Italy (Part II, Venice)

We all slept well on Friday night and slept in on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, we battled with cold showers, which wasn't unexpected when you have eight people in one flat trying to shower two at a time (separate showers, of course). But by 11AM Giorgia, Rosy, Elena, and I had left to go to the salon. While the other three girls got their hair blown out, I decided it was time for a chic Italian haircut. I felt that Rosy and I could almost pass for Italian at our post salon, midday coffee and juice at the outdoor cafe.

After a quick walk around the neighborhood we gathered the rest of the team from Giorgia's and started the half hour walk to the train station. Once we got into the station it turned into a sprint to the train, but of course, as we arrived at the track it had been delayed for a few minutes, so we had not missed out train to Venice. Once we finally got settled, the trip only took about 30 minutes. Suddenly we were there.

The layout of Venice is made to be appreciated from the second you step out of the station. I have never arrived by car or by boat, and once by bus, but as you exit the train terminal you are struck with the blinding beauty of the city. From the top of the stairs your eyes find the Ponte degli Scalzi straddling the Grand Canal, then you catch a gondola gliding by and follow it to a Neo-Classical church or a Byzantine palace. There are people everywhere, especially during Carnival there were hundreds of people painting faces outside the station. Apparently that is in this year. People were still in masks and costumes, but lots of people were hidden behind eyeliner and glitter.

The main celebrations take place in Piazza San Marco, which leads me to another comment about the layout of the city. Venice is made up of 177 islands and 150 canals. There are over 400 bridges, but only three that cross the Grand Canal. Also, Piazza San Marco is on the opposite side of the city from the train station. There are two ways to get there, by vaporetti (water taxi) which takes about 25 minutes and provides beautiful views of the facades along the Grand Canal, or by foot, which takes about 30 minutes on a good day. It took us about two hours with the crowds, the snacks, the turns down small alleys, and the shopping. Of course, you can always swim, but it's not recommended since the Grand Canal also doubles as an open sewer.

Our walk to the piazza was an adventure. We saw people in classical costumes as well as some more modern ones (who are those masked beauties with the 18th century debutantes?) . It was like Halloween, but with less sweets and better food. The piazza was packed. A stage was set up with musicians and dancers and the campanile (bell tower) was lit to look like Venetian glass. After our quick tour or the piazza we took an early dinner, since we had been on our feet for the past few hours. In Venice food is very expensive. Well, everything there is expensive, but we managed to find a small tratoria where we ate and drank through three courses for less than €25 each. The food, once again was divine. We had some grilled squid in it's own ink, fresh pasta with prawns, lasagna, and of course, the divine desserts of chocolate mouse, profiteroles, and Guillermo. Sorry, I meant Casanova. Once he was in costume, all the girls found him irresistible.

After dinner it was back to the piazza where we met with some of Giorgia's friends and drank and danced the night away. Though finding a drink was easy, finding a toilet was a bit of a problem. Therefore when one person needed to use one, it took about 30 minutes. Fortunately we live in the age of cell phones and were all able to meet up at the end of the night to take the long hike back to the train station. This time it only took an hour and a half to cross the city. As we were heading back we followed an informal parade, a few pied pipers with a stereo and speakers on a dolly, leading revellers dancing down the streets. Our best luck of the night was when two of Giorgia's friends offered to drive us back to her house from the train station in Padua. Our legs were like jelly at that point. It was a long, tiring, wonderful day.