Day 13

It was my last day here in Italy, and I’ve gone out with a bang.  It was an action packed day that ends a wonderful trip of a lifetime.

I awoke this morning and took the subway to the Vatican subway stop to have breakfast with my friend Hannah from Venice.  We ate at a little cafe where I ordered a croissant and orange juice.  I was pleased to find it was American style orange juice instead of blood orange juice.  I can’t tell you how excited I was!  I don’t even like orange juice that much, but i paid four euros for another glass, because I had been so sick of blood orange juice.

Hannah and I left and then headed for the entrance to the Vatican Museums.  She had a voucher for an entry ticket, while I had a voucher for a guided tour.  We said goodbye and she headed inside while I waited for my tour.

The tour began with a brief history of the Sistine Chapel and a model of Vatican City.  After this we proceeded into the museum.  We passed the Hall of Sculptures, a few courtyards, and entered a room where Nero’s pool sat in the middle.  It was quite a big pool that sat in the center of the room.

We followed that by walking through the Room of Tapestries and then the Room of Geographical Maps of Italy.  Following this, we toured the rooms that the painter Rafaello had painted.  He had painted them for the Papal Residence in the earlier days.  There were numerous murals and they all seemed fit for a pope.

The Vatican Museums are among the largest in the world.  Our tour guide said it would take two days to make it through all the museums, so of course we only saw a little portion.  The parts we saw were quite interesting and I feel it could compete with most art museums in the world.

We then took a short break before arriving at the Sistine Chapel.  It was quite beautiful.  Pictures weren’t allowed, but of course I secretly took them anyway.  Fun fact: Michelangelo did not actually paint the Sistine Chapel lying down.  He was just standing up.

After the chapel, we took a group exit and arrived at the side of St. Peter’s Basilica, the central point of the Vatican.  We went inside and I immediately dropped my jaw.  This place was huge!  It was by far the largest church I had ever seen.  It was quite a hike from one end to the other.  We started around the sides of the church and arrived at a statue by Michelangelo of Mary holding her son’s dead body.

After this we saw the grave of Blessed Pope John Paul II.  We learned that any pope who was undergoing the beatification process would have their body moved to the Basilica.

After this we saw the grave of Blessed Pope John XXIII.  His body is unique in that it is in a glass tomb.  You can see the embalmed body of John XXIII and I found that to be quite neat.  His body is well preserved and was one of the most interesting parts of the Basilica.

We then saw the main alter, which featured Bernadini’s Baldacchino, a large wooden structure over the altar.  Under the altar is the tomb of St. Peter, the first Pope of the Church.

We then exited into St. Peter’s Square where the tour ended.  From the front of the square, you can only see the front of the church and not the enormous dome.  You have to walk to the far edge of St. Peter’s Square to be even able to see the entire church with the dome.  The tour guide pointed out the window where the Pope lives, the balcony where the newly elected Pope is revealed for the first time, and the chimney where the smoke indicates if a Pope has been elected.

After the Vatican I came back to my hotel and rested until I met my high school friend Jerelyn at the Spanish Steps.  She did a fun walking tour and we got to see the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, a bunch of churches, the university she attends, the Tiber River, Castle Sant’Angelo and the Vatican again.  It was quite a fun night and it was great to see her again.

Tomorrow I leave at 9 am for the Rome airport.  I can’t believe another Europe trip has come and gone.  It seems like it has been a long time since I have been in Venice.  I have three days at home before heading back to Ole Miss.  I will update one last time when I arrived home in North Carolina tomorrow.  Ciao from Roma.

Here are the links to the final two Rome albums:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2550893657286.2118082.1402200167&type=1&l=4e65787081

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2553382319501.2118130.1402200167&type=1&l=78c5735b5b

Day 12

Bonjourno from Rome everyone!  Today has been such a long and tiring day.  I think I have pushed myself more in getting around to see the sights than any other day, so this has almost certainly been the most action packed day of my trip so far.

I awoke at 7 am and headed for the Florence train station around 8.  I ate breakfast at the McDonald’s in the station and had one of their doughnuts that had just a little glaze and just a touch of sugar on top.  It was quite delicious.  It was good to have a breakfast option that did not include blood orange juice.

