A Weekend in Venice

On Saturday, I decided that a touristy Venice weekend was in order.  With that in mind, I visited the main sights of the central S. Marco Square area - Museo Correr and the Doge's Palace. 

The Museo Correr was interesting from an academic and historical standpoint - most of the pieces I saw there were military and naval relics.  Venice has an enormous wealth of history in terms of warfare; it remained its own, independent entity for centuries before becoming part of Napoleon Bonaparte's Kingdom in the late 18th century, and a part of Italy in 1866.  In that respect, the museum was a great place to visit.  However, in terms of the art itself and the layout of the museum, I wasn't a huge fan.  The tone was fairly dark and depressing, also very claustrophobic, and I was ready to get back outside into the sunlight after an hour or so surrounded by coats-of-arms, weapons, pieces of old wooden ships and tapestries.

The Doge's Palace, while also very dark, was incredible.  The architecture is very intricate and in a few large rooms off the courtyard, there are pieces of columns and statutes that have been preserved after coming off the building.

What I found the most fascinating about the Doge's Palace was the enormous system of governmental halls throughout the building.  Walking through the different wings of the palace, you could get lost in the dark maze of rooms (if it weren't for the velvet rope directing the proper path) - it is easy to imagine Venetian governmental officers discussing the fate of the poor souls who had to cross over the Bridge of Sighs into the prisons across the canal.

Sunday was hot and dry, and we went to Lido to sit by the beach.  The main strip of Lido leading from the vaporetto stop to the beaches feels almost like a coastal town in California, but with a little more glam and a lot more ice cream.  After a few hours sitting in the sun and swimming, we headed back to the city to finish our work and get ready for the week ahead.

As usual, all my photos are in albums to the right!  -->

Vagare per Venezia

Yesterday afternoon, as planned, I walked south of my apartment and school, across the Ponte dell'Accademia, and into the Dorsoduro district of the city.  My first stop was the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (more on this later - my experience there was enough to fill an entire post), where I absorbed the incredible beauty of Picassos, Kandinskys, Pollocks, and more at Peggy Guggenheim's Italian villa-turned-gallery.  For now, I will just say that it would be my utmost desire to one day befriend contemporary artists, acquire their works, and then bequeath my collection to the future generations of art lovers.  What a beautiful hidden gem in Venice.

I continued my wanderings east, and stopped at Santa Maria della Salute, the Italian "cathedral of health."  This Roman Catholic church is gorgeously constructed, and features one of the classic "duomos" seen all over the country.  It is located at the very tip of Dorsoduro, and the view from there is a wonderful panorama of San Marco and the islands of San Giorgio Maggiore and Giudecca.

I walked south around the point of Dorsoduro, and continued west along the canal for before heading back up through the neighborhood's many winding streets filled with picturesque cafes, art galleries, and boutiques.  I then walked up through the quiet Santa Croce neighborhood, and back along the Grand Canal until I reached Accademia again.  When I arrived home, I had been gone for about four hours - the time passes quickly when wandering without a map or time constraints, and it is a beautiful experience to get lost in this city.  A link to a photo album from my walk yesterday is to the right - enjoy!

Bella Cosa far Niente

One of the best wise Italian phrases is bella cosa far niente, or roughly translated, "doing nothing is nice."  I agree wholeheartedly, and have resolved to live by this motto to a reasonable extent while in Italy.  Because when in Rome .... (or when 500 km north of Rome, in my case).  

Yesterday I did as close to "nothing" as I could, and finished a substantial part of my reading at a cafe by Santa Maria Formosa.  Slightly distracted by the wide array of people in the square, I sat in the sun with my coca-cola in a glass with a lemon wedge, listening to children shouting, dogs barking, and the fruit stand vendor grunting, and idly learned about international arbitration.

I don't have internet at my apartment, and I have to admit that being cut off from the technological world (with the exception of my cell phone, which I don't use because it's far too expensive) is beneficial ... like soul-food.  My creativity needs a boost, and it's been therapeutic to have time for drawing, photography and writing.  I've decided that I should probably pen a novel - I mean, isn't that what one does while living in Europe?  But in all seriousness, being disengaged from life at home for most of the day has been an effective way for me to reflect on the past year and what the future will be like.  It's also a happy reminder that I only need to be with myself to be content.

