What a trip! (Part One)

I'm finally back in Leicester, after my two week excursion with Mel, and what a journey it was. I know a lot of people are dying to hear about it, so let's get started:

The day before we flew out to Venice, Mel and I decided to spend the day in London. I have to say, we covered A LOT of ground in seven hours. We visited the Tower of London - an ancient fortress where many historical figures were imprisoned and/or executed, and of course where the famous crown jewels are kept. I found it rather ironic that I had to stand on a conveyor belt to see diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other jewels that once belonged to the country of my ancestors, sitting in glass cases in London. Oh well. We saw the greats like Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge and Piccadilly Circus. Mel, being the 'historian' that she is, wanted to stop at the British Museum - which is FREE! Of great interest were the Rosetta stone and Cleopatra's tomb. I really wanted to browse through the Eastern Religions part of the museum, but by the time we got there someone had pulled the fire alarm and everyone was escorted out of the building. Good thing entry is free, I'll just have to go back another day.




After our lovely and fast-paced day in London, we spent the following four and a half days in Venice! Venice is such a unique city. When we were landing, all I could see was water out the window. And marshland. There was no runway in sight! But we landed in one piece, in a city called Mestre - the closest airport to Venice. From there we had to take a shuttle boat through the marshland. I even got bitten by an Italian mosquito! Things weren't looking too good for us. When we docked in Venice, Mel and I felt hesitant about our decision. The whole area was grey and murky - we had no idea where to find our hotel. It took us probably 45 minutes to navigate our way through Venice's narrow streets and pull our luggage up several bridges before we found our hotel. So that stereotype about getting lost in Venice - very true. The streets are poorly labeled, and oftentimes the same name will be used for three or four streets, even the postman doesn't get it. Typical directions are given like this: go down this street, turn left. Cross two bridges, turn right. Go to the end of the street, cross another bridge and it's past the church on your left hand side. Thankfully we booked a charming hotel with helpful staff, close to the main areas, and they always gave us relatively clear directions.

After a hearty plate of pasta and a not so restful night’s sleep (there was a canal right outside our room that water-taxis would speed by all night long), we ventured back to the pier to see the sights. Venice only has one piazza or ‘square’ called San Marco (St. Mark’s). This is where all the most famous sights are: The Basilica di San Marco, Bridge of Sighs, Palazzo Ducale, Grand Canal and the Campanile di San Marco. It was only at the moment where we walked into the piazza did I realize why Venice is such a renowned city. I won’t even attempt to describe the architecture - you can draw your own conclusions from the pictures (posted below)




Unfortunately, a lot of the churches we visited would not allow photography inside. The only images I have of the inside of the Basilica are in my memory. The best way I can describe its magnificence is to say that the small mosaic scenes on the outside of the basilica is what covers every inch of the inside. From the ceiling to where the walls meet the floor, are enormous depictions of Christ done entirely by mosaic patterns. As you walk around the church, the light hits the walls at different angles, and the golden mosaic sparkles like the Grand Canal on a sunny day. To think of the time it took not only to build the basilica, but to create and construct the mosaic on the inside, brought tears to my eyes. What love and devotion for God those people must have had to create these beautiful places not just for themselves, but for the worship of Divine Creation. As Wayne Dyer would call it: a labour of love. I remember when we left the basilica, I asked Mel if we could just sit outside for a few moments, and we sat and looked at this wondrous creation – amongst all the buzz of the tourists it brought a feeling of peace to the piazza.



The Palazzo Ducale holds the complete opposite sentiment than the basilica. The building is often described as a frosted birthday cake, in its pinkish red marble and white stone. The palace is quite beautiful inside as well – lots of typical Italian artwork and furniture covered in gold and rich velvet. But what was really interesting is the dungeon where all the prisoners were held. This connects to the famous Bridge of Sighs – named not for the romantic sighs of those who view the bridge from the outside, but for the sighs each prisoner would release upon gazing at their final view of the Grand Canal before being lead to their execution in the adjoining building…creepy, I know.

Other important sights were the Rialto Bridge and the Jewish Ghetto – a district far north where Jews were restricted to living (so much so that a wooden bridge had to be built to connect the ghetto to the rest of Venice after WWII). On one of our days we took a trip out to the island of Murano – famous for its Venetian Glass Blowers. As much fun as the tourist spots were to visit, I think both Mel and I enjoyed wandering the streets of Venice, accidentally discovering hidden beauties and eating in tucked away authentic Italian restaurants – where you have to order your food in Italian and listen to the waiters singing love songs! Speaking of food, of course we made sure to drink cappuccinos in the morning, and try the tiramisu, as well as the delectable Venetian pastries and gelato – all sinfully delicious. Since Venice is along the coast of the Adriatic Sea, they are well known for their fresh seafood. Although I wasn’t adventurous enough to try the squid ink linguini, I did sample some of the more typical dishes. It’s no wonder that they have to close up for siesta in the afternoon after eating such hearty meals for lunch!









So onto what most people don’t exactly understand about Venice: why is it sinking? The answer is twofold. The first reason involves the way the city was built. When Venice was first founded, workers drove large poles through the muddy land into the more stable sand and clay at the bottom of the water. This allowed for a more solid base to be created by oak planks and marble – impermeable by the water. However over time, the weight of the buildings has been pushing the poles deeper into the sand bed, hence why the city is sinking a few centimetres per century. The other part of the problem is that Venice is also drowning. Due to global warming, water levels continue to rise, causing hundreds of floods each year and more generally speaking, expediting the sinking process. There have been attempts at saving the city – such as injecting concrete into the foundation, which failed. More recently Project Moses which is supposed to be completed by next year, but most likely will not be operational until much later – consists of steel gates that can hold back water when the tide becomes dangerously high. But even Project Moses has its uncertainties, as the government lacks the 3 billion euro budget required to complete it. There are also environmental concerns of the consequences from interfering with the normal tides on the marine life and the health of people who eat the local fish. Oh here’s another lovely bit of information about Venice: they have no sewage system. All their waste is flushed into the canals and washed out into the ocean twice a day. So that beautiful greenish-blue colour the water has is highly unnatural to say the least. Apparently the Summer months are the worst times to visit Venice, since the hot weather heats up the water, releasing an unpleasant odour throughout the city. We were fortunate enough to be there while it was relatively cool and missed the stinky stew.

I think at this point I’m going to break for an intermission before tackling Paris and Munich. Hope I’ve given you a sizeable taste of my journey thus far. To be continued…