I kept looking for my train number to Rome on the departure board, but couldn’t find it.  I began to get worried until I noticed that Rome was not the final destination for that train.  I had only gone on the Venice-Rome route, so I assumed all the major train routes ended in Rome.  Turns out my train that would take me to Rome was a part of the Milan to Naples route.  My train was under the name Napoli.  I would love to visit Naples! (Gives me a reason for a return trip.)

The views from the train were much better than the day before.  I got to see little Italian cities in the hills and saw a lot of vineyards. The rolling hills of Tuscany were quite picturesque and it was an enjoyable hour and 15 minute train ride to Rome.

We arrived in Rome and I headed for the subway.  For those of you who don’t know, I love subways.  I don’t know why, but I do.  I boarded Line A for station Spagna.  The Rome Metro was very clean and that surprised me.  The Paris subway had been disgusting, so I had assumed the Rome Metro would be gross.  I then found out that the Rome Metro is only about 30 years old, so it makes since that it wasn’t dirty.  The only thing about the Rome Metro was that it was way overcrowded.  I’ve been on subways in Atlanta, Washington DC, Boston, London, and Paris, but I’ve never felt the congestion the way I did on the Rome Metro.  These cars were swamped!

I arrived at Spagna and exited onto the Piazza Spagna.  My hotel, the Hotel Condotti is located right off the square, so it was only a short walk.  My room wasn’t ready, so I decided to go out and explore.

The Piazza Spagna is best known for being the location of the Spanish Steps and the Trinita del Monti.  The steps do not hold that much importance, but you get a pretty view of the square below.  At the top of the steps is the Trinita del Monti.  I went inside and arrived during a Mass.

I walked along a path that veered away from the Monti and got a great view of Rome.  The most dominating symbol in the skyline had to be St. Peter’s Basilica, the main part of the Vatican.  It made me so excited that I’m going to see that tomorrow.

After this I had a quick lunch from a street vendor and returned to my hotel to check in to my room.  Wow, my room is nice.  I have a large bathroom, a large hall, a large bed, and a balcony.  Compared to the other places I’ve stayed, it’s really nice! (It would be really nice by American standards too).

I left the hotel soon after and took the subway headed for the Trevi Fountain.  The fountain is a beautiful baroque fountain that is a Rome tourist attraction staple.  The tradition is to throw a coin into the fountain.  By doing so, you are guaranteed to return to Rome.  I’ll take that tradition!  I got some gelato and sat at the fountain for about half an hour.  Looking at the time, I realized I needed to head back to the hotel to drop some things off.

After this I quickly took the subway to see the Colosseum.  It was neat to see the Colosseum in real life.  On one hand I enjoyed it, but on the other hand I was disappointed.  I guess I was expecting more.  I learned that there were always two types of battles in the Colosseum: hunting fights and gladiator fights.  The mornings would see hunting fights: slaves sentenced to death against wild animals, while afternoons would see gladiator fights.

After the Colosseum I stopped by Constantine’s Arch and then quickly saw the exterior of the Roman Forum.  I hurried along the main road and found the Monumento Nazionale a Victor Emanuel II.  This was the national memorial to Victor Emmanuel II, the first ruler of a united Italy.  It was a beautiful monument and I quickly noticed a tomb with two guards guarding it.  Two fires were lit beside them.  Once I returned to the hotel I researched and found out it was Italy’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, very similar to the American version at the Arlington National Cemetery.

I then took the subway back to my hotel.  I relaxed for a few hours and then got a quick bite to eat.  I think because of my sleepiness I’m going to retire early since I have a big day tomorrow.

I am so excited about my tour of the Vatican! I get to tour the Vatican Museums, the gardens, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica.  As a Catholic, it’s a dream come true!  I also hope to get to see the Pantheon.  A lot will depend on the weather.  It hasn’t rained a single day I’ve been in Italy and I had finally gotten used to the cold.  Well the weather quickly changed beginning yesterday.  Florence was warm and it was extremely hot in Rome.

I hope everyone is enjoying my blog and enjoying getting to travel along with me.  On the train, I had a revelation.  I realized that my grandpa Frank was enjoying this trip as much as I did.  For those of you who don’t know, my grandpa’s family came from Italy in the early 1900’s and settled in New Jersey.  I always told him that I would take him to Italy one day.  He died in 2001, so physically he didn’t make it, but I have felt his spirit strongly on this journey and know we are making this trip together.  So to my grandpa I say: We made it! Ciao from Rome.

