SB 2011: Venice!

So our trip in Florence was freaking sweet and I so wish I could go back already, well sort of the weather in CPH has been more than fantastic. Spring is finally here! and I'm so so glad because winter was brutal and this is so worth it. I had a run in with the Danish coast again; I run by an open area and people were out tanning. It's not really warm enough to tan but it is sunny enough so I suppose if being a bit chilly is okay with you, go for it. I thought about trekking into the city to go to the gym, but thought all I'd do is run on the treadmill anyway, so why waste the commuting time and the weather. Anyway, I also realized today that I live pretty much right up the street from the Polish and Swiss Embassies/residences; it was weird I looked up and there it was, I suppose I'm to busy looking down at my feet so I don't trip on cobblestones and never really noticed it. Back to the point, Venice; Taylor and I arrived in Venice Tuesday afternoon and somehow found our way to our hostel. Seriously the directions they gave us were so wrong, it did not take 8 minutes to walk to the first bridge so we got all confused, plus Venice is already a confusing mess if you aren't familiar with the streets and addresses. So our hostel was a shitty mess, no offense to anyone who found the dirty, law bending hostel great, but it was seriously a dump. When they kick you out and make you store your luggage at the train station because they can't have excess luggage there when they're being inspected and the 32 beds that were there the night before were reduced to 12, you know there is a serious problem. Thanks Hostelworld, you're the best. But in all seriousness, 32 people with 2 bathrooms is not normal. Enough complaining, the price was right, the people were nice, and we only had to stay there two nights so it could have turned out a lot worse. Plus I ran into several NOVA kids that I'd never met before but we played sports against each other and knew some of the same people! Isn't that crazy? What a small world, and I ran into a couple from Oakton at the airport, so crazy. Anyhow, we got there and immediately started exploring, we were bummed because St. Marks is half covered up due to cleaning, how lame. But besides that it was so so beautiful. We adventured around for the rest of the afternoon and found the coolest invention ever! A Frulala, it's a smoothie shop with parfaits, etc. that also does Sangria and alcoholic smoothies, so awesome. It was nice to have a really delicious cocktail for a change. We took more and more pictures, then headed back to the hostel for group dinner. I was surprised that they cooked for us and all the people, it was actually a delicious pasta dish. We ate late, so we pretty much just hung out with all the other hostelers.

So Venetian!

Daily offloads, they don't have big trucks like back home, no roads!

Silly St. Mark's

Some tourists, not like us at all.

Day 2: So we headed out and got coffee like the Italians do, small and super strong. We also got to taste how the Venetians did pastries, which was a must. (I promise I'm kicking my butt at the gym after the vacation.) Then we headed to the Academy Gallery, an art museum. I got to see the Tempest and The Feast in the House of Levi, SO GREAT, I studied a bunch of the works in my Art History class and was so excited to see them in person. it was funny while taking the class I was like oh I'll never see them in person, blah, blah, BUT no I did really get to experience them. We made sure to do some Murano glass shopping and looked into the cute Venetian boutiques. It's crazy to think that other people actually live in the places I've vacationed to, for me it's just a trip but those are their real lives. Anyway, we did a ton of exploring and getting ourselves lost.

From the top of St. Mark's

The Feast in the House of Levi, so awesome!

Day 3: We did the Peggy Guggenheim art museum and I loved it. I love Alexander Calder and Picasso and they were both there, plus its garden is so awesome. We went up the top of St. Mark's to look at the mosaic ceiling and the views from outside. It was so awesome and it was bright and sunny; I loved it. We made sure to get a lot of sun; we hoped to return with a little tan (it didn't really happen, but there is a little line on my arm). So we hung out near the Rialto and tanned a bit with a bunch of Spanish kids. Oh and we got strawberries from the local market, they were tasty and we felt untouristy.

We stayed at the greatest hotel on Thursday night, Taylor's dad hooked us up because our hostel, the law bending one wouldn't have us for another night. So we stayed at the Danialli, it was the most beautiful hotel ever.  

Inside the Guggenheim garden

View from the Rialto 

Day 4: We're leaving Venice today (and I'm supposed to be off to Paris today). At the hotel, they had the most amazing terrace restaurant that we had breakfast at. It was amazing! Like super delicious and it was included in our room so I had several cappuccinos. Also, we met Bob and his rich American friends at breakfast. Some guy named Bob had his birthday in Florence and he and his friends ventured to Venice. They were super posh-ish, wearing their Chanel, but they were impressed with our worldiness and we weren't that impressed with them. Anyway, the views were amazing and awesome and well worth the trip in the elevator to the top floor :). We went to the Doge palace after that, we bought tickets for a different museum the day before and it included the palace. And it was gorgeous, people we having their wedding photos taken there too. It was the King's palace and government rooms and prison all in one. Of course, it's now just a beautiful tourist destination, but a while ago it was quite the location.We made sure to do a cheap gondola ride, 50 euro cents and 2 minutes, but it was necessary and I didn't have 80 euros to spend on a boat ride. We got to see the Rialto fish market, a must just because it smells so fishy, plus it's cultural and they recommend it in all the books. We also had a really cool water taxi ride to the airport, of course I didn't end up leaving until the next day, but I'll fill you in about that later.

Our luxurious room

The terrace view! We were so so lucky.

Doge Palace

Wedding pictures, NBD.

My first and (most likely last) gondola ride!

Riding in style