Postcards from Italy: VENEZIA {parte uno}

TUESDAY, JUNE 13TH. VENICE {PART 1}. 

We hadn’t purchased our tickets for a train to Venice yet but we had checked the times the day before and made it to the station to catch the earliest train and we were there early, but it was completely sold out. But we talked to the ticket guy and he had us go on a different train that was heading towards Milan, so we changed in Bologna and then hopped on another one to Venezia (Venice). On the train I planned out our time in Venice and we got there around noon. In Venice there are no cars because there are no roads and certainly not ones big enough for cars. Venice is a manmade city that is built upon stilts in the water, and it is slowly sinking. To get anywhere you have to take a boat or foot. There are only three major bridges across the Grand Canal so mostly you take their “bus-boats” to get to the different sites. 

you get off the train...

and this is what you hop onto^

Venice is made up of hundreds of islands, waterways, and bridges and we were staying off the main island on the next little island called Lido. We took the vaporetti (bus-boat) down the Grand Canal and to get there and it was amazing as soon as you get out of the train station. You are immediately bombarded with gorgeous views of old architecture, boats, and tiny winding alley and waterways. The water is a beautiful and clear shade of blue and you can hear Italian men singing on Gondolas in the background. It doesn’t even feel like Italy but a unique breed of its own. It reminded me a lot of a mixture of Florida- where I live in Naples, Key West, and some of the cities north of where we live. But it is completely different at the same time- it has a ton of history, breathtaking architecture, and a feeling that is all its own. 

BAM. that's what venice hits you with as soon as you get there. picture perfect. 

all the men on the gondolas wear striped shirts, i guess it must be their uniform... 

We got to Lido and were hungry so we got gelato again. On Lido island they have cars and buses, so we took the bus to Malamocco Village where our “hostel” was. We got lost along the way because their bus system is different and had to ask for help but unfortunately Lauren took the Italian book with her and the women we asked got mad at us since we didn’t speak Italian. We finally made it there and checked in. Venice is really hot (not as humid as Florida) but the hottest place I had been in a while since living in England and none of the places in Italy (or Europe) have air conditioning. You just have to open your windows and hope no bugs get in because they don’t have screens either. 

GELATO #11 canteloupe and watermelon. BEST THING EVER. 

We went back into the city to check out the sites and wander through the alleyways and get lost as much as possible, because that it the best way too explore Venice. We went to San Marco Square to check out the cathedral, went into Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari church that had famous artists’ paintings in it (including Assumption by Titian), and then grabbed more gelato and then dinner. After we ate we went back to San Marco Square to enjoy the ambiance. They had live orchestras playing (around four or five) at the outdoor seating for the restaurants, the cathedral was lit up, and the full moon glittered over the water. Because Venice is sinking and so close to the water at night during high tide the water actually floods the city through the grates and covers the square (not completely though). We sat down on a little “island” that wasn’t wet and listened to the music while talking to a father and daughter from the US for a while, mostly about ourselves and when they found out we went to BYU they asked questions about Mormons and were really nice the whole time. They left us eventually, we kept talking, and by the time we left and took the boat and bus back to our place it was around midnight. 

St. Mark's Basilica 

pictures left at the saint statue's feet

Assumption by Titian in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari church

GELATO #12 strawberry 

pizza. really good pizza too.

if you look closely you can see the water on the ground that flooded the square from high tide.

playing vivaldi of course. 

okay this is blurry but i feel it is an important piece to accomplishing the feel of venice at night. full moon, a row of gondolas, and churches in the background. venice is a magical place my friends. 

Postcards from Italy: FIRENZE

SUNDAY, JUNE 12TH. FLORENCE {PART 1}.

We checked out of our hostel a bit later than we had wanted to and literally ran to the station to catch our train to Florence that morning. We got there a couple of minutes before it was scheduled to leave but it was already gone from the station. We found two Americans who had missed the same train and they said our tickets were good for later trains during the day so we waited in the station for what I think was two and a half hours and then boarded the next train to Florence (Firenze). While we waited and during the train ride I read the pdf’s of Rick Steve’s guide to Italy that my dad had photocopied and emailed to me earlier (seriously life saving) and planned what we were going to do in Florence. Instead of our train ride being an hour and a half like the first one this one was way slower and ended up being a three and a half our trip. We were getting nervous for a while that we had gone too far and missed our stop, but we finally got there around 3ish I think. 