Here are the links to the pictures of the train ride, and the two albums of Rome:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2545664286555.2117935.1402200167&type=3&l=947be1a6e9

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2544201369983.2117904.1402200167&type=3&l=8affd1687b

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2545843971047.2117941.1402200167&type=3&l=67cb62ebd5

Day 11

Ciao from Firenze everyone.  My short stay in Florence is already over and it has been a wonderful experience.  I think I have done more today than any other day during this trip as I tried to fit everything Florence has to offer into about a seven or eight hour window.  I had the same experience with Paris, France, so I was sure I would be able to fit Florence in.

I awoke this morning and checked out of the Hotel American and used the vaporetto to reach Venezia Saint Lucia train station.  I bid adieu (sadly) to Venice and boarded the high speed train “Le Frecce” bound for Florence.  I was quite relieved to notice no one sitting next to me or across from me.  The train was rather empty.  Once we hit the mainland, this changed.

The next stop, Venezia Mestre, was full of people and sure enough the area around me filled up.  I sat across from about a 6 year old Italian boy, and his mother sat next to me.  He took out his plastic toy soldiers, and he had an entire army of soldiers, tanks, and aircraft.  I was quite impressed.  He was just like me at that age!

I was excited to see the scenery on the trip, but overall was a dissapointment.  Right as we left Venice and the mainland, it became foggy.  All I could make out was snow on the ground.  The fog gave way when we reached Bologna, but Bologna was not very scenic.  We then arrived in the mountains and I was excited to see them, but we went through mountain tunnels for most of the journey from Bologna to Florence.  We eventually arrived at Florence’s Santa Maria Novella Station and I got my belongings and entered the city.

I began to find my way to the main square of town and was stopped to ask to sign a petition.  Being stupid, I agreed.  As I began to write my name down,the thought popped into my head that what I was doing was stupid.  I quickly scratched out my name and wrote a generic name.  Whatever they were petitioning for, they have the support of James Johnson of Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

I arrived at the Hotel De Lanzi, which is located right next to the main square of the city.  The main square features the Florence Cathedral, also known as The Basilica di Santa Maria de Fiore (Saint Mary the Flower).  It is also locally known as the Duomo, and that is what I refer to it as.

I began with a quick walking tour and arrived at Palazzo Vecchio, Florence’s town hall.  I then passed through the Uffizi Museum’s courtyard and arrived at the Arno River.  I went and saw the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge, before heading back to the Duomo.

I went inside the Duomo and saw the inner workings of the church.  Following this I paid $6 euro to climb Giotto’s Campanile, a bell tower located next to the Duomo.  Everyone says you have to climb either it or the dome of the Duomo, so I decided to climb the bell tower.  415 steps was quite a hike and it took me awhile to get to the top.  They kept having levels that tricked you into believing you were at the top.  About four levels later, I finally arrived at the top.

The view was awesome.  I got to see the Duomo from the air and it was quite beautiful.  You could see the rolling hills of Tuscany in the distance.  Florence truly is a compact city, and you can tell from the tower.

I then headed for the Medici Chapels.  I did not go inside, but got to see them from the outside.  They were the private churches of the esteemed Medici family.  I felt like royalty seeing them.

I ate lunch near the train station and decided to make church runs.  I saw Chiesa di Santa Maria Novella before heading to the Basilica di Santa Croce.  Santa Croce was very interesting because it contained the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo.  I was quite excited to see these graves and was glad I had decided to visit San Croce.

After touring the entire church and the adjoining museum, I went along the Arno River in search of Piazzale Michelangelo, a lovely plaza located on a hill just outside of town.  It is supposed to give you wonderful views of the city of Florence.  It was quite a hike and the last part of the climb was up steep stairs and it was almost the end of me.  I don’t think I’ve ever drank a Powerade as quickly as I did when I got up there.  Luckily for me, the views were worth it.  I’m a sucker for panorama views and this one gave a great view of the city.

I headed back towards city center and went into the Uffizi Gallery, regarded as one of the nicest art museums in the world.  I looked pretty stupid when I got inside and asked where Michelangelo’s David was.  I had gone into the wrong museum. I quickly toured the Uffizi before heading the the Gallery Accademia, the actual home of David.  David was a large statue that has virtually no flaws.  Pictures are forbidden, but of course I took one anyway!

