A Palace fit for... Casanova?

Rialto during the day
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Boun giorno! After waking up super early to write my last blog, I went back to sleep. Didn't wake back up until nearly 11, missing breakfast ,though I don't think I missed out on much. It didn't seem to be much more than toast with jam and nutella (which seems to be really big here). As I left the hostel, Mimo was cleaning up to the sounds of Eric Clapton. He was currently listening to "Tears in Heaven" and apparently very proud to know all the words as he was singing quite loudly to it. Walking past the hostel's open balcony window I could hear the song end. It restarted almost immediately. And this is how I got "Tears in Heaven" stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

St. Mark's Bascilica
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I made my way to the Rialto, which wasn't nearly as pretty as it had looked in the nighttime. It was also so crowded I could barely make it through the steps. I then headed over to Piazza San Marco in the hopes that the Basilica was prettier than the night before. And it was! The facade of the Basilica is incredibly detailed, with carved marble details and gold and glass mosaics. All this was lost the previous evening without any light. I also hadn't noticed the incredible amount of pigeons in the square. I felt like they were everywhere, and I suddenly found myself praying I wouldn't get pooped on. My prayers were answered and I remained birdshit free for the entire day. Yay!

Detail of mosaic
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Before I left for Europe, a friend of mine recommended a series of audio tours by Rick Steves, an author of a popular guidebook series. Among others the guides included a tour of the Piazza San Marco area. As I walked around the square, I listened to the histories of St. Mark's Basilica, The Campanile (huge bell tower across from the basilica), the Clock Tower and the Doge's Palace. It was a very interesting tour (thanks Greg!) and I learned alot. Creating a sort of barrier around the square the front of the basilica are three identical large buildings. There are 3 cafes along the ground floor of the buildings, each with their own 3 or 4 piece band taking turns at playing classical and italian songs. So, after my audio tour I sat in front of the basilica and ate my lunch as I listened to these dueling orchestras.

Pigeons!
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When I  finished with lunch, and tired of being stalked by pigeons as I ate, I walked along the lagoon around the side of the Doge's Palace. At the first bridge, looking inland I could see an ornate closed bridge with tiny windows connecting the Palace with a second building. This bridge is called "The Bridge of Sighs", and the other building is a prison (it's such a nice building, you barely notice the thick iron grates on all the windows). In addition to being the home of Venice's past rulers, the Doge's Palace was also a political center. If a criminal was convicted of a crime here, he was led through that bridge to the attached prison. Legend says that as they were being walked to their cells, the prisoners would pause on the bridge, take one last look over the lagoon and sighing as they contemplated their future in captivity. Also, as I learned from my audio tour, Casanova was once imprisoned in this Palace. He escaped after years of captivity by simply walking through a main exit. I wanted to know more. I walked back towards the Doge's Palace and signed up for the "secret itineraries tour" that promised a visit of secret rooms, Casanova's cell, and most importantly, a torture chamber. The tour was at 10:30 the following day. I could hardly wait!

Gondolas lining the lagoon
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I bought a gelato, two scoops of stracciacelli (chocolate chip) and vagnilia (vanilla), and headed down the lagoon in the opposite direction. The walk was lined with shops selling glass jewelry, postcards, t-shirts, and most prominently, incredibly ornate masks. Back in the day, Venice was teeming with wine and "courtesans" (hookers!) and was considered to be Europe's Las Vegas. People from the mainland would go to Venice to do all the things they wouldn't dare do at home and in order to conceal identities, they would all wear these masks. The city still celebrates this Sin City heritage with a week (or two, I can't remember) long celebration called Carnivale where every one dresses up and parties. Sounds pretty dreamy, ya?

The Doge's Palace
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As I passed through the piazza towards my way home, I decided to go up the Campanile. It is super high, and sure to offer some amazing views of the city. I was not disappointed! The panoramic view showed off the entire city, including the rooftops of the Basilica, as well as the surrounding lagoon and lagoon islands.  It is said that on a clear day you could see all the way to the Alps!

I walked back home and was greeted by a Canadian Aussie named Loren. I had actually met him the day before when he was moved into my dorm from his previous room. He had accidentally been placed in the all female dorm when Mimo assumed he was a girl. I told him that's what he gets for having a girl's name (luckily, he's not too sensitive about it). We chat for awhile, he gives me a hard time for sleeping in so late and fills me in on the drama I had missed from the previous night. We were sooned joined by Lisa and Sasha and Lisa's friend Fiona. Fiona had been studying french with Lisa and was wandering around Europe before going back home to Canada in July. We all ate dinner together and shared our day's adventures.

The Bridge of sighs
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After dinner, Loren and I walked to the Rialto. It was his last night and he hadn't seen the bridge yet! On our way to bridge we stopped for a Gelato (hey, there's alot of flavors, and if I'm really going to try them all I might have to step up my game). We both had pear, which has now taken the top spot for best gelato flavor ever. We lingered for a while at the Rialto, taking in the view and listening to the guitar being played on the top of the bridge. On our way back, we stopped at one of the few bars still open and had a drink. I ordered (in Italian) white wine while Loren had some nasty Italian mixed drink. We started talking to the man and woman seated next to us. They turned out to be the nanny and chauffeur for the owner of a major british media channel. They were out in Venice enjoying one of their very very few nights off. We finished our drinks a little after midnight (isn't it crazy how I'm actually enjoying the wine here?) and hopped over the next bridge to our hostel.

One of the cafes lining the piazza
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We heard the hostel before we reached the Campo. Sounded like there was a group karoke going on, and just maybe a little drinking... We were right. We walked into a group of about 15 kids (mostly girls) playing drinking games and singing loudly to Journey. Loren and I settled ourselves on the balcony with a few other onlookers and chatted while watching the entertainment. Every once in awhile we even chimed in.

Suddenly, we look down from the balcony and across the canal to see three Policemen looking at us and walking towards the entrance. Someone runs in the house and starts yelling "Polizia! Polizia!". This obviously panics the drunken group and everyone aimlessly scatters. They all huddle in whispering little groups as the police ring the buzzer. One of the guys working at the Hostel goes to talk to them outside while the crowd inside struggles to keep quiet and calm. A group of us just sat on the balcony and watched the unecessary havoc inside, trying to keep our giggles to a minimum. It seems because of the volume, a neighbor called the cops to shut down the party. No big deal, we just had to turn off the music and be a little less noisy.

View of the lagoon and Doge's Palace from the Campanile
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Anyway, I went to bed not long after the Polizia fiasco satisfied with my day and looking forward to the next.

Thanks for reading! Miss you all!!

Jess

By the way, I didn't need to use my map once today! That is how awesome I am.