This afternoon, despite the urge to start studying for finals (which are already in only two weeks), I'm going to walk around the Dorsoduro area of the city and see the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.  I've heard the permanent collection is wonderful and it seems like a relaxing Friday-afternoon activity.  And this weekend, a visit to the Lido beaches is in store - one of the best locales I can think of for reading the 200 or so pages I'll need to complete for the beginning of next week, while living up to my far niente resolution.

The street where my apartment is located, Della Verona 

(right next to the Teatro la Fenice):

Burano - THE Place for Retirement

A "Moon River" Serenaded Gondola Ride, view from above: 

The past few days have left me and my classmates exhausted, to say the least.  I would attribute a great part of that exhaustion to jet-lag, but we have also been kept very busy.  Our orientation was on Monday at our classroom, in the Instituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti right next to the Accademia bridge (for a photo of the building, see my last post, Ciao, Italia!).  The room, appropriately named "Sala Alta," is at the top of a never-ending flight of stairs.  From there, we can hear our exuberant seagull neighbors laughing and endless bell-chiming through the skylights.  It is also incredibly hot up there ("sweat-lodge" hot).  While it makes for slightly gross law students, I think adds a bit to the ambiance ... it feels like we're in Renaissance Italy, pre-air-conditioning.  The inside of the entire building is absolutely gorgeous, with modern classroom amenities lodged in a practically ancient structure.  And we have the standard study-abroad local handyman/tourguide/helper, Stefano.  He is so sweet and has the most adorable Italian accent (you might be thinking, "duh, he is Italian," but really - it's a lisp mixed with a child's pitch and your typical Fabrizio intonations - so cute).  

Outside the classroom is Campo San Stefano, and there are numerous bar-cafes, shops, and restaurants.  It is so picturesque.  Walking to class in the morning is like being in a travel novel, or Julia Roberts.  Any day now I will be befriended by a group of Italian locals, learn to speak fluently and have dinner parties every night, making me so fat that I can't zip up my jeans.  

After the orientation on Monday, I somehow managed to drag my suitcases about half a mile to my apartment, bought groceries, and promptly passed out at about 7:30 pm.  Side note, however: my apartment is beautiful.  It's huge, in a gorgeous building, 12 foot ceilings and hardwood floors, a big kitchen, expansive bathroom, and large room - and, there are enormous windows everywhere so there is plenty of light.  I don't ever want to leave!  

Yesterday was the first day of classes.  I am taking "International Arbitration" and "Choosing Legal Regimes" - the two classes go together quite nicely, and will be fantastic preparation for working at a European law firm later this summer.  That said, the 100 or so pages of reading and 5 hours of class each day are very time-consuming.  Despite that fact, Professor Newton (the head of the program) organized an 8 hour field trip for us after class, so we ended up having a very fun afternoon and didn't get much work done at all.

We all took a vaporetto to San Marco and walked to a glass-blowing factory called Vecchia Murano.  There, we were given a demonstration of how glass makers of the Murano tradition still hand blow their glass vases, ornaments, jewelry, and other goods.  It was amazing how deftly the artisan worked, and when he made a glass figurine of a horse in about two minutes my mind was effectively blown.  Upstairs they took us to a showroom with hundreds of pieces, including multiple chandeliers priced at over $500,000.  I was relieved I had chosen to leave my slingshot at home.

From the factory, we took an hour-long vaporetto to the island of Burano, known for its lace-making and colorful houses.  It was a photographer's DREAM.  The colors contrasted beautifully with the sky, the boats in the canals, and the people walking by ... the setting sun created the perfect lighting for some beautiful images.  (Please see more of my photos from yesterday, posted in the album linked to the right, or, here!)

We walked around for about an hour, taking photos and wandering down all the side streets.  One thing I noticed above all else - ONLY older people seem to live in Burano!  It would be an ideal spot for retirement, no doubt, but other than that I am not sure why there seemed to be so many mature men and women everywhere.  It was almost like a retirement island.  Who knows, maybe I'll feel compelled to move to Burano one day ...

We had a reservation at the Trattoria Gatto Nero, a Michelin-rated restaurant on the island, for all 35 of us (students, professors, and Stefano of course).  Having been made aware of my gluten intolerance, the chef was prepared.  During the five-course meal, I was given risotto twice (which I certainly did not mind - it was delicious), and instead of calamari I ate a huge platter with an entire fish and a squid.  The fish was flakey and fell off the bone; the squid was tender and delicious.  Dinner, on the whole, was a lovely experience.  By the end of it, everyone was practically falling asleep in their chairs and the end-of-dinner espresso was much appreciated.  Cue the 2 hour trip home ... 

