(7) VENICE, ITALY. WHAT A SUPRISE!

Venice, Italy has been advertised to have romance, amazing food, and the fame of being the city build on water. Don’t get me wrong, I love the excitement any place has to offer, but it’s only an idea until you’ve experienced it. Before entering Venice I told myself not to get too excited. That the city is not nearly has beautiful as the picture on Google show, the Gondola Ride at dusk is only romantic in the movies because, well, it’s a movie and everything in movies is “perfect”, and food is food; therefore, I will only expect to eat mediocre pasta. Going in with these expectations, I was prepared to be pleasantly surprised, or happily pleased with my self that I anticipated nothing special.

Venice day 1: The group of students from UNK met at the hostel and made our way to St. Marks Square. If I could say anything about Venice from that walk, it’s that having a map is the most priceless tool to have. Every side walk ends, and every time I turned I was never sure if I had been there before. After being in the city for a couple days, I managed to navigate one or two routes, but that was it. At St. Marks Square we visited the cathedral. It was absolutely beautiful, but I couldn’t appreciate it like I wanted or should have. Every detail was on point, and every painting had a spiritual meaning that would drop most peoples’ jaw. In my case, I found it hard to appreciate the architecture and meaning, not because it isn’t amazing, but because we have seen so many cathedrals in the past. Although it was a shame that it felt just like another cathedral, I left knowing I had seen something created by the hands of passionate architects and sculptors. I think I appreciated that more than anything, the passion for creation.

The next part of day one was filled with surprises. The food of choice for the evening was of course pasta. When in Italy, do is the Italians do! At least I thought that was the best idea when ordering my pesto pasta. I will say it surprised me by being above average! The Gondola ride was also a surprise. We cruised through the city “streets” just as the sun was setting. I got some amazing picture, which I believe could be advertised on Google images. All in all, day one was the second most surprising part of Venice.

            Venice day 2: This was the most eventful day in Venice, but I will only elaborate a little. Not because I don’t have anything to say about the city, but because it is difficult to explain what I saw. In the morning a group of us headed to St. Marks Square, which is next to the shoreline. From here we got the most beautiful view of the city. Venice has a curve to it almost like the city is circling a body of water. If you walk far enough down the coastline you can see the skyline of the city. The architecture of Venice looks untouched by modern buildings, and it creates a fairy tail like atmosphere. There are so many words to describe the city, but it would be monotonous to wright.

            Overall, I found Venice to be a surprise. I made it out to be a city overhyped and overrated by tourists who got caught up in the idea of the city. After going I can say that Venice is an ideal place to go for a few days. Like I said the Island is small so there isn’t too much to see. However, I would highly recommend visiting at least once in your lifetime.