VENEZIA, ITALIA!!!

San Marco's Square^


Finally, here I am after a short absence in writing! I'm sorry to all those who have been anxious for an update.

I've been staying in Venice since Wednesday the 2nd and this is my fourth day but it feels like it has been twice as long. My days are full to the brim, as I've said before, so full that they seem to be two-in-one. I don't know where to begin about Venice.....

It is beautiful. Just like all the romantic pictures I've seen my whole life. There are tiny, cobblestone streets with shop windows displaying the famous Murano glass wares. You can walk across the city in over an hour, but you might take a few wrong turns in the twisting corriders and alleys- and it is all on foot- no smelly cars or traffic to deal with here, which I love. There are canals and bridges everywhere and all the buildings are old with paint peeling and bricks crumbling. It was first built on a swamp in the Dark Ages! Some of the buildings are over 1000 years old! It has such character, this aged city, it has history under all the busy-ness! I walk among the crowds, just gazing at the shuttered windows, the green water, and know that I am looking at things people have seen for hundreds of years. It is very full of tourists, unfortunately. And the shops cater to them for the most part. There are so many selling masquerade masks, venetian glass necklaces and leather purses. The famous sight of gondoliers in striped shirts can be seen on nearly every corner. They are always trying to find customers, but I am too poor to get in a boat. I have enjoyed the cheaper attractions, though, like the gelato (ice cream), which is only 3 euros for 3 scoops. I love cioccolato which is chocolate in Italian. I've had so much that I'm sure I'll get sick if I have more, but as my professor says, "You only live once!" Three scoops a day...mmmm!

So far, I've explored the alleyways of shops with Megan, munching our cones of dripping gelato and pausing to take artistic photos of elegantly decaying buildings or shadowed waterways.

The last two days our entire group has gone to see the Venice Biennale which is a contemporary art show that happens every two years. It displays the best of the best in the art world with artists hailing from every corner of the earth. As always, not everything can impress everyone, so I loved some pieces and hated others. Overall, though, I was in heaven just surrounded by sculpture and painting and everything creativity gives birth to! This is one of the main reasons the art department stops in Venice during the trip, as there is not too much else to see in this small city after a day or two.

We saw two of the few main sites already- the Rialto bridge and San Marco's Square. Tomorrow we are going to see the third- the Lido, which is across the Grand Canal and you have to pay a water taxi (or vaparetto) to take you. We're going to the beach after church at the Basilica and I hope that it is sunny, because today the wind is blowing and there are gray clouds over head.

I've felt overwhelmed by the sound and movement and amount of information to process in the past two weeks. It all hit me a few days ago and I've been pretty tired and down emotionally. But don't worry about me, I am in love with traveling: seeing new places, hearing new languages, and I am encouraged by all the opportunities that God has put before me!

Here are lots of pictures of Venice for your viewing pleasure! I'm not sure when I will update again, but I do get free wireless internet here at McDonald's just by my little apartment where I am living with 6 other girls (we have 3 apts total for the whole group).

Orchestra music each night in the square! Lovely!

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P.s. Wanted to add that we traveled to the LIDO, which is across the canal from Venice and known for expensive houses and a great beach on the Adriatic Sea. The warm, green water was so refreshing. What a great break after a week full of ART. We just bobbed in the salty waves, laughing and gathering shells. I absolutely love bodies of water, and it reminded me of home (SD).