English Is Everywhere

If you've ever wanted to visit Venice but worried about the language barrier, worry no more. Almost everyone here speaks English. Venice is crawling with tourists, and the whole city really is geared toward tourism, so all of the waiters, bartenders, shopkeepers, salespeople, bus drivers, etc. speak English, and sometimes other languages too. I guess they accept that Italy is the only country in the word where Italian is spoken, so very few visitors will know it.

There are tons of souvenir stands near Piazza San Marco.

And it's not just the service industry. In my class, all of the other students speak English to some degree -- Claire, the French lady, Tilman and Eckhart, the two Germans, and Marga, the Dutch lady, all speak it. As I said before, the classes are taught entirely in Italian, but when we don't understand something, the teacher will sometimes explain in English. Not French, German, or Dutch.

So I hear English all the time. Which I'm glad about, but sometimes I am amazed by the tourists. They will walk up to an Italian and just start asking questions in English. They don't even try to say hello in Italian. They just assume they will be understood. And I'm thinking to myself, can't you at least try? But they don't try.

So, here is my list of things every American should learn to say in Italian if you visit Italy. I think the Italians will appreciate the effort.

Hello: Buongiorno (said during the day)
Hello: Buona sera (said at night)
Hi: Ciao
Goodbye: Arrivederci
Bye: Ciao
Please: Per favore
Thank you: Grazie
You're welcome: Prego
Excuse me: Scusi
I'm sorry: Mi dispiace

Yesterday (Wednesday) after class we took a tour of the Castello district. It's the district that has the least amount of tourists. It also contains the Arsenale, the naval yard. Castello doesn't have as many of the tacky souvenir shops and the restaurants with menus in four languages. It's a great area to walk around in, and I highly recommend it. 

The entrance to the naval yards. Navy personnel only beyond this point!

A typical dead end street in the Castello district. Very pretty.

After the tour some of my classmates and I went looking for dinner. We ended up at at this amazing place called Enoiteca Mascareta, where I had one of those meals that you dream about having when you go to Italy. Fresh, delicious, amazing pasta, cheese, wine, olive oil, everything. I could have died a happy man.

Burrata di bufala caprese (buffalo mozzarella cheese with tomatoes and olive oil). It was OH MY GOD delicious.

We also passed by a bajillion churches, but this one was especially interesting because of the architecture. Note how the facade, dome, and rounded walls all seem to be from different styles.

The church Santa Maria Formosa.

This face is above the side door to the church.

There is no nightlife in Venice. There are no nightclubs. Most of the city shuts down after 9 p.m. because many of the tourists are gone by then. Many of the Italians who work in Venice live on the mainland. So there is not a lot to do at night. Sure, there are plenty of restaurants still open, and the cafes at Piazza San Marco are always an option, but that's about it. Most of the nightlife is on the mainland, and I haven't figured out how to get there and back yet. However, There are some small bars scattered around. One that I have been visiting is called, of all things, Guinness Bar. Last night I met a couple of British blokes, Chris and David, and had fun knocking back a few with them.

David and Chris.

And here is my new favorite bartender, Enrico. He kindly puts up with my poor Italian and has taught me a few words they don't teach you at school, like pinta (pint) and ubriaco (drunk). Also, did you know that barista means bartender?

Enrico, my barista.

Since I've spent the last four days walking everywhere from sunup to sundown, I've got two big blisters on my feet. So today I am just chilling. This weekend, if the weather is nice, I'm going to go to the Lido, the Venetian beach island.

Churches Galore

The Venetians were either very pious or very sinful, because they put churches everywhere. If you read one of my previous posts, I mentioned how beautiful the church of San Nicolo was on the inside. Well, I am finding out that they are all like that! Decorated to the rafters with paintings, sculptures, carvings, mosiacs, and every other type of art you can think of. You walk in and your jaw drops at the beauty.

Photography is forbidden in churches, and I have actually walked into a couple while there was a service going on. So I don't have photos of them. But I did take photos inside St. Mark's. It's forbidden there, too, but everyone was doing it.

St. Mark's Basilica in on Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) and was begun in 1063. It's the largest church in Venice, and it's full of treasures that were stolen (including St. Mark's remains) during Venice's glory days. It's free to go in. The entire ceiling and most of the walls from end to end is covered in mosaics -- 4,7590 square yards of it, according to my guidebook.

Inside St. Mark's Basilica.

The mosaics tell stories of Christ, like the last supper, the crucifixion, his ascension, etc. There are also mosaics of Noah's Ark, the gospels, the apostles, and more.

A mosaic close up.

Upstairs there is a balcony with a small museum. In the old days, women were forced to worship from the balcony while the men worshiped from the floor.

The museum houses La Quadriga, The Bronze Horses. No one knows how old they are, but the guess is somewhere between the fourth century B.C. and the fourth century A.D. And the were stolen by the Venetians from Constantinople.

The Bronze Horses (La Quadriga).

From the balcony you can also go outside where there is a fantastic view of the square. The doge of Venice used to stand there and address the people, probably telling them how rich and awesome he/they were.

I am rich and awesome!

I also went to the Correr Museum, just across the square from the basilica. Unless you're an art historian or know who the Bellinis were, I recommend skipping it.

After all that excitement, I hit the shops. FYI, Diesel is just as expensive here, but that didn't stop me from buying it. I also got a new swimsuit for when I hit the Lido this weekend.

