I Can't Believe I Am Here

(Tried to post this last night but had connectivity problems. So pretend it's Sunday night.)

Today I stood in the middle of St. Mark's Square, one of the most famous places in the world, surrounded by beautiful buldings that are hundreds of years old, and I thought to myself, "I can't believe I am here." And just as I thought it, the bell tower began to ring.

It was pretty fucking amazing.

St. Mark's Square

There aren't enough words to describe Venice. Beautiful, amazing, unique, exciting, historical, architechtural, romantic, ancient, small, friendly ...

My day began with my arrival at the airport, where I quickly discovered that my ATM card would not work. This was a big shock since I called my bank a week ago and told them I would be here. And I needed to pay my host in cash -- 330 euros. After a moment of panic, I went to one of the currency exchanges -- something I said I would not do -- and found out that my credit card did work. So I got cash from that at a 5% charge, plus the bank charge. I don't know what that will be, but I'm sure it's gonna hurt.

Then I bought a water bus ticket and walked the 8 minute walk to the docks. The water buses move very slowly, so it must have been 30 minutes to get to the city. But when I stepped off at my stop and looked around, WOW. The beauty and the charm hit you from the first moment.

My host, Marina, only lives about 1 minute from the bus stop, but I wandered around for probably 10 minutes, going up and down the same small streets over and over, passing the same woman walking her dog over and over, until I found it. When they say Venice is a maze, they aren't kidding.

Marina's apartment building. Her balcony is the one with the single cloth hanging on the clothesline.

Marina is not what I expected. I envisioned a woman who was a little more ... sophisticated. This is a hisorical Italian city, after all. Instead, I would describe Marina as rustic. She's probably in her early 60s, with grey hair and weathered skin from a lifetime of sun. She was wearing sweatpants and a little cotton blouse and I'd swear she had just woken up. But she is a very nice lady and speaks fairly good English. We had a nice long chat and ghot to know each other, and then she surpised me by saying she was going on vacation for a week! So she left today, and her friend Celestina is watching the apartment while she is gone. There is also another student here, but I haven't met her yet. Marina says she is from Japan and mostly stays in her room.

After unpacking and a much-needed nap, I set off on foot to find the school and explore along the way. At Piazzale Roma, I bought a card that gives me unlimited use of the water buses for about 68 euros. Then I made it over to the school at Campo Santa Margherita and found -- OMG -- the most amazing chocolate gelato I have ever had. I know where I will be eating every day for the rest of my trip.

I walked back to Piazzale Roma and caught the No. 1 bus, which goes down the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal is the biggest canal in Venice, like a Main Street. The most important places are along the Canal. It's lined with gorgeous palaces, museums, and hotels. Riding down it is one of the best things to do in Venice. Across it at one point is the famous Rialto Bridge. At the other end of the Canal is St. Mark's Square.

Rialto Bridge

St. Mark's Square is the largest square in Venice and the place where every tourist flocks to. I wandered around the square for a while, just soaking it in. There are a lot of museums and other things to tour here, which I'll do for sure. But since it was already about 6:30 p.m., I just took a lot of pictures.

After about an hour I wandered over to a restaurant that was recommended in my Rick Steeves guide book. This will probably sound obvious, but you just can't beat the pasta here. The lasagna was fantasic! And I also had my first macchiato, which I also think I will be doing every day for the rest of my trip. I sat next to a table with two really fun Australian women, and the three of us chatted all throughout dinner. (BTW Morgan, one of them might be contacting you -- she has a daughter that is in the playwriting biz and will be in NY soon.)

Fun Aussie ladies

After a little more wandering around, I made my way back to the apartment. It's midnight now and everyone's asleep. I've got to get to bed too. Tomorrow is my first day at school. Don't want to be late!