Making My Way Through this Venetian Maze

That little bridge marks the entrance to A Venice Fish
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I spent most of the day wandering around and trying to acclimate myself to this crazy maze of a city. Venice is made up of about 100 islands, all connected to each other by small bridges. Because of this, straight streets do not exist here. It is said that even with the best map it's easy to get lost, and I can totally see why. With wide streets opening up to countless "campos" (squares), sometimes splitting off to 5 more streets, narrow alleyways and sudden dead ends, it's a miracle I have managed to find my own way around without incident... so far. The good side to this is that there's a beautiful aesthetic to getting lost. The disorientation inevitably leads you to places you would not have discovered otherwise and that is what I love about traveling.

The Grand Canal
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My wandering quickly led me to a gelato shop where I had my first taste of Italy. I couldn't decide on a flavor so I went with my scooper's favorite: a light coffee flavored gelato with chunks of chocolate in it. Delish! I vowed to try a new flavor every day. Tough duty, I know, but as a traveler, I feel it's my responsibility to thoroughly sample the local fare. With the exception of fish, of course. And insects. And anything I don't immediately recognize as edible.

Turn left at the leopard print bra

The Rialto at night
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Next I found my way to a small park near the beginning of the Grand Canal. Tired from walking what felt like a million miles, and knowing I had about a million more to go, I settled myself in a shady part of the grass and started reading a book (my sister let me borrow her copy of "Running with Scissors". Thanks Chris!). It wasn't long before I fell asleep. I ended up napping for nearly an hour! When I finally woke up, I felt re-energized for my walk back to the hostel. I slowly made my way home, stopping in some glass shops and keeping my eye out for some new sunglasses (I forgot to mention that I broke mine in the plane. Foo foo.). I was also offered a tour of the canals "gratis" (free) by an older italian with nasty teeth (I politely declined with a "no, grazi") and was promised dinner and drinks by a much cuter (and younger) Italian if I met him later that night (I never showed up...). Sorry boys.

The hostel I'm staying at offers a free pasta dinner (how appropriate) each night at 8:30, as well as a free breakfast and free internet (but there's only one computer). I made it back in plenty of time for dinner and read a bit more until it was ready. The dinner was a filling pasta dish, as promised, and served as a perfect opportunity to meet some fellow travelers. I quickly met James, a student from Florida traveling Europe before settling in Barcelona for a summer abroad study program. We made plans to find the Rialto later that night to see it all lit up.

While we were geting ready to leave, James and I met some of our roommates, Lisa and Sasha. They were both from Canada. Lisa had been studying French in Paris where Sasha met up her a few weeks earlier. They both have family in Europe and were enroute to visit them. They were also interested in checking out the Rialto and we invited them along. We grabbed 2 bottles of wine and headed out the door. In Venice it's completely acceptable to drink in public. The street vendors often sell chilled bottles of wine and beer. It was nice (and a bit ghetto) to walk around drinking wine (which I actually liked). Lisa and Sasha (a boy) were a hilarious couple. The kind that loves each other so much that they're constanstly bickering. It was adorable and kept James and I entertained the whole way.

We easily found the Rialto. It was gorgeous all lit up. We took some pictures then decided to try and navigate our way to St. Mark's square. This was supposed to be a confusing feat on foot, but once again we managed to get there without any problems. All along our route were endless rows of clothing shops. Lias and I were taking this opportunity to do a little window shopping. After much lollygagging we finally reached the famous square. The site was not nearly as impressive as the bridge, in terms of the lighting at least. In fact, St. Mark's Basilica wasn't lit up at all! The square was lit, and the cafes surrounding it were alive with people and a live band, but the Basilica was completely dark. Kinda disappointing. Guess I'll have to check it out during the day. We wandered around the square a bit and along the lagoon. Eventually we started to head back. Because our original path was blocked we had to go down a different street and hoped we were going in the right direction. All of the sudden Lisa yells out "I know that dress!" at a store window. We navigated the rest of the way home mostly by the stores' window displays ("There's the tank top that would go great with my skirt" and "We need to turn left at the leopard print bra"). This is how we made it back to our hostel. We are brilliant.

We arrived after midnight and the Venice Fish was still hopping. I was sleepy, a bit tipsy, and ready to go to bed. Despite the party going on in the main room, I had no trouble falling asleep. I slept soudly til about 6 this morning. Since I seemed to be the only one awake at that hour I was able to take over the computer and write about my fun filled first day in Venice. Lucky you!

So that's all for now! Thanks for reading!

Love you and miss you all!

Jess