I returned to my hotel and met two of my Venice classmates for dinner.  It was delicious and we then went for some gelato.  I then came back to the hotel and am preparing for bed as I have a 9am train tomorrow for Rome.

Tuscany is very different from the Veneto, as Florence is different from Venice.  I have seen two different Italy’s and I’m glad I have.  They both have their strong points and its good to see the diversity of the country.

I wish I had more than just this short time to visit Florence.  Florence was my original study abroad destination, so hopefully I can come back one day and explore it more.  Ciao from Firenze

Here are the links for the two Florence picture albums:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2539375769346.2117799.1402200167&type=1&l=530a190a6e

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2539442131005.2117803.1402200167&type=1&l=3761f5368b

Day 10

Hello readers!  My trip to Venice is now officially over and I have quite mixed feelings about it.  I am excited to see Florence and Rome, but am going to miss Venice and the group I got to see it with.  I will have to return to Venice one day, and now can tell people that Venice is one of my favorite cities on Earth.

Our professors gave us a treat on the final day: a boat trip to the Venetian Islands.  Our tour guide brought her husband and their boat and picked us up canalside at the hotel.  We all felt like royalty.  Their boat was probably the equivalent to the Chevrolet Suburban: it featured seating inside for 13 people.  We took the boat and arrived first at the island of Murano.  It is the largest of the Venetian islands and is home to numerous glass factories.  The main entrance to Murano also features a quaint lighthouse.

We arrived at the dock for Ferro & Lazzarini Fornace and proceeded inside to a large open room with tons of ovens.  We took our seats and were given a demonstration of glass making and glass blowing.  It was amazing to see the glass master take an ordinary bulb of melted glass and turn it into a beautiful glass horse.

Following the demonstration we were taken to the factory outlet store, where all of the Murano glass was on sale.  One of the salesmen asked me where I was from and I said North Carolina.  He then asked if I was from the Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem area and I quickly said yes.  Turns out the High Point furniture market (one of the largest in the world) is always buying Murano glass from the factory.

We proceeded upstairs to the glass museum.  It was unreal.  It was about six rooms full of just glass: glass tables, wine glasses, dolphins, all kinds of animals, chandeliers, tables, you name it.  We were all very careful to make sure we didn’t trip (we would be paying a whole lot if that happened).

We then said goodbye to the glass factory and got back on the boat to head to the island of Torcello.  Torcello is the smallest island and is home to only thirteen people.  The only attraction on the island is the church, the Cathedral of Torcello, also known as Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta.  It is in fact the oldest Church in Venice, originally built in 639.  The current church was built in 1008, built even before St. Marks which was built in 1071.

The church featured beautiful mosaics featuring Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the Final Judgement.  Numerous items were stolen from the church by the Germans, so not everything remains.

We got back on the boat and arrived at the island of Burano, which is known for its lace-making.  Burano was really neat because it was full of colorful houses.  The main street featured lace shops and numerous canals ran through the city.  The church featured a belltower, but this belltower was unusual.  It is actually leaning to the side.  It is not straight, and I find that fascinating.

We broke off to explore Burano, and I went around by myself, snapping away at pictures (I’m a little picture happy in case you couldn’t tell).  I walked along the waterfront and through the residential parts of town before meeting back up with the group to leave.

We took the boat back to the hotel, winding our ways through the Venetian canals before we finally reached our hotel.  We bid adieu to our tour guide (I really enjoyed our tour guide.  She was very informative and very sweet) and went back into the hotel.  Some people went shopping, but I stayed behind to begin packing.  I packed and took a nap before most of the group decided to go out to dinner.  I had lasagna as my last meal in Venice, but it was disappointing.  A group went out to the bars, but most of us have morning train or plane travels so we decided to head back to the hotel.  We stopped at Grom, which has become my gelato shop for the last week.  I had candied chestnut and caramel and it was good.

We returned to the hotel, where I am currently writing this blog.  With the completion of this post, I will be done with my blogging from Venice (but of course will continue blogging in Florence and Rome).

I have had such an amazing time in Venice.  It is truly an incredible city and I have enjoyed seeing it for the last ten days.  To everyone in the group, thank you for such a fun time.  I enjoyed meeting you all and I hope we see each other on campus.  To our tour guide, thank you for the fun, informative tours.  To the Schroeders, thank you so much.  I am so glad I got to do this Study Abroad and I recommend it to any Ole Miss student who wants a shorter study abroad.

