We got to sleep in for an extra hour, which was much needed. Then we did the same type of Breakfast before cramming ourselves in the sardine can that is the water taxi. I don't notice any personal space differences until were traveling like that, in which case there really isn't much of a choice, so it never bothered me.
We went to murano, which is the island where glass blowing is famous for. We only had an hour, which probably wasn't enough. I still don't think I understand how Venice works, with all the little islands. We were supposed to go out to the lagoons, which I'm bummed we didn't, but murano was AMAZING, and probably the best part of the trip.
Megan and Erin and I wandered around looking for someone that would let us watch glass blowing. Thank god for Erin, because She has been here before, and was just fearless. We wandered through back alleys again and found this little workshop garage type deal that we popped our heads in. The man working was really gracious and gestured for us to come in, and we found out that he worked for a shop that we had come in through the back of. We sat down and watched him work for a while, which was so impressive. You have to know exactly when to cool it and move it and how warm it is...he made a unicorn figurine and a vase, and then another man came in that spoke english and tried to explain some of it to us. We left him a tip, and then found the shop he worked for and bought a few trinkets.
We walked around a little more to buy some souvenirs for people, and then met up at a huge bridge and took some pictures. That was the end of our schedule; they told us how to get back to the main land, and that we should try to find the basillica San Marco. We decided to stop and get food before we left, which ended up being a hot mess.
We went to the restaurant by our hotel called "pizza Aeoche" which had wifi, and ended up spending more time trying to find family than talking with each other, which is something I need to be more aware of. I got spaghetti alle cabanera, which was really buttery with pieces of ham in it. It was really delicious, but my body was not ready for all of that after a few days of not eating much. In Europe, they don't do split checks, and they charge a surcharge and the tip. When you have a group of 8 people, it makes splitting all that tricky. We were definitely a pain for our waitress, but we figured it out.
We ran to the basillica because we were worried about making it on time, and I'm so glad we did. I don't know that I would say I'm on a religious pilgrimage by any means, but I am definitely expecting some spiritual moments and I found one there. It was so big, and it just felt all encompassing...there aren't any pictures, but that's because i approached it as a church, and not as an art gallery. Then we went to the top, where we went outside (the pictures I posted yesterday) and could just see everything. It was really cool, and I think we ended up staying for almost a half hour.
We only had about a half hour so we dashed to the correr museum (there was a lot of hurrying today. It makes you wonder about the validity of the stereotype of Americans always walking fast; maybe there's just too much to do). We weren't terribly impressed, but I'm glad we went, just so I know what I would have missed. On our way out one of the employees stopped us and asked how to say hello and goodbye in English, which was just some cute communication with an adorable old Italian man.
We found some other students in the program and split up to see the rialto bridge. There were a lot of fancy jewelry shops, and once we got to the top there was a fabulous view. A group of students from Oklahoma took our picture at the top, and we talked about our experiences. Not even a few minutes later a group of Hispanic students asked to take our pictures for a school project. It was exciting, because I was speaking some spanish to them, and they were speaking some english to us, all in the middle of italy.
Bri, greg, and megan all got sandwiches at a shop, but I wanted to get some fruit so we stopped at a grocery store. It was so stressful, but I'm glad we went so it won't seem as scary next time. The lines were so long; it all seemed really inefficient. I had a nice conversation with an Italian man in front of me about the lines, even though he spoke no English. You can get a long way with facial expressions and a few pleases, thank yous, and your welcomes. We had to weigh our fruit, which we didn't do right, so the cashier helped us out. It was nice, but it explained why the line would take so long. It just seems like no one is ever in a hurry to get anywhere.
Megan and I ended up back in our room for a few hours to just relax and chat, which was so nice. It gave me a chance to wind down and bond with her, which was really good for both of us I think. Then we went to the Brecht Cafe, mostly for the free wifi.
I got a glass of wine for 1.1euros, but one was more than enough. Everything is so strong here, and I have zero tolerance anyway.mwe spent some time trying to connect with our families, which is just addicting. The concierge at the hotel came in to the wifi room at one point and told us that Italians have 24 hours in a day, and they are so involved in each other. Americans have 50 hours, and then he listed everything off like school and meals and Internet was just like having two times at once. Its so true, and if giving up the computer and Facebook will make my relationships with people like the ones I've seen in Venice, it's definitely worth trying. Even now, I've spent two hours on the train typing up this blog, and the only things I will think back on is the conversations I've had and the few times I've looked out the window. Right now were going through bologna, and I almost missed it because i was so busy trying to document yesterday.
Anyway, we went out and got some gelato, and my second time was a lot better, so I feel like I got what I needed. Then we ended up just staying and talking in the room for a few hours and looking at the itinerary. We left for Rome via train this morning (monday) at 8, and should be there by noon. We only have a brief walking tour of the city then they let us loose, so I'm excited to get out and explore!
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