Land of the Boats

We arrived in Venice yesterday, a little weary from our long journey but certainly excited to see the floating city first-hand. Let me say the view from the train station is simply gorgeous. As far as first impressions go, Venice knows what it's doing. That being said, lugging around suitcases certainly isn't the best way to enjoy any city so our first stop was the hotel. For the first two nights, I'm staying in this cozy little converted house with all the small, cramped staircases required for authenticity. My room has a chandelier and a polished mosaic floor. I feel like a royalty.

After settling in John, William, a couple others, and I decided to go find lunch and do a little exploring. This including walking up and down Strata Nova and eventually running into another group of people from the trip AND finding the largest grocery store I've seen in Italy. Seriously. I wish I could say we then decided to roam further, but we were still pretty knackered and headed back for a siesta.

Dinner was the driving factor in getting us up again. John, William, Grace and I found this amazing pasta place right on Strata Nova with the highest prices I have yet paid for pasta, but well worth the extra few euros. I think one of my biggest fears when I go home will be trying to enjoy pasta that isn't cooked to perfection…The dinner was accompanied by a couple guitar players who showed up and started playing through the meal and really added to the atmosphere and feel of Venice.

Today was our first official day in Venice...so we all slept in. First movement occurred around 10:00 after some light reading when William and I found a coffee shop for some cappuccino and croissants. An hour or so later we realized that wasn't nearly a decent enough breakfast so we rounded up some compatriots and stormed the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. This was a minor let-down to say the least, the only saving grace being delicious dumplings.

FINALLY! We saw the city. At two, a guide named Mose showed us around Venice from the southern to northern lagoon (it's not a very big city), he explained the various islands surrounding the city, the churches, the fountains...easily one of our best guides yet. Mose was articulate enough and good humored to answer all questions and explain places like the square of St. Mark in fascinating detail. At four we parted ways until tomorrow. Now, William and I are preparing to work on our final presentation due Tuesday and what to do to cap off a day of mediocre meals. It should be a fun one!