I plan to take the vaporetto at around 7:45 or 8 am to reach Venezia Saint- Lucia, the train station.  My train to Florence leaves at about 9:30 and it should take about two hours to reach Florence.  I am excited to see the Italian countryside from the high-speed train, and look forward to exploring the rest of Italy.

So I no longer say Ciao from Venezia, I know have to say, Ciao readers, Ciao Northern Italy, and most of all Ciao Venice.  It’s been real.

Here is the link to the island pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2532630160710.2117664.1402200167&type=3&l=9cda45e213

Day 9

Hello everyone! It is now official, one day remains in Venice!  I cannot believe that it has been almost two weeks since I left America for Italy.  The memories I have made so far will last a lifetime and I’m looking forward to my last day at this ancient paradise.

We began this morning with a huge treat: a trip down the Grand Canal and side canals on a gondola.  Our group settled into two gondolas that began down the Grand Canal.  We passed the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and then saw the Accademia Bridge.  We then moved on to a side canal where we got a relaxing ride for about twenty minutes.  We passed numerous gondola stoplights, which are quite famous in Venice.  Our gondolier wore the stereotypical stripped sweater outfit and wore a hat with a ribbon hanging from it.

Our tour down the side canals was quite relaxing.  We got to see the peaceful, serene side of Venice and waved to other groups in gondolas passing by.  We eventually made it back to the Grand Canal, where we ended the tour.

The group went to the Rialto shopping area, where everyone shopped.  Being the budget spender that I am, I did not.  We then got a quick bite to eat before taking the vaporetto back to our hotel.

We convened for class and watched the movie version of Ian McEwan’s “Comfort of Strangers.”  Let me tell you, this is a disturbing book.  It is about a couple named Colin and Mary who take a trip.  They are in love, but at the same time they live distant lives.  They meet a couple named Robert and Caroline and begin to fall in love with the city.  They soon find out that Robert and Caroline are not what they seem.  Robert and Caroline begin making love to pictures of Colin and soon Colin and Mary are trapped in their appartment.  Robert and Caroline begin to try to sexually arouse Colin, as Mary goes into shock.  Robert and Caroline then cut Colin’s throat in the movie and get arrested, but are not ashamed and do not try to hide their crime.  In the book, Colin survives, but he and Mary are scarred for life.

I’m glad we watched this and talked about this book at the end of the trip.  It was disturbing.  The movie featured a really good cast of Natasha Richardson, Helen Mirren, and Christopher Walken, but the story was far too creepy.

We then returned to our rooms until 7:15, when the Schroeders took us out for dinner.  We went to a pizzeria and it was quite delicious.  They then told us that our group was like a surrogate family, and gave us a little gift to remember them and the trip by. They gave us each an animal family made of real Murano glass.  Examples included a family of dolphins, octopi, dogs, and cats. I got a family of roosters.  It was a very nice gesture, and we all have grown to really like the Schroeders.

After this we went to the bars, where I had the Venetian famous Bellini.  The bellini is most famous at Harry’s Bar, a bar that was frequented by Ernest Hemingway.  Harry’s Bar is undergoing restoration so we had it at Madigan’s Pub, the place where we went last night.  A Bellini is a mixture of wine and peach puree and it was quite good.  We then headed back to the hotel to prepare for our final day in Venice.

Tomorrow our tour guide Chinsia, is taking our group to the three Venetian Islands of Murano, Burano, and Torcello.  Her husband is bringing his boat, so we are getting private transport.  We will be touring a glass factory, and the serene parts of the islands.  I am quite excited.

That is all here for today from Venice.  I have fallen in love with this place and vow to return one day.  Ciao from Venezia.

Here is the link to the gondola pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2526821855506.2117572.1402200167&type=1&l=54f9a5bdf0

Day 8

Wednesday is over here in Venezia and that means only two days remain.  Time has flown by.

This morning we toured the Ca’Rezzonico, a former palace built on the Grand Canal.  It was built by the Rezzonico family to house distinguished guests in Venice.  The building has been turned into a museum focusing on Venetian life in the 18th century.  We saw the rooms of the mansion and the attic, which has been turned into an art exhibit.  It was a very relaxing museum and I was glad to have seen it.

