Venice. Venice! So much to say before I even tap into Venice. But one more time. VENICE!
Ok, rewind. During my college days, (I could follow this phrase up with so many thoughts and ideas, but college was college and I'll leave it at that), I had a very good friend, Kyle. Kyle was my buddy from freshman year until he left Eastern to join the Air Force just before my junior year. Kyle and I knew how to put them down (and by them I mean beer). And put them down we did. But before I tarnish anyone's rep here, we were good friends and had a lot of fun together. And a lot of laughs.
So, Kyle leaves college and joins the military. He is currently stationed at Aviano Air Base, just outside Venice. So, not only do I get to see an amazingly awesome town, I get to hang with a friend from the good ol' days.
I left Florence on Tuesday evening and caught up with Kyle in a small northern Italian town called Sacile. Kyle told me that back in the day, the rich Venetians would have homes here as well as in Venice. Quite a pleasant little Italian town, but not my final stop for the day. Kyle lives in smaller mountain community called... Ahh... I forget. The town only has about 100 people in it and I know it starts with a 'p.' Sorry Kyle.
So, I arrived at Kyle's home and we grabbed dinner at a local hot joint, Casa Bianca (a.k.a.The White House). I indulged in the pumpkin ravioli. Yep, just as good as it sounds! Later we headed back to Kyle's abode, reminisced about college times, drank like in college times and realized the next morning we are not as old as we were in college and drinking like that makes you pay a hefty price. The wine was really good, though.
We caught a train to Venice, which is an island for those who don't know (don't feel bad, I didn't know either). The train ride to the city/island was pretty nice, you take a long bridge from the mainland to Venice. Once we arrived, it was very difficult to put my camera down. Venice is incredible.
Right off the train.
Market in the middle of the street.
Common bridge. And when I say common, I mean common. There is very little automobile access in this city/island. Transportation is done with legs or on boats. In other words, you'll walk over a bridge ever 5-10 minutes. For reference, I'm standing on a bridge taking a picture of a bridge. I can't walk on water. Disappointed? Me too...
Kyle down the street. Looks like an alley, right? Nope. These are common streets in which tourists flood during the peek season. Lucky for us, it was smooth sailing (pardon the pun).
Cute flower shop. Couldn't help it...
Our first stop was Piazza de San Marco. He's pretty much the main guy to see in Venice. Rome has St. Peter, Florence has the marvelous duomo and Brunelleschi and Venice has San Marco. He must have been a pretty awesome guy/saint, because he had one of the best churches (Basilica di San Marco) I've seen yet.
Basilica di San Marco
And, of course, what have we learned while traveling through Italy? You can't have a basilica without a bell tower.
Basilica di San Marco
The spectacular golden alter in Basilica di San Marco
Canopy over none other than.... Yep, Mark. Or Marco, as the Italians refer to him.
I have been to my fair share of churches while in Italy this last month. But none of them had a floor quite like this one. An intricate marble flooring covered every inch of the bottom of the beautiful church.
The marble floor could only be topped by the mosaic ceiling. The entire ceiling designed with elaborate pictures from the bible was completely covered by mosaic tiles. For reference, one tile is probably about a quarter of an inch by a quarter of an inch. Every color imaginable was used and created one of the most astonishing sights I have ever seen. The above picture is a close up, but imagine the ENTIRE ceiling covered in little square tiles.
Quite an impressive sight inside the Basilica di San Marco are the Triumphal Quadriga. These four horses were moved inside the church for preservation, however the fascination behind them remains. The exact date these horses were created is unknown, however it is speculated at the second half of the second century A.D. They were apparently brought over from Constantinople as war booty by a past doge (more on the doge below).
Climb to the top of the basilica?! Of course we did!!! The view of San Marco Piazza facing the ocean. This is a picture taken from the loggia. The loggia is an opening at the top of the basilica where the doge (or the man in charge of Venice) would address the public. He's like Venice's Pope.
