I bet you weren’t expecting another blog post to appear in your inbox. I may be back stateside but I’ve got some catching up to do! First up, Venice. I went with Caroline A, Anna Rose, and Ava the weekend of March 27th, which began with a beautiful sunset flight over northern Italy, alongside the snow-capped Alps.
Our first evening in Venice was spent wandering the tiny streets, fascinated by the network of canals that ran like veins throughout the city. Naturally as well, part of this exploration was for pizza. I would have to rate my first Italian pizza a solid 8.1/10. It didn’t completely wow me but whatever those white dollops of cheese were on top were AMAZING. Crust was good, but I prefer it to be a little bit more crunchy all the way through. I like pizza that you could pick up. This was definitely fork and knife pizza. After dinner and wandering over to glance at the main canal, we headed back to sleep.
The Friday morning, we began to wander around the small island. Ava had heard of this brunch place that specialized in fluffy pancakes, so we naturally had to go. They were very yummy. Something I’d also like to attempt at home. But unfortunately they took a long time because of a mix-up in the kitchen. This left an unfortunate damper on the morning, coupled with some rain, but we persisted.
Going for a gondola ride was at the top of our to-do list, so after grabbing some lunch and a juice box from the grocery store, we headed straight to one of the gondola departure spots. This was most definitely a highlight of our weekend there. Light rain had been moving in and out throughout the day, but thankfully held off throughout our ride. The canals were such a maze that I didn’t even realize we were making a large loop until we were back. It was such a unique experience to get to see the city from the canals.
A small highlight of our explorations was happening upon an open window, from which we could hear a man warming up his singing voice. He practiced operatic scales and we sat pleasantly by the side of the canal below, listening. We also enjoy plenty of gelato throughout our weekend. It really is better in Italy, if I do say so myself.
As we wandered towards our next stop, I really started to realize how small the island of Venice really is. Every time I used google maps to map our way to our next location the walk would look like it was 30 minutes, but then it’d be only 7.
Our next stop was the famous Acqua Alta Bookshop! Like any good bookstore, you could feel the heart in the place the second you walked in. There was the obvious touristy elements, like a gondola full of books in the center, but the heart of the place was obvious. Books filled the walls and narrow back hallways, a deteriorating wooden door opened out to the canal. While in the bookstore, we also spotted an iconic calendar, a decorated 2024 edition of which has graced the walls of Madeleine’s dorm room these past two years.
Below is a picture of the best salted caramel gelato I’ve ever had. Fantastic. This gelato is from a spot called Suso that Caroline found on Tiktok. I think out of all of the places we tried it was definitely one of my favorites. The other photo is a group pic of us on the Ponte di Rialto!
On Saturday we made our way over St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace. It had been raining on and off throughout the weekend, so we worried that the square would be flooded, especially since we were coming at high tide. But luckily, there was nothing more than a few puddles.
Both the basilica and the palace were beautiful, but I was especially taken by the palace. Throughout the semester I have seen so many old buildings designed with religious functionalities in mind or at the focus. The palace though, was largely a secular building, designed with spaces for judicial hearings and legislative meetings. This all was a decorated with a mix of Biblical imagery and depictions of ancient Roman gods of Olympus.
This was a bit of a hot take amongst the group, but I didn’t love the look of all the small tiling across the floor and ceilings. I think it would’ve been more visually impactful if only one was decorated in that style. But with both, it felt busy. The palace though, was most definitely visually stunning and cohesive. It still bordered on garish, but more cohesively. On the back wall, Il Paradiso, the world’s largest oil painting covered the wall from corner to corner. Measuring 22 meters by 7 meters, it was a certainly impressive work.
Saturday night after dinner (I had some delicious tortellini) we made our way to a little bar not far from our Airbnb. We had clearly happened upon the place to be. From both doors people spilled out, speaking a variety of European languages. We tried Hugos, a variation on an Aperol Spritz, the evening before at dinner, and ordered them to sip on as we people-watched the ever-evolving crowd.
One of my favorite things to see in Venice was all of the mask and costume shops for Carnaval. Each big tourist city that I’ve visited has had their thing. For Paris, it was Eiffel Tours and berets. For Barcelona it was the Sagrada Familia and FC Barcelona gear. For Venice, it was the mask motifs and the Murano glass items from the outer island. I think the intricate detailing of these works made them one of my favorites.
I’m not sure if it was this weekend that gave birth to these sayings, but around this time “But Of CourSE!” became a constant repetition and reaction.
That’s all for now!
Sincerely,
Caroline
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