A group of us then headed for lunch, where we got a slice of pizza before heading back to the hotel.  We then watched a film called “Dangerous Beauty” about Venetian prostitutes.  It was based off the real life memoirs of writer and former prostitute Veronica Franco in the early days of Venice.

Following the film I went out and found postcards and searched for a tobacco shop to purchase stamps.  During this, the button to my khaki’s fell off, so now I have lost a button and a filling for my tooth! How lucky am I!

Our group then went to the Hard Rock Cafe for a large group meal.  I had the Tennessee BBQ Ribs and they were great.  Our waitress kept referring to our table as America and we soon found out she had relatives in Florida.  The funny thing was her relatives lived in Daytona Beach.  For those of you who don’t know, Daytona owns a special place in my heart.  Both sets of grandparents used to live there, my Mom and her sisters were born there, and my Dad’s family moved down there.  Mom and Dad met in Daytona and my happiest moments have always been our trips to Daytona, so it was quite shocking to hear the Hard Rock  waitress in Venice, Italy say she had relatives in Daytona Beach.  What a small world!  She was quite excited when I mentioned that my family was from Daytona.

Following this, the group went to a bar.  The others have been frequenting the bar, but this was my second trip.  We went to a place called Madigan’s Bar, which features signs from all the schools that have visited it from America.  Sure enough, our group had already been there and a sign was already hanging by the time I visited.

Tomorrow sees the group take a gondola tour down the Grand Canal.  I am extremely excited.  We have gotten great views from the vaporetto of Venice, but this is the perfect, relaxing sightseeing tour.  I cannot wait.  Ciao from Venezia

PS: Use the link from my Day 7 post to see pictures of the Ca’Rezzonico and the views of the Grand Canal from it

Day 7

Another action packed day in Venice is complete and now only three days remain in this beautiful city.  Time is flying and before I know it I will be leaving the watery city of Venice for the rolling hills of Tuscany and Florence.

We began this morning by walking to the other side of Venice.  We were headed for the Jewish section of town, known as “Il Ghetto”.  It is famous because this is where the word ghetto came from.  There were three types of Jews who lived in Venice: German, French, and Italian jews.  The area was named after the word “jetto”, but the Germans could not pronounce this word and accidentally said ghetto.  This would eventually become the word that would be associated with the area.  Jews were strictly forbidden in Venice to hold most jobs, so they became moneylenders.  There were two bridges that connected the Jewish island to the rest of Venice, but these were guarded by Venetian guards.  The Jews were free to go as they pleased during the day, but would not be allowed out at night.

We did the synagogue tour around Il Ghetto.  We viewed the German and French synagogues, and saw the Italian synagogue from outside.  All three of them are no longer used.  We then took a short walk to the newer Spanish and Levantine synagogues, which are currently in use.  I had never been in a synagogue and found it quite neat.  All men had to wear kippah’s and that was interesting.  The most interesting thing of the synagogue is in the architecture.  Women are not allowed in the main section, so they have to build viewing platforms known as “Women’s Galleries”.  Another interesting fact is every synagogue has an architectural mistake.  Jews believe that since synagogues were made my man, they cannot be perfect, as man is not perfect.  Every synagogue has a mistake in the architecture, whether it be floor tiling or wall art.  I found this quite interesting.

The group then split up and a friend and I decided to take the vaporetto to St. Mark’s Square, so we could climb St. Mark’s Campanile, the main bell tower of Venice.  We had heard about the amazing views and were quite excited to see them.  We reached the Square and were informed that the bell tower was closed due to restoration.  We decided to head across the canal to San Giorgio Maggiore Island, which was home to a church, a monastery, and another bell tower.  We paid three euros and took a fast glass elevator to the top.  The views were stunning.  We could see up and down the Guidecca Canal, St. Mark’s Square, the entire island of Venice, the Lido, Cemetery Island, the Venetian Islands and the indutrial mainland of Mestre.  The scenes were breathtaking and we were both really glad we went to this bell tower, as we believe it offered a better view than what St. Mark’s Campanile would have offered.

We took the elevator back down and toured the church on the island.  It was a beautiful Catholic Church that is known for its Gregorian chanting.  I lit a candle in the Church in honor of my family, did the sign of the cross, and then we boarded the vaporetto back for St. Mark’s Square.