An interesting way to keep time, the Torre dell'Orologio is not just a clock. Between two large quadrants, a spectator can tell the phase of the moon and corresponding zodiac sign, as well as the time. Kyle told me that the creator of this contraption was blinded after its completion. According to legend, this was done in order that the masterpiece never be duplicated. The gentlemen at the top are what we would call 'animatronic.' They actually swing their hammers upon the hour.They toll the bell.
This is the original location of the four horses, atop the loggia. These are replicas made in Milan in the 80s, I think. Not as impressive.
Next up, a trip into the doge's home, Palazzo Ducale. For the record, Kyle and I could not figure out exactly how to pronounce 'doge.' dOH-sha? dog-eh? Doe-g? Doe-ga? It's a mystery for the ages (I could probably just google translate it, but you know, the mystery part is more fun).
Inside of the Palazzo Ducale. Again, they frown on taking pictures inside the palace, but we may have snuck at least one...
Entrance from the courtyard into Palazzo Ducale.
Kyle is a collector of rare, old keys. He often attempts to open various locks with them. Above is one of his many attempts. PSYCH!!!! That's actually just the key to Kyle's home. He's being funny.
After an hour and a half walk through the Palazzo Ducale, we chose one more must-see destination: Ponte di Rialto. This famous Venice bridge is comparable to Ponte Vecchio in Florence, however much shorter and with less pizazz.
Ponte di Rialto
View from the middle of Ponte di Rialto
View from the middle of Ponte di Rialto
Kyle and I on the Ponte di Rialto
The rest of the afternoon was spent venturing around the island. Kyle was kind enough to watch me shop and didn't complain as I randomly stopped to take multiple pictures.
When I say Venice, what comes to mind? Murano glass? Gondolas? The Grand Canal? Please view below, as I have attempted to gather, via photograph, as much of a feeling of Venice as I could. Keep in mind, pictures will never do this city/island justice. Outside of Florence, I would recommend that anyone go to Venice. It really was quite exquisite.
The Grand Canal
The Grand Canal
Gondolas facing the sea
Old Wooden Sides (or at least that's what I called it)
Anyone for a gondola? When walking down the streets and over the bridges, the gondola guys (I know they have an appropriate name, but I'm a fan of alliteration) would ask, "Gondola, gondola, gondola?" This must be why. Slow time of the year for them.
Our view from a cafe where we stopped for a cup of coffee. Well, that's really misleading. Let me, once again, rephrase. Italians do no drink 'cups of coffee' like we know in The States. They drink espressos, which is basically a shot of caffeine. It does not take long to drink and this way they can get moving with extra energy to spare. I par-took in the espresso drinking. But, I'll tell ya, there is nothing like an actual cup of coffee, or cafe Americano as they call it (I ordered one once, got a sour look and never did it again. Live and learn, amiright?!).
This particular spot, Taverna San Trovaso, was our lunch destination. Notice the steps down to hop on a boat. No railing, no chain, no barricade of any kind. How do these people keep from falling in the water? No clue. Kyle and I made it through the day without a dip in any canals... As Americans, I think there is something to be said for that.
Gondola Guys. : )
All in all, Venice is a MUST-SEE when traveling to Italy. The streets, buildings and architecture are majestic. The people are warm and the jewelry is a-mazing!
So after a nice long, caffeine induced walk, Kyle and I caught the train back to Sacile. We stopped at a pub he knew and I had my first cheeseburger in three weeks. Now, that may not sound like a long time to some of you, but I love cheeseburgers. And there really is something to the whole, "You want it more because it's not available" argument. All I know, it was a damn good cheeseburger.
Exhausted, half from walking around all day and half from a caffeine crash, we made it back to Kyle's place and promptly said, "Bueno Notte." We woke in the morning and had a cup of coffee (American style, YEAH!) and concluded our catch up. It was a super nice mini vacation in a vacation.
Kyle and I have grown since our college days. We no longer stay up until 4 a.m. polishing off a case of beer. Now we stay up until midnight and consume fine red wine. However, our conversations have grown to become more important and adult-like. Guess this means we are growing up...
Kyle, thank you for a great time. I look forward to when we get to hang again. Double date in March, eh?!?! Oh and hey, if you can post the name of your town on this blog, that would be great!
But for now, it's back to the home front. Back to Florence.
