The Floating City of Venice

I have to back up just a little bit before I start talking about my trip to Venice. On Wednesday, November 4, for my opera class, I went to see another opera, and the performance was at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (the Opera Theater in Rome) this time. The theater was extravagant and so beautiful and we had seats in the fourth row! My roommate Kelly and my friend Jenny are also in the opera class with me. We were so close to the pit orchestra and the performers. The opera we saw was Tannhauser by Richard Wagner. If any of you know anything about Wagner, you know that his operas are really long. Also, Wagner was a German composer, so all the music was in German and the subtitles that they posted were in Italian, of course, so the language barrier was a little difficult to overcome. Our professor had given us a synopsis of the opera in English before we came to the opera house, so for the most part, I understood what was going on, even if I didn't understand the words. There were 3 acts to this performance- it started at 7 and lasted until about 10:45 PM! It was a very good performance, and I enjoyed it except for the fact that it was sooooooo long. The music that the orchestra played was amazing and my favorite performer was the actress who played Venus. Luckily, since the theater wasn't too far from our apartment, we were home and in bed by midnight, ready to write our 10-page critique of the opera due on Friday night at midnight.

I also can't forget to mention that on Wednesday morning, for my Art of Rome class, we went to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. I had already been here on a tour when Gwen and Kristen came to visit me, but I was coming with my art professor, who knew more about the history of art. We didn't see nearly as many pieces as I did on my three hour tour, but after waiting in line for a half hour and then fighting the crowds inside the museum, we were able to see major art pieces by Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonoardo da Vinci. It is amazing to think that these artists accomplished so much in their lifetime by painting tons of frescoes, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the Last Supper, all of their famous artwork. Since I had seen the Sistine Chapel and the paintings on the walls and ceilings and it wasn't what I expected the first time I saw it, I think I appreciated it more on this visit with my art professor. The guards at the Chapel were being stricter than the last time I visited- Shhh! Quiet for respect. It was much quieter than the last time I visited and also, they were escorting people out who were trying to take pictures of the Sistine Chapel, because that is forbidden as well.

On a cold, rainy Friday morning, our Art of Rome class met again in Vatican City, this time at St. Peter's Basilica. AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, EXTRAVAGANT, all these words and so many more describe St. Peter's. It is huge and the artwork inside is breathtaking. Your eyes don't even know where to look first or what to take in. Our art professor narrowed our focus to the Pieta, which is a marble sculpture by Michelangelo of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus' dead body. It is a gorgeous sculpture, and everyone must see it if they go to Rome- well, you must see St. Peter's and the Vatican Museums if you travel to Rome in general. Everything in the basilica is made of either marble or mosaics. We didn't go down one level, where many of the popes, other saints, and other holy people are buried, but I would like to go back to visit that. There's free entrance to St. Peter's, which is the biggest Catholic Church in the world. I also want to go on a Wednesday when the Pope comes out of his window and blesses everyone. I want to climb the dome of St. Peter's, where there is an amazing view of Rome. And St. Peter's Square, which is actually oval-shaped and not a square at all, is just as big as the basilica. After my class concluded, I was off to the airport to meet Shelby and her mom in Venice. They had an earlier flight- mine was later so that I could attend my morning class. I was so excited to go on a gondola ride and see all the canals and the famous Murano glass.

Again, I did just fine traveling and flying by myself- I think I have this routine down pretty good by now, though obviously I prefer to fly with someone. I will have to admit that I did give in and ate at McDonald's at the Rome Fiumicino (Leonardo da Vinci) Airport. At the airport in Venice, I had to buy a ticket for the waterbus, since boats are the only mode of transportation from the airport to the city. The ride was a little rocky, and like I said before, I've learned that I'm just not a boat person after my study abroad experience. I arrive at the hotel around 7:30 PM, just in time to go out for dinner. We found a cozy Italian restaurant where the owner offered to make us bruschetta, even though it wasn't on the menu. The owner was very accomodating and the service was really good- not something you see every day in Italy. We ordered the house red wine of course, which was delicious. I had tagliatelle pasta with pesto, and it was such a large portion of pasta, but it was so good, I had to eat it all! Shelby's mom ordered spaghetti with mussels, since seafood is a specialty of Venice. We were wondering if it was possible to get a gondola ride at night, since it was a little chilly out and we weren't sure if they take the gondolas out at night during this season. We walked around the streets a little and then asked a man, who didn't speak any English. He led us into his friend's place who did speak English. But his friend's place ended up being a wine bar! It had a circular machine with over 15 different bottles of red wine and you could taste a type of wine or order a half glass or a full glass. It was a really neat place and I still couldn't believe they have a wine dispenser with that many different kinds of vino! We stayed to order several half glasses, and then we just decided to go back to the hotel to rest up for our full day on Saturday.

We woke up on Saturday to much better weather- on Friday, it was damp from the earlier rain and just cold. This morning, the sky was clear except for a few clouds and it was still chilly, but not as cold as Friday. After breakfast, we decided to shop for a little bit, and then get our gondola ride, in case the weather decided to change on us. In the shop windows, there were extravagantly decorated Venetian masks and lots of Murano glass jewelry. And of course, lots and lots of leather boots, handbags, wallets, jackets, anything you can imagine. And scarves, which are my favorite new accessory. All the stores were so tempting! I ended up buying a pair of black boots and a leather wallet. Our gondola ride was an experience- our boat tipped to the one side almost during the entire gondola ride, but we never fell into the water, so I guess we were right to trust our gondola driver. We learned that there are 160 canals in Venice! I'm proud to say now that I've been on a Venetian gondola. After that, we went to St. Mark's Square, which is the main piazza in the city. St. Mark's Basilica was gorgeous as well- all the mosaics on the ceiling had gold in them and it was just another beautiful church! We thought that we would do a little more shopping, then have lunch and then take the boat to Murano island. Lunch was delicious but a little pricey- we went to another little place, but the service was not nearly as good as the night before. Shelby ordered "special toast" which was bruschetta with basically everything on it- tomatoes, basil, olives, ham, mushrooms, more vegetables, covered in olive oil. We all shared that and Shelby's mom and I also ordered our own slices of pizza, which was basically the special toast with some tomato sauce and cheese. I was so full after that lunch! We did some more shopping and browsing. Then, we walked to the Rialto Bridge, which is the biggest foot bridge in the city, and there are even shops right on the bridge! We stopped to sip some hot chocolate at a cafe, then walked back to the hotel to drop off our bags. We asked what time the glass blowing factory closes, and we found out that it closes early on Saturdays, so we didn't get to the island of Murano to see a glass-blowing demonstration or the neat things that they have on display made out of glass. I was a little disappointed, but we continued to shop and I finished with almost all my Christmas shopping. We were in search of another restaurant after the shops closed at 8 PM, and we found one with OK service but pretty good food. I ordered fettucine with salmon, which was delicious. The house wine was not as good here, and it was more expensive than the night before- 24 euro for one bottle! I was not feeling my best that night, so we went right back to the hotel after dinner and I fell asleep early to get lots of rest for the flight the next day.

The weather on Sunday was yucky and rainy again. Our flight was delayed about a half hour, so we only returned to Rome around 3 PM instead of at 2 PM. It was hailing when we were exiting the plane! :( I rested for most of the day after returning to my apartment. Now I need to do my Italian homework and rest up for the upcoming week- Barcelona, Spain this weekend to visit my friend Chad!