We went to our hostel to check in but since we were so late the lady had put a note on the door telling us to call her...uh well none of us have phones...problem. We eventually find some pay phones but we can’t figure out how to work them and they don’t seem to be taking our money and the help is in Italian. Great. So we wander back down the street and after a while find someone to let us use there phone in one of the hotels and the lady called the number and spoke to her in Italian for us, thank goodness. She finally comes back to the hostel to check us in, she was actually really nice and told us she was our Italian mother while we stayed there. She even told us where not to go and then gave us advice on a restaurant and places where the young kids go to get “confused” these days haha. 

the door to our hostel, this picture was taken later that night when we got home

Since we were there in Florence for a Sunday and a Monday most of the museums and churches were closed, and the ones that were opened closed between 4 and 6...it was already close to 4pm. Florence is Italy’s main center for art so I have really really always wanted to go there for a longgg time. Since we had to pick one thing to see that evening we went to Accademia to see Michelangelo’s “David” the most famous sculpture in Florence and arguably, the world. It had a huge line since we didn’t make reservations but no worries I had two gelatos (#6&7 that are sadly not documented) while waiting in line (in my defense we hadn’t had lunch so I was really hungry). I had studied it in art history so I knew it was going to  be huge but it still surprised me when I saw it. It is around 17 feet tall and pretty incredible. The detail is amazing, my favorite part was the hands- you could see each individual vein. Although Michelangelo is one of the masters his work has never been my favorite. It’s because he liked to idealize his figures to have perfect and really muscular bodies and I like a more natural style. So my favorite “David” is still Bernini’s. 

you are not allowed to take photos so i snapped this really quickly and it didn't focus, but really the blurriness is to your benefit- see it's basically censored for young eyes^

After that we walked by the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo Cathedral), and down to the water to walk on the bridges perhaps? I was trying to navigate us to the restaurant that the lady at the hostel recommended but on the way we got rained out. It completely poured and we got stuck waiting for it to calm down underneath one of the buildings on a side street. Eventually we made a run for it and found the restaurant and ate there. It was kind of cheap and had a large menu but the food was just okay. We split a “Michelangelo” pizza and I ordered pasta with pesto sauce. Then we stopped by Santa Croce church, walked down towards the river again, passed by the Palace, and stopped at Ponte Vecchio- a bridge with houses and shops built on it. It was beautiful and perfect- the sun had just set, there were couples everywhere, and a man playing romantic songs on the guitar. It was just what you picture when you think of Italy. On the walk back to the hostel we got another gelato. We actually had internet in this hostel (thank goodness) so we could check our emails. We also skyped with Patrick as he was safely in Norway. 

Duomo. (this picture looks stretched?...i didn't take it)

the baptistry 

i really felt like a ninja turtle eating this pizza, i mean it was named after mikey and he loved pizza

"Dezi pose" at the Sante Croce church

yes, florence is beautiful.

Ponte Vecchio from afar

after all the pictures of myself or just one other with me, it is nice to get ALL of us in the picture for a change 

we stood looking out at this for a while, admiring the lights, the reflection of the city in the water, and really feeling how lucky we were to be there, in italy, living our dreams.  

goodnight lovely florence.


GELATO #8 chocolate chip, tiramisu, and other (look at that thing)

MONDAY, JUNE 12TH. FLORENCE {PART 2}.

Lauren left that morning for the station so she could catch her train to Rome and fly back to London. Me and Dezi checked in to our next hostel and then stood in line to get into Duomo Cathedral. Duomo is gorgeous on the outside, I loved it. Most of the architecture in Florence has the same style to it- white stone with pink and green accents- it was really interesting, I had never seen anything like it before. The baptistry is a smaller building right next to the main cathedral and on the doors the “Gates of Paradise” by Ghiberti are sculpted. I then went to the Medici Chapel while Dezi looked around. The Medici were a family in Italy that were patrons to the arts and bought many famous pieces of artwork to put in their properties. Inside they had paintings and then a separate room with sculptures by Michelangelo. 

