you're gunna miss me when i'm gone.

DAY ELEVEN
I don't know if it was because I ate coffee gelato at night or because I was SO excited to be going to Venice the next morning, but Thursday night was probably one of the worst sleeps (if you can even call it that) I have ever had.  I got into bed before midnight, but didn't actually sleep until well after four-thirty.  And in that span of over four hours, I scared three people in my apartment who thought I was a creeper.  I was always in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I was pegged as robber/serial killer.  I guess I have been talking up Dexter a little too much lately... sorry Tarah!

Well anyway, we woke up at six-thirty to catch the bus to Venice!  I was so excited about going because in my family travels to Italy in the 1990s, we had never made it to Venice, and the movie "The Italian Job" just made the city on water look amazing!  As we drove north for four hours, the sunny Firenze weather slowly deteriorated into rainy and dreary, yet abnormal Venice weather.  "Piove a dirotto!"  Not only was it "raining buckets," but it was windy as well... to the point where you couldn't have an umbrella because it would invert itself constantly!  (Thank you mom for making me bring that stupid disposable poncho!) 

All I can say is that working with both Adventure Treks and Camp Pinnacle over the last couple of years has taught me a few things: 1.  You can NEVER NEVER EVER delta the weather... it is going to do what it is going to do, and you can't change it. 2. When you're stuck in a rainstorm and it is really easy to be miserable... DON'T because it is so much more fun just to have a dance party and smile it off because you might as well make the most of it!  There is ALWAYS a bright side... you just have to find it!

Inverted... unhappy.

When we got off the bus for the ferry to Venice, there was so much rain.  We all looked like gnomes in our ponchos and hooded rain jackets.  We all ambled down the path to the ferry... some running others tiptoeing through puddles.  The ferry was warm, but left most people with that angry face... you know the one that says, "Why am I here? And there is no way they are making me get off this boat!" Well... they made us get off.

Everyone was seemingly miserable, but there was definitely a bright side... we were in VENICE and it wasn't thundering/lighting out!  How cool is that?  Well... I thought it was pretty cool.  The waves were huge and splashed over the curbs(?) (considering the waterways are their streets!) and filled the pathways.  We were walking over bridge after bridge over the greenish water to find Piazzo San Marco, Venice's most famous square that houses the Church of St. Mark and very expensive stores, restaurants, and on this day a swimming pool of ankle deep water!  It was a trap!  We had about an hour to kill before we had to meet up with the group again for a tour, so we looked for Harry's Bar, which is the bar where Ernest Hemingway would write his books back in the day.  We should have known something was amiss when we walked in because the waiters were all dressed in white tuxes, while we were scantily clad with our ponchos, wet hair, and Chacos.  They brought us upstairs (where the ugly people sit) and we looked at the menu in disbelief... I could have fed a small country with the price of single Peach Bellini (16 euro) or a slice of chocolate cake (25 euro).  I settled with one of the cheapest things I saw on the menu, a cappuccino, and drank that while I snuck cookies into my mouth while the men in tuxes were not on the prowl.  I felt cheap, but I also liked it because my cookies were already paid for!

Carrie, Emily, Danielle, & Me Gator chomping

Looking at the Rialto Bridge

In the distance we could see some blue sky peeking out from behind the monstrous clouds.  There was hope!  So Danielle and I went to San Marco to meet up with the group for the walking tour.  At this point, the weather seemed to completely change... Italian weather must be bipolar because it can change several times before I have even made a decision on what flavor gelato I would like (no exaggeration... well maybe a little, but you get the point).  Anyway, let me start off with Venice is awesome.  It is the one place I have been that truly matched my expectations (besides the cleanliness).  The roads were waterways and canals that snaked through the city.  All dead ends ended with a canal and the buildings were all naturally old with old brick showing through behind the colorfully painted facades.  Everything seemed surprisingly real to me.  It was beautiful.  Unfortunately, it is a city that is falling to the sea... they need pylons to secure the heaviest buildings and the water level continues to rise.  Also, one day Venice will be a ghost town only filled with curious tourists because it is too expensive and difficult a lifestyle to live anymore.  The population is quickly dwindling as people grow up and move a way to a more convenient city.

The tour led us all throughout the city and up to the famous Rialto Bridge.  The waterways were filled with the classic gondolas and their gondoliers, as well as an excessive amount of trash.  I guess when you live on an island you have to dump your trash (sewage) somewhere... ew.  It is FORBIDDEN to swim in the water, for health reasons.  If I were to follow any law, it would probably definitely be that one.  That water had seen better days.  It didn't detract from my love of the city though, because there was a quaint charm about it, once you escaped the tourists hogging San Marco, of course.  I feel like I could live there... it just seemed perfect.  I could tell on our tour guide's face how much he loved Venice.  he grew up there and knew nothing different.  How cool would it be to grow up in a place like Venice?

Well anyway, when the tour finally ended, Tarah, Savannah, and Christina and Danielle and I met up to walk around for a bit on our own before heading back to the ferry.  We walked around semi-aimlessly until we reached the bridge and took an excessive amount of pictures as did an excessive amount of other tourists.  There is no patience in a tourist's trap like the Rialto Bridge.  But it was worth the elbows and umbrellas to the face because the view down the Gran Canale was absolutely gorgeous.  The sun was at a perfect shinning position over the water, the boats and gondolas were in complete action, and the colorful homes on the side looked beautiful.  You can't not like Venice.  Wait, was there a raging storm two hours ago?

I don't know if you remember the part of "Pitch Perfect" where Anna Kendrick went to the audition for the "Bellas" and sang that song while playing with the cup.  Well that song became the theme song of our ENTIRE time in Venice.  It was more than stuck in our minds, it was ingrained into them.  We couldn't stop singing it.  If you don't know what I am talking about, check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhECTE2-Oqc --THAT SONG!  It is addictive.  I will apologize for getting it stuck in your mind now.  "Oh, I know you're gunna miss me when I'm gone."

"To build a city where it is impossible to build a city is madness in itself, but to build one of the most elegant and grandest of cities is the madness of genius."
-Alexander Herzen 

"It is held by some that this word VENETIA signifies VENI ETIAM, that is, come again, and again, for however oft you come, you will always see new things, and new beauties."
-Jacopo Sansovino

 

Once our time was up, we headed back to the ferry and climbed on.  The only part of the day that was actually efficient was the process of pulling out of the dock and boating to the mainland.  Other than that the day was a cluster of mishaps because of the rain.  Oh well, it turned out great!  We shared the channel back to the mainland with beautiful, multi-million dollar yachts and cruise ships docked along the coast.  Once back to the bus, we drove a very short distance until reaching the hotel, which was a very bazaar-looking establishment adorned with a Las Vegasy-esque feel to it.  It was sort of comical.  We quickly got settled and waited until we were we scheduled to meet downstairs to walk to the"very close" dinner reservation.  It was NOT close.  Fifteen minutes later, in the freezing cold we strolled up to a restaurant in the middle of what seemed to be a ghost town.  I did not pack appropriately for Italy.  Who knew it would be freezing temperatures in the summer?  That's not what the pamphlet said!

The food was actually pretty good though!  We had a pasta dish with vegetables (finally something green!), a chicken on the bone with potatoes, and a flan for dessert.  I approved.  It lasted a little long though... by the time two hours had elapsed, I was ready to get to sleep considering I had slept only two hours the night before.  I was wiped!

Back at the hotel I showered and immediately went to bed.  It was such a great sleep until I woke up at six-thirty shivering.  What is this?!?  I actually went as far is pulling that nasty comforter that probably has never seen a washing as far as my legs.   Well... Buongiorno I suppose!