The Venice Lagoon

Today was such an amazing day in Venice but I am definitely glad to be sitting in bed writing this post. We woke up and ate breakfast outside on the patio at 8 a.m. outside of our hotel. The breakfast was light consisting of cereal, fruit, yogurt or a croissant along with water or cappuccino. The entire breakfast I could feel the eyes of all of the pigeons staring at me waiting for their chance to swoop in and steal my croissant. It felt like we were in a tiny bird cage with all of the pigeons flying around us, I guess that's culture! After breakfast the professors gave us a quick Italian lesson and taught us some basic phrases we would need to help us get around the city. Things like "please and thank you" "where is the toilet?" and "how much does this cost?" (Only the important things, obviously.) After our quick lesson they took us for a ride on the Vaporetto which is essentially their bus system on water. We took it all along the canal and learned how to use the system ourselves for later in the day when we were set free.

Gondola in Venice

Vaporetto (Bus)

Vaporetto (Bus) Station

After the vaporetto tour we spent time in the Santa Maria della Salute Church that is one of the 3 Plague Churches of the city. Back in the 1600's the plague was going around Venice (theorized to be brought by the ambassador of Milan since Venice and Milan have a long-running feud) so this was one of the churches built to help combat the the victims of the plague. The church was beautiful and is known for having some characteristics similar to the Pantheon. Apparently it's a dispute between the Venetians because some see the similarities and some don't. Since I have yet to see the Pantheon in person, I lack an opinion. The dress code was supposed to be extremely strict however I managed to sneak in and a t-shirt and shorts. Yay, Americans!

Santa Maria Church

After viewing the church we went for lunch at a snack bar (seem to be pretty common) where we had our first experience trying to speak Italian! It went pretty well except for the part where I called the waiter a man and we got caught using our pocket dictionary. BUT, the sandwiches were delicious and fresh food is delicious. After lunch we spent our afternoon venturing out to Murano and Burano. The biggest feat of the day was figuring out the vaporetto system on our own and interacting with all the locals. Picture the vaporetto like a NYC subway, you just push your way on yelling "Permesso!" and hope for the best! It took us about 2 hours to reach Burano but man was it worth it. Burano is known for their lace making and colorful houses. The shops were full of all different types of lace products ranging from lace umbrellas to dresses and scarves. Prices for their lace range from $2,000 for just a doily and up and up and up. The houses were adorable but I could only imagine the people living inside them seeing tourists taking pictures of their laundry. Oops!

Burano

Burano

Melanie, Me, Hannah, Kate

From Burano we headed to Murano which is famous for their glass blowing. We got their a little late so the shops were only open for about a half hour but all the glass pieces were amazing. There was no photography inside the shops so there are no pictures, but here is a picture of me in one of the many alley ways that were just so "Italian!"

Murano

We got back to Venice around 8 and went back to the hotel to freshen up and then head out for dinner. We walked around Venice in search of restaurant and finally found a little place that seemed perfect. Now, for all of you people who call me picky you will be pleased to know I tried TWO new menu items today, one including fish! Our appertizer was Polenta with a Fish Sauce and for my main course I had Fresh Fettucine with Bolognese Sauce. I have to admit the polenta wasn't half bad and as for the fettucine, I'm still not a huge fan of meat sauce. BUT I did eat all of both of them because anything in Italy is good.

Polenta with a Fish Sauce

Fettucine Bolognese

Our First Italian Restaurant!

After dinner we went to the market to grab snacks for our trip to the Alps tomorrow and headed back to the hotel to have a glass of wine and get to know each other. Tomorrow is going to be a long day with our last stops in Venice in the morning and then our 3 hour drive to the Alps. 

I hope everyone is enjoying my blog!

 Oh! And I officially had my first gelato, mint chocolate chip and chocolate :) delicioso!

Mint Chocolate Chip & Chocolate Gelato