Today we finally broke down and purchased a half day pass to ride the Ferrovia. Our number 1 destination was Murano, famous for its handmade glass. However, we also wanted to see the Grand Canal. To do this, we started at the Ferrovia station and took the ferry all the way to Lido, the largest of the islands.
The best part of Lido was the fact that it was cheap! Referring back to the Cannoli-Dex, I was able to purchase a medium sized cannoli for 1.35. A cappuccino was only 1.50. This is compared to the 9 Euro price tag of cappuccinos near the Piazza S. Marco. While in Lido we also visited the Jewish cemetery, the beach, and tried to visit the planetarium. We never really saw the planetarium, though we did see the sign that said that it wasn’t open. The cemetery was only interesting in concept. Can you imagine how difficult it must be to bury bodies in a bog! When we were at the museum yesterday, we did ask the guide if it was hard to bury bodies there. She did say that it was becoming a problem.
On the way back to the ferry station, I purchased a shirt and also realized that I had to use the restroom. But I simply would not pay the 1.50 Euros to use the toilet. I refuse to subject myself to these barbaric rules! This led to about 30 minutes of near misery until we returned to the mainland and I was able to sneak into a bathroom in one of the cafes.
We ate our lunch in the ferry on the way to Murano. There isn’t anything particularly exciting about this fact, except that the roasted pine nut bread that I ate was absolutely delicious. In Murano, we headed to the Glass Museum hoping that we would gain a better understanding of the glass that is everywhere in Venice. We really didn’t learn much about the glass. The best thing would have been for them to play a video showing its creation, but they didn’t have anything of the sort. They did have some beautiful examples of the blown glass, and we could definitely see why people love it. We left the museum and wondered around the island. It was so very peaceful compared to Venice. The pastel houses and glassy water were gorgeous to look at.
After trying to find a store with a furnace so that we could see some glass being made (and failing), we caught the ferry back to Venice and wondered back to our room for pizza and some shopping. We took care of some essential gift shopping (just you wait Mike) and settled in for the night. And the pizza had horse meat on it. It was good.
That’s what we did today. But Venice in particular is a place for random thoughts. So here are a few.
First, Venice, like no other city in Italy seems to rely 100% on tourists. But they also seem to hate us more here than in other cities. There are so many rules to follow and they are strict about them. In the Jewish museum there is a café. We had purchased tickets to go on a tour that would start in 20 minutes and just wanted to sit down. But when we tried to sit in the café, we were told that it was for customers only. I guess I would understand if they were busy, but there was no one else there. The other example is probably the Post Office visit from the other day. Or, today, we were in a glass store. The owner was showing us glass that was made in Murano but it was cheap because he purchased it form a furnace that had gone out of business. Even though it was cheap, we still couldn’t afford it. When we left, he started talking in Italian. We didn’t understand him at first. But then he switched to English. He said something about stupid people not understanding the value of things.
Second, the made in Venice sticker is very interesting. Murano Glass and Venetian Masks make up a huge chunk of Venice’s income. But the number of fake masks and glass beads that are sold in Venice has spawned a number of ways to deal with the issue. It is not enough to simply see a mask or a bead and assume that it was made here or that it is authentic. You have to ask and you have to really trust the person selling it. They do have stickers that say “Murano Glass” or “Made in Venice”, but we were told that they will also put those on items that were made in China. It’s really quite annoying. I think the best way to tell is by price. If it’s cheap, it’s fake. Otherwise, it might be real.
Third, I still feel as if Venice differs greatly in feel from the other locations that we have been to. Venice feels like a theme park inside of Italy. The population numbers back this up. Venice’s native population is leaving the city in troves every year. A great percentage of their population is made of up tourists on day trips.
Fourth, you are not supposed to eat in the Piazza San Marco. Why is this? I don’t know for sure, but I suspect it is due to the crazy birds. People have fed them so much that they are not afraid of them. Jeremy and I unknowingly disobeyed this order and ate there the other day. The birds didn’t bother us at first; they were too busy swarming around a 2 year old in the middle of the square while his parents took pictures of this unhealthy way to catch the bird flu. But they did find us eventually and the swarm started. We tried kicking at them, but they didn’t care. I think that I know where Hitchcock got the idea for Birds.
Finally, despite all of this, Venice is one of Jeremy’s favorite cities. I understand where he is coming from. The sheer spectacle of the buildings and the simple idea that they are built on wooden rods is mind blowing. The churches are beautiful and the canals and the boats combine for a one of a kind experience.
We are leaving for Padua tomorrow. I am super-stoked by this. We are going to visit Emanuele and game with him on Friday and Saturday nights! We are also going to re-visit Venice on Sunday with Emanuele and his wife Barbara.
Looking at the calendar, it is also a bit unreal how soon this trip will be over. I am looking forward to seeing all of my friends again, but I will miss this adventure. I will not return home a drastically different person. But I suspect and hope that some aspects of my life will be different. I hope that I will gain a better appreciation for living life by the moment and develop more disgust with sitting around in an unhappy stupor in a job that I don’t like. I doubt that the destination is as important as the act when it comes to changes that occur through a long trip. Travelling forces you to act and to think in a different way than when you are home. I hope that the way of life that I have led for the past 3 months helps to shape my life for years to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment