Un Viaggio Italiano: Nathan's Visit and our trip to Venice!

As I mentioned in the previous post, Nathan arrived safely in Florence on Sunday afternoon. The following Monday, we got to sleep in and I went to my Italian class. I took Nathan to the market, we had lunch, and then we headed over to the Pitti Palace to go to the Boboli Gardens, which was absolutely perfect. I hadn't been around trees or grass since I have come to Italy, and it definitely made me a happy camper. Everything smelled so fresh and perfect, and it made me miss Kansas a little. The garden becomes a maze if you decide to go on paths less traveled. We went from 4:30PM until closing time, right when the sun was beginning to set, and we could overlook Tuscan countryside. We left the palace at the perfect time, because as we were crossing the Arno River, the sunset was turning into pink and purplish hues, one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen since I have been here. It was such a perfect day, filled with much laughter and carefree wandering around a forest. We took many pictures and got some celebratory gelato afterwards.

The next few days were, well, awful...to put it nicely. Except for some excursions to the Uffizi and the Accademia (to see the David of course), I spent most of my time studying. Midterms were a lot more difficult than everyone expected, and it felt like a horrified version of finals week. At KU, I am used to having one, maybe two midterms, but here it was a requirement that every class had a midterm. There was more required information than I realized, and I ended up cramming last minute (knowing me, this is NOT something I ever do) late into some nights, and I don't quite understand how my friends or boyfriend live that horrific lifestyle of all nighters and multiples of caffeinated beverages...ugh. Never again. Overall I think I did alright, but it wasn't an easy week! Thank goodness I had Nathan Riley here to help me study.

On Thursday, I finished my Michelangelo midterm with a bang, and then Nathan and I headed off to the train station to catch a train to Padua. We got there around 2:30ish and were scheduled to visit the Scrovegni Chapel at 5pm. This is a very famous chapel where Giotto painted a serious of frescoes depicting the life of Christ. I have written probably 2-3 papers on this specific place, and it has been on my bucket list to go see it ever since my sophomore year of high school. The chapel is quite small, and it is in a beautiful garden area full of grass and trees. Reservations and entrance procedures were extremely strict. You MUST book in advance. You are not allowed to take a single bag (even a tiny purse) inside. They only allow 25 people inside for 15 minute increments, and the room is highly ventilated and air conditioned to perfect temperatures which run through cycles every 30 minutes. This is in order to protect and maintain preservation of the frescoes, and honestly I was very impressed with these methods. We were put into an "air conditioned room" (it's hilarious to me how much they emphasized this) for 15 minutes to watch a movie about the chapel, and then we were let inside. It was so perfect...it was everything I had imagined and more. I saw so much detail in the frescoes, something you can never see in a textbook replica. The scenes looked bigger than I imagined too, and I loved the ceiling covered in gold stars and a bright blue sky. We weren't allowed to take pictures (obviously) so here is a photo from google images...

Go see it in person if you are ever in Italy! Such a precious, historical treasure.

After that, we took a train over to Venice, our destination for the next 2 days. We got there around 7PM, and it was already dark! Confused like none other, we realized we needed to take a water taxi to our bed and breakfast. Apparently we missed our stop, so we had to go on a different water taxi to the correct location. We were struggling for sure, and it didn't help that it was completely dark and we had no idea where we were going. We finally got off at our stop (Celestia) and the place was DESERTED. Not a soul in sight. It was incredibly creepy, and we did not have a map or anything to help us. The only noises that could be heard were water (from the streets) and boats hitting each other from the wind being blown. It was also freezing outside, and we did not properly prepare for this weather. We wandered around, and finally ran into a couple who helped us find our place. They were so kind that they even walked us up to the front door! Hallelujah.

We walk in and run into Santos, the owner. Words cannot describe how awkward this man was. He asked me "Why don't you speak Italian? You are in Italy, you know!" which I had no idea how to answer. He then talked on and on forever about things (that I don't even remember) and then would laugh like a character from Beevis and Butthead. (Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh...). We were starving, and he recommended us to a place not far from the hotel. We walk in, the place looking like it was about to close for the night, and they sat us immediately and gave us menus. We had the most awkward waitress I have ever had, and she probably spoke only two words of English. We decided to name her Gert, and we joked throughout the trip how strange Gert and Santos were. Although the food was amazing (and relatively cheap for Venice), it was no doubt a night of awkwardness, and Nathan and I began to wonder if everyone in Venice was just plain strange.

The next morning we woke up and explored the city with no agenda in mind. It clearly was the best experience we had. We explored untravelled roads and saw gorgeous views of typical Venice. We did walk by the tourist areas (San Marco Square, Rilato Bridge), and it definitely was too much. Although extremely touristy and sometimes overpriced, we went on a Gondola ride. It was amazing! We were able to talk down the price to the Gondolier (man who captains the gondola? I don't know..) and got it for 60 euros for 30 minutes (30 euros each) which was REALLY cheap....I have heard of Gondola rides being 90 euros for 20 minutes. It was worth it for sure. He took us around quiet areas of Venice, sang to us, and told us the history of the area and the buildings. It was a pleasant experience, and it was indeed another thing to cross off my bucket list.

We continued to wonder off a bit, trying to stay away from tourists and still get a good feel of the city. Venice truly is a unique place...there is nothing else like it. It felt like such a labyrinth, and half the time we were lost we ran into water and had to turn around. We found the area of the two museums I wanted to see: The Academia and The Guggenheim around the Grand Canal. We went into both museums and had such a wonderful time. In the Academia, I saw Giorgione's The Tempest. That work was on my Lost Codes and Secret Symbols in Art midterm! The Guggenheim was filled with modern art, which was honestly so wonderful to see after studying much Renaissance art all semester. There was even an outdoor sculpture garden with interactive pieces! We had such a blast, and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Venice. We also spent an arm and a leg at the gift shop, buying posters and post cards of our favorite pieces. Money well spent.

We headed back to the hotel for a quick power nap, and then we decided to go visit Gert again for dinner. This time was much less awkward, and we tipped her 1 euro which gave her the biggest smile on her face! I almost wish I had a picture. We bought tickets to go see a Venetian Opera, and almost arrived late! We were relying on Nathan's Blackberry to map quest us there, but for some reason it wasn't working well and it took us much longer to get to our destination. We got there a minute late, sat down, and then the show started! Perfect. However, we were slightly confused and accidentally did not see an opera, but an orchestra concert. Pretty much, we watched people in old Venetian costumes play string instruments. It was very good and the musicians were extremely talented, but we were sad that we didn't see any opera singing. I have missed going to orchestra concerts, though. We found our way back to the hotel safely, thanks to the GPS on Nathan's phone.

The next day was more of a travel day. We ate breakfast, said goodbye to Santos, took a water taxi to the train station and caught our train back to Florence. We made it back in the early afternoon, and spent time shopping for souvenirs for friends back home. We got one last fancy and expensive dinner, and decided to actually get dessert with it. It has been so nice having him here with me, because I have missed my best friend so much! Thank you for such a wonderful and helpful week. :)

Now, my mom and sister (Jamie) are here in Florence with me during my fall break. They got in Saturday (last) night, and this morning we slept until 11AM...how wonderful! I then gave them a little tour around Florence, went to Gusta Pizza for lunch, and then swung by Santa Maria del Carmine to see the Brancacci Chapel which has gorgeous frescoes by Masaccio, which include Tribute Money and Expulsion from the Garden of Eden. If you have ever taken an art history class, you will have definitely seen these works in a textbook!