We decided we really wanted to see St. Mark’s Square from the air so we paid five euros to climb to the top of St. Mark’s Basilica.  The basilica is not very tall, but it gave us a nice view of the square down below.  We then took the vaporetto back towards our hotel and got sandwiches to go in preparation for class.

Today we discussed “The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare.  I have to say I am one person who hates Shakespeare.  I have never been as bored reading books as I have when I read Shakespeare.  I debated a Shakespeare class and am so glad I did not take it.

We returned to the room after watching the movie version of Shakespeare’s play, and I took a nap.  The guys went out for a quick dinner and now I am back finishing this blog.

Tomorrow we will tour a museum that focuses on Venetian life in the 18th century.  Thursday will be a gondola ride and Friday will feature a tour of the three main Venetian Islands: Murano, Burano, and Torcello.  Murano is famous for its glass and we will tour a glass making factory.  Burano is famous for lace and we may tour a lace factory.  Torcello is known as the quiet island and I’m sure it will be quite peaceful there.

Three days remain in Venice as this trip is reaching its conclusion.  Every day has impressed me and I realize how lucky I am to be in this city.  I hope everyone is getting a nice taste of Venice and I hope your enjoying almost as much as me.  Ciao from Venezia.

Here is the link to the next photo album:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2514734793337.2117354.1402200167&type=1&l=ca09d0d7d3

Day 6

Bonjourno.  Monday is already over here in Venezia and it has been another relaxing day.  We have gotten most of the touristy stuff out of the way and are taking relaxing trips to other places in the city.  Today saw us visit the Lido.

For those of you who don’t know, the Lido is the beach for Venetians.  It is an 11 mile sandbar island located opposite the Venetian Lagoon from Venice.  On the other side of the island is the Adriatic Sea.  We took a vaporetto from Accademia to the Lido, and got off.  We immediately noticed a major difference from Venice: There were cars.  These were the first automobiles I had seen in Italy.  I was quite excited!

We walked from the vaporetto stop towards the beach.  We came to the main road that runs along the beach and started walking down it.  We couldn’t see the beach along the road, but we stopped at the major beach hotel on the island: The Grand Hotel Des Bains.  The hotel is famous for its filming during the movie “Death in Venice”.  Unfortunately the hotel was recently closed and is being renovated into condos.

We then headed for the public beach access and arrived on the sand.  We were actually at the beach! In Winter! In Venice!  It was a pretty wide beach, but didn’t have much wave action.  Being January it was empty, but I can only imagine the crowds in Summer.  Dr. Ron Schroeder took us to the beach part in front of the hotel.  The hotel had over 100 cabanas for its customers.  These were all lined up in rows in front and it would have been terrible to have a back row cabana.  After the beach, we walked along the beach road and arrived at an old Jewish cemetery.  Men had to cover their heads and if they didn’t have anything to cover it with, they were given a kippah to wear.  Luckily my friend gave me a hat.  The cemetery reminded me of the kind of cemetery you would see in Charleston SC or Savannah, GA; one covered in moss and tall mossy trees.  It was quite beautiful.

We took the vaporetto back to Accademia and went our separate ways for lunch.  After lunch we watched part of the film “Death in Venice” before class ended around 4.

Me and two others then decided to head for Chiesa di San Rocco, which is known as Venice’s “Sistene Chapel.”  We had fun walking and getting lost, but we never found the actual church.  We eventually made it to the island we thought it was on as it got dark, but we were driven away by blue police lights.  We thought we would only see one police boat, as we only saw the lights on the canal.  We turned the corner and saw four police boats.  We crossed the bridge and were passed by policemen with full bulletproof shields and they seemed in a hurry.  We decided that it would be best to turn around.

We went back to the hotel and the group went out to dinner around 7:30.  I had ravioli and some gelato before returning back to the hotel where I am currently blogging.  THe group is debating if we are going to get up in the morning to watch the Alabama-LSU National Championship game.  Who knows what we will do.

Tomorrow should be an interesting day.  We are doing a tour of Venice’s Jewish section known as “Il Ghetto.”  It is in fact known as the first ghetto in the world.  The ghetto is on the exact opposite side of the main island of Venice, so it promises to be quite a hike.  A few of us might try to climb St. Mark’s Campanile to see the wonderful view of Venice as well.