In school, we practiced a bit of conversation -- how to say where we are from, how old we are, our jobs, etc. We also learned about masculine vs. feminine words and how to make plurals. Also, in Italian you can speak formally (Lei) or informally (tu), so we are getting a bit of that too.

There Are No Cars

God, my feet hurt.

In Venice, you walk everywhere. There are no cars. That's because most streets aren't big enough for cars.  So you walk, and walk, and walk. Or you can take a boat -- water bus (cheap), taxi (expensive), or gondola (really expensive and they don't really go anywhere). But sometimes it's faster to walk.

There is also very little crime. You're on an island and there are no cars. How are you supposed to get away? So it's very safe, even at night.

A very small street.

A typical large street.

 
The walk from my apartment to the school is supposed to be 25 minutes. But I usually take one or two wrong turns, so it's more like 35. Venice is a maze. Imagine a hedge maze the size of a city, but instead of hedges you have 3 or 4 story buildings. And every once in a while there is a canal in the way. That's Venice. So I am trying to take the exact same route to school and back every day, but it's amazingly easy to take a wrong turn.

I started school today. Classes last four hours. I am in the beginner class. There are two other Americans, two Germans, one Dutch, and one French lady. Since we all speak different languages, the teacher just speaks Italian to us. JUST ITALIAN. Did I mention I am in the beginner class? I know what it feels like to be old and deaf now, because she speaks very slowly and very loudly. If you're really lost, you can say "Cosa significa ___?" and she'll translate the word into English. Having said all of that, I did pretty well today. I already knew the alphabet, numbers up to 20, and a few things like colors, some animals, and some question words, so I was able to figure out a lot. The American lady that sat next to me was totally lost and kept asking me how to say stuff, and I'm thinking, why don't you ask the teacher?

After class we took a tour around the area of Campo Santa Margherita. The tour was in Italian, so I understood nothing, but he sometimes translated for me and the other newbies. At one point, we were outside a church and he was talking about how beautiful the church was. And I looked at this ugly pile of bricks and cement and thought, Is he kidding? Then we stepped inside. WOW. Sculptures everywhere. Giant murals on the walls and ceiling. Gold everywhere. He was right, it is beautiful! (Check out this link for pictures of outside vs. inside.)

After this, an older German lady on the tour wandered over and started talking to me. Her name is Adelheid, she's in her 70s, and we became fast friends. I ended up spending the rest of the day with her. She's been to Venice seven times, so she became my tour guide and showed me all this cool stuff and told great stories about the art or buildings we were looking at, or the saints they were created for. She's nearly fluent in Italian (and English, lucky me) so she's in a high-level class. I hope I run into her again. I teased her about going to the beach with me.

My new friend Adelheid. Having drinks on the Grand Canal!

After school, the tour, and hanging out with Adelheid and two other students, I didn't have time to visit any tourist attractions or even do any shopping. I have got to find a supermarket because eating out three times a day is getting expensive!

Tomorrow after school I'm going to grab a quick lunch and do some sightseeing. I don't know what. I'm just winging it every day.

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!

This is it!

Today is the day. I'm off to Italy! I still haven't finished packing. Thank god for the last minute! And I need a haircut, several things from the drug store, and the dogs need their flea and heartworm medicine. Plenty to do before I go.

I finally talked to the women I am staying with via email. She'll be waiting at home for me when I get there. I guess she speaks some English, but when she greeted me she said "Bye Robert". Ha, I'll probably make A LOT of dumb mistakes like that too.

Assuming she has Internet access, I'll post again Sunday night. If not then I'll post again Monday at the school.

Arrivederci!

9 Days Away

In just 9 days I'll be on a plane to Venice. It's coming up quick! And I have no idea what I should be doing to prepare! I already have a passport, and it's too early to pack, so what should I be doing? You'd think that spending two weeks in a foreign country would require a little more preparation.

I have decided that I'm not taking my cell phone. I'm too worried about how much the calls will cost, or even worse, the data (shudder). But I am taking my laptop. I need that to blog the trip and to call my family on Skype. I also have a guidebook, but instead of planning my days, I'm just going to wing it. The school plans activities for the students anyway, like dinners out and tours of the city, so I won't suffer from a lack of planning.

Speaking of blogging, I know I haven't posted much here, but the trip hasn't begun! The plan all along was just to post a few items in the months leading up to the trip and then post daily while I am there. So as long as I can figure out how to get on the Internet, I'll be updating you every day or more. With photos.

And as for learning some Italian before I get there -- ha. I'm only on day 20 of Pimsleur Italian I, and I started it months ago. You're supposed to do it every day. I haven't touched it in a few weeks. Well, I do know how to say "I would like to drink some wine." What else do you need to know?

5 Weeks Away!

In a little over 5 weeks I will be on a nonstop flight to Venice, Italy. It's really starting to sink in now. I'll be in a foreign country, by myself, with very little knowledge of the language. This is my first trip alone ever, and although I'm looking forward to the adventure, there's some nervousness too. Will I like being by myself? Eating alone, seeing the sites alone? I guess there will be other students at the school to hang out with, but you never know if you're going to get along with people.

I bought a travel guide: Rick Steeves' Venice 2010. At 400 pages, it's got a lot to say. And after looking through it once, I'm starting to wonder if two weeks is enough! There is so much to see in Venice, it really is like a living museum. There are 16 places/things that Rick recommends seeing and 7 more things "if you have time." Seeing one a day doesn't leave time for them all. I guess I'll have to pair down the list to the "must sees". Any suggestions?