By jadoerge
Semester Break Vacation Part 6: Venice and Milan
After leaving the radically different Italian island known as Sicily, it was time to visit and old friend, Venice! Having stayed in the city for nearly a week during my time studying abroad in high school, I was excited to see the city without the pressure of trying to visit every big attraction in the two short days that we were there. After a late night water taxi to our apartment a few blocks from the Rialto Bridge and some rest to recharge our batteries, we set out to explore the endless mazes of canals that make up Venice.
Although the plan was to start the day at St. Mark’s Square and figure out a plan from there, the walk to the massive plaza turned out to be a bit of an adventure itself. From the outdoor flea markets to the multitude of shops selling carnival masks from 1 Euro to thousands, getting lost in Venice is one thing that I would recommend doing to anyone at some point in Venice, simply to discover things that might not be covered in Frommer’s guides or Trip Advisor. On this particular sidetrack, I discovered the beauty of one of Italy’s most prestigious tobacco pipe makers, Savinelli. From the simple briar pipe to elegant carvings of various objects, it was great to see that this particular tradition of woodworking was still alive and well in Italy.
After finally making it to St. Mark’s square, our small group split up and Morgan and I ventured along the edge of the city and eventually hopped onto a ferry to explore the renowned glass blowers on the island of Murano. Making yet another detour along the way for some fantastic sandwiches of white bread with fillings such as lobster and crab piled high, we made it to Murano and began wandering in and out of the shops of famous glass blowers along with the Murano Glass Museum where we learned all about the tradition of glass making on the island as well as the human history of glass blowing from all over the world. Although most tourists leave with a few glass candies and other knick-knacks, the works of art produced by some glass blowers left us breathless. Having been tempted to buy enough souvenirs for one day, we decided to head back to the main part of the city and found some amazing food just near the Rialto Bridge before wandering the canals and watching some of the amazing street performers that line the streets in the more tourist-oriented areas. After sharing some amazing Italian wine and cheese with friends, we packed it in for the night and couldn’t wait for another day to explore the many sights of Venice.
Despite the grey, rainy weather, we tried to make the most out of our second day as well, finding more and more side streets with little shops and enough gelato stands to sink a ship. Unfortunately, however, we had to slowly make our way to the train station so that we could continue on our amazing journey through Europe! Despite our short time in Venice, it was great to be able to re-visit this wonderful city and really enjoy not being pressured to see everything in one go. Off to the next adventure! Next stops, Milan and Nice!