Despite my near-inability to walk home because of sheer tiredness, I was happy to have accidentally taken the wrong vapoetto route back to the apartment - walking through Piazza San Marco at night was so romantic.  There are two large cafes on either side of the square, each with live bands that play all day, every day.  To hear them while looking at the stars, couples in love dancing, and pigeons settling in on their perches to sleep, was a wonderful way to end the night.

This afternoon will be mostly catch-up and then rest (and perhaps a first attempt at making an Italian dinner a casa), but more exciting posts soon to come!  

Arrivederci, tutti!

Come si dice "Meow" in Italiano?

Ciao, Italia!

Things I have learned in the past twenty-four hours:

1) The tourist trap is inevitable,

2) Italian men over the age of forty have impeccable style:

    (for more on beautiful middle-aged Italian men click here)

3) Italian men under the age of forty all think they look like this and that you therefore want them:

4) Italian women have disturbingly bad style,

5) Saying "yes" to dairy is OK (wait, I already knew that),

6) Europeans really do have perennially-tanned skin, and

7) The prettier your new sandals, the more blisters you will get (as reliable a formula as the Pythagorean Theorem).

I arrived to my hotel just north of Piazzo San Marco last night after about 16 hours of travel, glowing with perspiration (which is a flattering way to describe how I actually looked), tired, and feeling defeated.  The vaporetto-ride from the airport to S. Marco was about two hours long, and unfortunately I have a tendency to become nauseous when travelling by water.  After undocking, I dragged my two suitcases, in heels (???), over the cobblestones in S. Marco square, winding through crowded throngs of Japanese tourists and souvenir peddlers, proceeded to get lost (which is to be expected in Venice), and then carried my luggage up two flights of stairs to my temporary lodging (I'll be moving into an apartment tomorrow).  Once I dried off and had recollected my sanity, I realized how starving I was because I hadn't eaten in about eight hours, and decided to locate a market.

I am so glad I did!  The simple act of changing clothes and wandering around Venice in the early evening made my frustrations evaporate, and of course I was happy again after about five minutes.  This city, despite the crowds and the impossibility of not getting lost, has a very unique charm to it.  Everything is so perfectly antiqued that it looks like a movie set - the imperfection of buildings, the random clashing of paint colors, and the stray dogs (I refer to both animals and men) make the city seem like a movie-set.  Being here alone is definitely a different experience than when I came years ago with my family, but it doesn't feel lonely at all.

I bought yogurt, cheese, and Haribo (a candy I've been craving since being abroad in 2009) at the market, and before eating this very well-balanced meal, walked across the San Marco district to see where my apartment and school will be.  Leaving the tourist-heavy area of the Piazza was like a breath of fresh air, and Campo Santo Stefano and the Ponte dell'Academia area is picturesque and gorgeous.  My walk to school each morning will be a meandering ten minutes, and I am very excited to see the inside of our beautiful school building tomorrow.

Scuola:

Campo Sant'Angelo 

Today, I unfortunately have had to work on finishing a paper for my law school's journal competition, but the beauty of being in Europe is that studying for hours is still a way to enjoy the city.  I walked over to Campo Santa Margherita by way of the Rialto Bridge, and sat at a cafe for most of the day.  I am glad to have found that area, because while it is still touristy, there are also several ex-pat types and it is much quieter.  However, the tourism is not so pronounced to me as of yet - I have noticed mostly French and German vacationers, so the feeling is still very European.  In fact, I have been mistaken for French more than I have been for American.  It looks like I am finally achieving my life goal!  As I was sitting at the cafe, a group of Vanderbilt Law students happened to pass by, and it was exciting to see familiar faces on the other side of the world - I'm really looking forward to classes and the experience of Vanderbilt in Venice in general.

I am thrilled to be staying here for the next three weeks - while it is impossible to not be a tourist in this city, the experience will be unique because I will enjoy Venice more leisurely than is typical.  The pace is slow, which I'm sure will be conducive to studying, but also to relaxing and living a little.

Until next time, Ciao tutti!