The activities are starting to slow down, and while I am enjoying Venice, I’m beginning to get more excited about the rest of my trip.  We have seen most of what Venice has to offer and it makes me excited to see Florence and Rome.  For all of those in America, I hope you have a great night and enjoy the national championship game.  Ciao from Venezia

PS Here is the link for pictures from The Lido

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2509234135824.2117233.1402200167&type=1&l=2b822b842c

Pictures

Here are the links to pictures from the Catholic Mass and Isola di San Michele

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2501485942124.2117071.1402200167&type=1&l=271c43062c

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2504084127077.2117127.1402200167&type=1&l=6771ea67c0

Day 5

The weekend is over here in Northern Italy and it will now be a week since I left the United States for Venice.  This was a pretty productive weekend and today featured an incredible event: my first Catholic Mass outside of the US.

I awoke at 5 am with a horrible charlie horse, and I wondered if this was going to be the beginning of a bad day.  Thankfully it wasn’t.

I headed to St. Mark’s Square at 9 am to get ready for the 9:30 AM English Mass at Chiesa di San Zulian, a catholic church located just behind the square.  I got in and began taking pictures before I was yelled at for taking these photos.  Turns out photography is not allowed inside San Zulian.  Woops.  The church is not a large one, with only eight or nine rows of pews that did not go from one end of the building to the other.  The walls were adorned with paintings of God, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and other Christian scenes.  There were about four or five shrines located in the Church, and the roof featured a beautiful painting.

People began arriving and by the time Mass began there was about 35-40 people including nuns.  I looked down at the pamphlet for Mass and realized that this Mass was not in English, it was in Italian.  I discovered the English mass had moved to 11:30.  So here I was, an American Catholic with no knowledge of Italian whatsoever, sitting in a beautiful Catholic Church in Venice.  The organ began and everyone stood as a young priest came to the altar.  He looked about thirty-five years old and began in Italian.  I wondered if I would be able to make it through the whole thing.

I couldn’t understand what the priest was saying, but my knowledge with Catholicism helped me to get the gist.  I recognized the Gloria, the Holy, Holy, Holy and other chants and was able to sing along with them.  The couple in front of me sang quite loudly, and it was quite peculiar because they had their dog in Mass as well.  The priest came around and sprinkled everyone with holy water and delivered what appeared to be a powerful homily.   I had no clue what he was saying, but his hands were going everywhere and everyone around me nodded like they were entranced in his message.

St. John’s Catholic Church in Oxford, Mississippi recites the Agnes Dei in Latin and because of that I was able to speak along with the rest of Mass.  I went up and received Communion from a Deacon and returned to my seat ,noticing that the wafer was a lot thinner than American ones and it just dissolved in my mouth.

After Mass, as I prepared to leave, one lady approached me and could tell I was American.  She told me that it was exciting that I had gone to an Italian Mass and wished me and my family back home a blessed New Years.  I talked to the Priest for only a second, and he wished me a pleasant stay in Venice.  He spoke very little English.  I then headed back to the hotel and stopped for a croissant.

At about 1:30, a few of us went and got food from a pizza and kebob place.  I had a slice of cheese pizza and it was quite good, but it cause a filling to fall out and now it looks like I will have to get another  filling for my tooth.  We headed back to the hotel and the entire group headed for the Accademia Vaporetto Stop (WaterBus stop).

We boarded the vaporetto to head towards Isola di San Michele, also known as Cemetery Island, located in the Venetian Lagoon.  Anyone who dies in Venice or wants to be buried in Venice, is buried on the island.  We had to take the Vaporetto from Accademia and transfer at St. Mark’s to catch the boat out to the island.  It took about an hour to arrive.

We were given free reign on the island and went to the different grave plots.  We saw the grave of poet Ezra Pound and the grave of composer Igor Stravinsky.  We also saw the Children’s Cemetery, which can only be described by the word “haunting”.  We then went to the front gates, where all those buried on Cemetery Island are processed through.  We then boarded the vaporetto again and headed back to St. Mark’s Square.

We found a restaurant where they served spaghetti and meat sauce and they headed back for the hotel.  We stopped for some gelato, before retiring for the night.

Tomorrow sees the group head to Venice’s Lido, which is the beach area for the region.  The Lido is an 11 mile sandbar on the Adriatic Sea and it promises to be an interesting experience.  So for now Ciao from Venezia.