7.11.09 Venice.

our feetsies in our hotel slippers. yes we have slippers and robes

Once again I woke up in perfect Venice so excited to see what today would bring. Darrin made an appointment for all of us to go to a glass blowing demonstration to see how the Venetians blow their incredible glass pieces. We were waiting in our little courtyard for the guy from the glass place to come pick us up and then what should appear but our very own private boat. The glass company sent it to come get us so we could take the trip to Murano to their factory in style. We were SOO excited and finally got to see Venice in something other than a water taxi. I was so excited I recorded a little video of our experience that really shows my excitement so enjoy.

us on our private boat ride. we ride in steez

our boat experience put to film

After arriving to the Mazzega glass factory, we watched one of their expert guys create a vase and a glass horse in literally minutes. It was such a cool process to see how they take hot lava or what looks like hot lava but is actually melted glass, put it on a stick and create insane yet marvelous objects. He first made a little vase that looked so delicate and then he made a horse, which is the thing to make to show you have skill apparently. He did it so so fast and then there was this mini stallion sitting there in totally beauty. Our guide man told us that there are no schools for glass blowing and that you have to born into the family of glass blowers in order to learn the trade and you start at a very young age in the factory learning from the masters. He said you can either do it or you can’t but you better hope you can. We then moved into their huge showroom and could see the hundreds of different items for sell. They have such beautiful chandeliers and I want them all. My favorite thing was a wall of glass chains that were hung as a divider of sorts next to the stairs. It was such a clever concept and took me by surprise. The sales guy was pretty funny and loved talking to us so naturally we got a picture with him. Darrin gave us the rest of the day to ourselves and the rest of the time in Venice actually which is just one more day, so we were all pretty stoked about that.

the factory we went to. i just love the shutters a lot

glass blowing man...that stuff is very hot

coolest glass horse ever and created in about 5 min.

this is the amazing chain glass wall thing that i am obsessed with

Us five decided that we really wanted to go to a beach in Venice and heard the best beaches were on an island called Lido just near where we were. We had to just take a water taxi to get there which are kind of expensive, so we may or may not have bought tickets. Some might call us stowaways but we like to refer to it here on study abroad as being thrifty. We made it to the beautiful island of Lido and wandered a bit before finding a really nice beach. The funny thing about European beaches is the lack of shame people have when it comes to their appearance. They aren’t very modest to put it gingerly so that was an experience in itself but we had THE best day. We were on the beach for almost 5 hours just laying out, walking the beach and playing in the Mediterranean. Laying out is probably my most favorite thing to do and we did a lot of that and we all got a great amount of sun from the marvelous Venetian sun. On our way back, we ran into some fellow study abroaders which is so crazy because there are a ton of beaches and tons more people so they helped us navigate our way home.

on the beach in lido

When we got of the taxi in Venice, we happened to land in the square next to St. Marks Cathedral. It is so beautiful and kind of came out of nowhere to be honest. I just wasn’t expecting this very very elegant and extravagant structure to be right on the water. The style resembles more of the Roman architecture than Florentine architecture in my opinion with its ornate columns and arched mosaics. The pointed arch is something that we haven’t really seen until now though and I find it very reminiscent of Aladdin, which I am a huge fan of so I really enjoyed the architecture of St. Marks. We didn’t spend much time there so we want to go back tomorrow on our free time before we head off to Paris. It was an incredible day of relaxation that was much needed and deserved in my opinion. I feel like every day is a once in a lifetime experience and that feeling never gets old. Oh it’s just another perfect day in Venice! I’m going to miss you Italy. You never disappoint or discourage but always bring a smile to my face and have a place in my heart. I will be back you can count on that so until next time…Arrivederci!!!

st. marks cathedral...notice the arch mosaics