Letters from Abroad

BOLOGNA, Italy– Venice is one of those cities that you must see before you die. I spent last weekend in the “city of bridges,” and if I die tomorrow, I will have a smile on my face. It was truly one of the best trips of my life. \n My friend, Maureen, and I decided that we would like to do our Christmas shopping in Venice this year. We wanted to see the canals and enjoy the crisp, fall weather. I had seen pictures and read descriptions of the city before and I knew that it would be quaint. My friend, on the other hand, had visited the city before, and wanted to be with me when I saw my first gondola. The girl should be made a saint. \nI literally dragged her into every Venetian mask shop on the peninsula. The city is known for these fantastical faces that the citizens and tourists from all over the world purchase and wear at the Carnivale in February – a Mardi Gras celebration without all of the flashing. There were at least 10 shops on each street where Venetians vended these papier-mache, hand-painted miniature masterpieces. Words fail to describe the intricate details that made these masks wearable art. \nWe also hopped a ferry to the island of Murano where the world-famous Venetian glass is produced. We wandered around the island, and actually got to witness a glassblower at work. The little man had been working in his studio for 50 years, since he was 11 years old. He showed us how to make tiny little horses out of a hot blob of molten glass. \nA word to the wise-traveler when planning a voyage to Venice – learn a few words of Italian. Maureen and I are still years away from fluency, but our rudimentary knowledge was greatly appreciated by the locals. We acted as translators on multiple occasions for large groups of American tourists, and we were well received by the Italians. Also, don’t buy a map. The best way to truly discover a city is just to walk around blindly. \nOur first day in Venice was capped by a delicious seafood dinner in a quiet little corner restaurant. Obviously it is favored by all kinds of tourists, as CNN anchor Anderson Cooper was sitting at the table right behind ours! We spent the night in Hotel Adua on the main street in town, and woke up the next morning to a gondola race on the Grand Canal. We visited the Palazzo del Doge, Piazza San Marco and gazed out at San Giorgio Maggiore from the Bridge of Sighs. \nThe city has a rich mercantile, political and artistic history. I believe that it was one of the first true cities of the Renaissance, based upon its intellectual atmosphere created by trade with eastern cultures. Traces of the Byzantine style can be seen in the architecture and in the famous Venetian school of painting. In one room of the Palazzo del Doge, I had to resist the urge to lie on the floor to better soak in Tintoretto’s ornate ceiling frescos. \nBy the time Maureen and I caught our train back to Bologna on Sunday evening, we could barely walk. I had finally broken in my new Italian leather boots, and I didn’t think I could ever move again. We came to the conclusion that the best trips end in a feeling of complete exhaustion and contentment.