A Venice Fish

Venice was a beautiful city. i loved everything about it! our hostel was a wonderful experience and different than the other ones weve stayed in so far. it was very centrally located with a private bridge and big green door entrance. the balcony looked out over one of the little canals where the gondolas float by and the common room made for a wonderful place to meet new people. each night everyone gathered around the table for dinner at 815 where we talked, shared pasta and wine and chatted. we met lots of australian people as well as some fun americans from all over. it was a very communal atmosphere and felt more like we were sharing a big house than a hostel. Mimo, the hostel owner/manager, was one of the funniest people...hes persian and has a great sense of humor. he entertained us much of the time and was great to talk to.

we spent much of our time walking around the city admiring the hundreds of bridges and canals that run through it. we got nutella crepes (which are the most amazing delight!) and ate more pizza. st marks square is a fun place because theres a hustle and bustle of people eating, talking, shopping and we even got to enjoy a quintet playing classical music outside one of the restaurants. we ate gelato and listened to the nutcracker suite. one of our days there we took a boat ride over to the island of murano where we got to see a glass blowing demonstration and fun glass shops covering the island.

one of the nights we also decided to go to an opera concert in a theater there where the musicians and singers all wore traditional baroque costumes. it was so much fun. the concert was called Baroque and Opera and featured a 9 piece orchestra and 3 singers. it was a compilation of songs from operas such as the barber of seville, don giovonni, the marriage of figuero and others. we got dressed up in our skirts and jackets and enjoyed the show. the singers were wonderful and the music beautiful!

venice was just such a unique city: no cars, busses, motorbikes, trucks or any other sort of transportation. just people walking to and fro with little carts that they pulled up and down the bridge stairs. all the little shops sold masquerade masks, glass-blown trinkets, leather gloves, scarves and other clothes. i was so excited because i have a poster in my room of a scene in venice with a couple in the middle under a red umbrella and we found where the picture was taken! i didnt even think of it until we were at the site and i thought to myself...this looks familiar!

our time there was relaxing and slower paced than some of the other cities we had been in. we took time to read and journal and chat with new friends from around the world. the weather was also pretty...cold in the evenings and nice in the sun during the day. were just glad we have scarves and other warm clothes.

Our time in italy is now over and were moving on to some much colder climates. weve been brushing up on our german phrases in preparation for the change...ich heise brittney. danke.