The dome inside of Duomo

me&dez, its blurry but the best we could get 

The Medici Chapel 

sculptures by michelangelo

Santa Maria Novella Church

We walked back to the bridge Ponte Vecchio to see it in the daytime when the shops were open. It wasn’t what we were expecting, all the vendors were actually selling fine jewelry and other expensive trinkets. We were hungry and so it was time for another gelato. I was just going to get a cone but Dezi saw these little waffle things that she wanted to try but because our Italian was bad we didn’t understand her when she thought we both wanted a waffle sandwich-type-thing with gelato on the inside. It was like 10 euros (ridiculously expensive) and not even that good. It was really funny to watch us eat it though, because the chocolate gelato was melting all over us, down our arms and all over our faces and I got the worst of it hah it was so sticky I had to wash off in a fountain. 

ponte vecchio 

have a mentioned that italy is beautiful?

on ponte vecchio

this is what gelato shops look like- towering piles of cones and giant mountains of icy cream

the infamous GELATO #9

 
couples locking their love together on the bridge, they do this in paris too

We were walking around and decided that being exhausted+walking around crowded places=nap time in a green space. So we laid down for a while in the grass while a pigeon with a broken wing decided to stay next to us for perhaps protection? as it inched closer and closer. After we were a little more rested we walked up to Piazzale Michelangelo, which was at the top of a hill overlooking the city. We found a little garden off to the side and it was breathtaking. It was my favorite part of Italy (combined with the Piazzale). There were flowers, fountains, fruit trees, and little walkways leading through the greenery. I picked a lemon off the tree and me and Dezi laid in the grass to enjoy the view.  We walked the rest of the way up and at the top I got a slushee drink and sat on the steps to enjoy it. We could see the whole city of Florence and all the tiny people down below walking to the sites just as we had hours before. And I liked Florence better this way. Out of the heat and the crowds with a panorama of the city and everything in it. Me and Dezi bought matching bracelets from one of the vendors and then we continued up some more steps to the Santa Miniato al Monte Church and cemetery at the very top. The church was in the same style as Duomo just on a much smaller scale. The ceiling on the inside was my favorite part, the wood was colorful and detailed, and the style was beautiful. We had perfectly chanced our timing to be there just as their service (Evensong I am guessing) stareted and the priests started to sing. 

this is where we rested 

the steps we climbed to get up there

there are a lot of pictures of this place but it is breathtaking so they are needed to try and capture the beauty 

dezi thought when you eat a lemon you stick the whole thing in your mouth...well this is what happened haha^

the lemon 

piazzale michelangelo

steps overlooking the city 

the sky was beautiful that day 

fake david 

 San Miniato al Monte Church

i love that ceiling

Afterwards we explored the cemetery. I love cemeteries. To me they aren’t creepy and each one is unique with lots of stories just waiting to be discovered, and each one has a personality. I love the cemeteries in England, they are ancient, covered in vines, and some deep in a forest of trees. But I loved this Italian graveyard for different reasons. It was at the top of the city so it had an amazing view. the style and trees were completely Italian, and some of the larger mausoleums had very interesting architecture. We were there for so long that we acutally got locked inside the gates. But we found one of the workers to unlock it for us, I guess it wouldn’t be a good idea to be in there once it started getting dark haha. We walked back to the main plaza and ate dinner at a cafe overlooking Florence. The ambiance was incredible so of course they ripped us off on the food but I didn’t even care because it was worth it. On the way down we stopped by the garden again to take pictures and walk around, also getting kicked out of there was they started locking the gates to close it down. Perfect day in every way. We went down to the river to get gelato and it was so good. Mine was melon, chocolate mousse, and dark chocolate mmmhmm. 

i love that view so much 

can you see me? i'm next to that huge mausoleum.

that couple is going to haunt dezi now 

i always find cats in cemeteries 

the guy who let us out when we were locked in haha

where we ate dinner 

GELATO #10 chocolate mousse, melon, dark chocolate ♥

We had seen this large concrete dam in the water that was only half-covered with a water fall so there were people on it. It looked cool and I though about walking down to it but the people down there looked kinda of sketchy but Dezi also wanted to look so down we went. We had to go underneath the bridge to get to it and there were a bunch of sketchy guys down there and at this point I was like we should goooo now but Dezi said that once we pass them it would be fine...well there were just more guys like that on the waterfall part too and we were the only girls down there except for the one making out on the other side...yeah not good. We wanted to leave but we did not want to go back the way we came because at this point the guys were all looking at us in both directions. So we kept going straight hoping that there would be another outlet but there wasn’t. We walked up a grassy hill to the wall to see if we could jump it. It was kinda high but there was a piece of metal someone had stuck into it for that purpose so I gave Dezi a boost and she helped me over too, scratching both of our elbows in the process but we were safe and back to the normal part of the city. whew. Adventures right? At this point we decided it was best to go back to our hostel before we got into anymore trouble. 

the cool looking dam-waterfall that got us into trouble

and the walkway+wall we had to hop to the right
FLORENCE.
{THE END}
now onto Venice.