Venice: City of Glass, City of Water

 Hey everyone! Sorry I have not been posting lately. Time escapes us here in Florence, but I have a lot to report about and show you. Last weekend we took a trip to Venice which has proved to be my favorite trip so far. I've always been attracted to seaside areas so naturally I was excited when we arrived at a city literally built on the Adriatic Ocean. The city rests on nearly 117 small islands and because of this there is no road for cars to drive on, which makes Venice one of the most silent cities I've ever been in. Instead of revving autos and puttering motorcycles, they have gondolas and ferries that take people across to other islands or even just across to the other side of the river in the city. Many say that the city is doomed because it rests on rising waters and the wooden stands that the buildings sit on will soon break. Hopefully this won't happen in a long time, but I think that the people of Venice should watch 'UP' and take note. Maybe tie some balloons underneath their buildings and keep them afloat when the wooden barracks finally break. Here are some pictures from the trip we took:

If you don't want to pay for a gondola or a ferry, you can always walk one of the many bridges from island to island. It takes a lot longer but if it's a nice day and it's your first time in Venice, I recommend doing it as a way to see the city up close and personal.

Anyone who loves sea-baring towns in the East or even the beaches of the South would love Venice for it's "aquocentric" lifestyle. Everything takes place on boats: grocery stores, transportation, even weddings and funerals. It really would be an interesting place to live.

Abby and Josh take pictures of boats.

The famous gondolas of Venice. I did not take a ride on one of these long boats, but they were filled with tourists and some of the gondoliers sang lovely Italian songs. They also wore really cool hats.

This is a glass workshop where two men and a doberman make glass sculptures and decorative ware. This is the outside of their workshop. They were giving a demonstration on how to make glass sculpture.

First the glassmaker puts the liquid form of glass (I don't remember what this was called) on a long rod with a ball at the end. The end of the rod rests in an incredibly hot oven with open flames. The glassmaker rolls the glass around a few times...

...then he takes it out of the oven and twirls it in the air, letting it cool...

...then he rolls it on the ground, giving the glass texture and creating the shape that he wants to make.

And in a matter of seconds, a glass bottle is made. It was really cool to see how this was made. I still want to know how the hell they make chandeliers! Every single movement on the glassmakers' part must be precise and quick, otherwise the sculpture is ruined. Throughout the island of Murano, we found tons of glass sellers that proved to be just as impressive as this one was...

After he made the bottle, the glassmaker made a galloping horse. He did this in maybe a minute and a half.

Residential area of Murano, one of the islands off the coast of Venice.

The glass, the glass, the glasssss...

Standing at one of the bridges in Murano. I look weird.

Magister taking a load off after a long walk on Murano.

Napoleon Bonapart

"Do you want a purse? Want a purse? How about a purse?"

Graffiti isn't as prevalent as it is in Florence, but I did manage to find some cool pictures.

Jamie and Josh try to catch up with the gang after seeing a cool Bosch exhibit poster.

Masks were definitely in season when we went to Venice because of Carnivale, a celebration that happens every year around March. We will be returning to participate in the festivities. I have my eyes on that hippo mask.

Basilica di San Marco. A cathedral dedicated to St. Mark, the patron saint of Venice.

This was probably the biggest piazza I've been to yet. The birds literally swooped down on us and in many cases almost hit us in the face! 

The staggering bell tower adjacent from the Basilica.

Gondolier hats!

The hour that the (cruise) ship comes in...

I've been to Paris, I've been to Rome... But I'll always call Kalooma home. I don't think Kalooma is an actual place, but I like the fact that this guy wrote it down anyway. This made me think of home for a little bit.

Othello poster

Palazzo Ducale. 

This was a mailbox in ancient Venice.

Atlas

Hercules

Hercules beating the Hydra

Venice at night. There is always music playing and the water turns black.

The shops in Venice really opened up once the sun set. I was really excited to go out because I had seen these lights hanging between the stores and wanted to see them turn on. Little did I know there would be so many of them and that they would be blue! As I was staring up into the sky, admiring the lights, a cavalcade of joggers, sprinters and athletes zoomed past me, their bodies covered in UnderArmor suits and little lights hanging from their foreheads. Evidently, they were training for some marathon that is coming up. Some of them even jumped down a flight of stairs to make good time.

Want.

The Merchant of Venice poster... Appropriate for Venice, naturally.

This is a character by street artist Andre. Whether it is actually his or not, I do not know, but either way it was a great find. Definitely the highlight of my collection so far.

This is the last picture I took of Venice at night as we boarded a ferry to take us back to the hotel. We spent another day in Venice so I will have more pictures soon. Now that classes have officially started I am extremely busy with reading on Florentine architecture and Roman mythology, but never fear, I shall return!