covered in the last entry. If you're able to open the full sized image, you can actually see the golden orb I was so obsessed with.

You could also see parts of Vatican City that are not open to the public. And this is why I want to be pen pals with the Pope.Look at those manicured gardens! The greenery, the hedges. I haven't even gotten to the flowers or the fountains. And if you look closely at the top right corner you can see the walls that separate Vatican City from surrounding Rome. I acutally wanted to be the Pope, but Kat reminded me that not only am I a woman, I'm also not Catholic. Still... I wouldn't mind having that space to myself.

While capturing the some of the shots above, Jen thought it'd be a good idea to take a shot of me hard at work!For more of the view, check this out. It even comes with it's own authentic Italian ambulence sound. It might be the police, I don't remember.

Eventually we made our descent back down the 500 some odd stairs. I think we avoided it as long as possible, but we didn't want to miss our train to Venice, and we were all pretty tired. The stairwell we had to take back down was very steep, with large, smooth steps. Jen and I were sliding all over the place in our flip flops and were holding onto the hand rails for dear life.

We make it back to terra firma and find Christina, sitting comfortably at the edge of the square before heading off to the train station to travel to Venice over night. I mean why pay for both a hotel and a train when you can save time and travel at night, right?

The train station is pretty cool. It still has one of the old fashioned types of arrival and depature boards, where the numbers and letters actually flip. Who needs electronics and flat screen panels when you can have that? I'm going to be honest, we were a little mesmerized. And then it was no longer entertaining.

We picked up some food at a local mini mart and ate our customary McDonalds. It's the only restaurant that is everywhere in Europe.

And we sat, all looking forward to boarding the train and having a comfortable, restful evening. All I can say is this is our messy trip to Italy... we should have known better.