Vado a Venezia

In general, my pictures from Venice did not turn out as well as those from my previous trips. So you, my fair reader, will be spared from another picture spam. As I have already told some of you, I found Venice to be exactly what I expected: ridiculously touristy, obnoxiously crowded, pigeon-infested, yet still, absurdly charming. It is hard to turn a corner without wandering into another idyllic photo opportunity. However, it is also just hard to turn a corner, because there are so many flipping people. I can't imagine what the city is like in the height of tourist season.

This was my first time this trip experiencing other American tourists, as we witnessed two women from South Carolina spend about 5 minutes pestering the Italian washroom attendant about their bowel movements, and complaining about the lack of public restrooms in the city. In all honesty, they were talking down to her like she was about 5 years old, and if I were her, I wouldn't have responded to them either. However, I think I learned some good new Italian curse words from her. So overall, a helpful experience for me. (This picture of Piazza San Marco fails to convey the hoards of people. I just really like that girl's sunglasses. Reminder to me: go look for a similar pair.)

We went to Venice on a Sunday just for the day. We caught a very early train, which unfortunately left us all a bit exhausted for the rest of the day. We didn't make it to most of the museums, but instead spent our time just wandering around the city, sitting by the water eating gelato, and touring San Marco's Basilica.

We weren't allowed to take flash photography so please excuse the quality of the photograph. It in no way does the Basilica justice. It is truly beautiful. The whole building glows. It's the most famous church in Venice and considered one of the best examples of preserved Byzantine architecture in Italy. I won't bore you with more history, but I'm glad I spent the extra money to go through the small museum upstairs. I find mosaics a fascinating artistry, and the church is famous for its collection. I lit a candle for each of my grandparents and wondered when my life became so entirely divorced from religion. I know the reasons behind it, but considering my upbringing, it was strange to realize I couldn't recount the last time I stepped inside a church.

On a less self-indulgent note, those gondolas right there? 80 euros a pop for less than an hour. You want them to sing? Play accordion? That's another 30. Romantic, no doubt, but certainly impractical. We did see one couple getting rather amorous in one, (in broad daylight) so I guess they do have their purpose. We also wandered around the edges of the Rialto food markets, sampled some exceptional hot peppers, and learned about the delicacy of cuttlefish ink.

I lied, more pictures. I wish I knew anything about this building but I couldn't find any information. If you have any, please share.

Cinqueterre is for lovers

SUMMARY: Cinque Terre consists of five villages on the Italian Riviera. It is picturesque and beautiful and again, totally packed with tourists. We hiked, we drank, and we went to an anchovy festival. That picture up there is Vernazza's harbor, which is town #4. It was pretty ok.

Ok, for those of you who want more information (Hi Mom), feel free to read on.

Following the grand tradition of freshmen year behavior, we traveled with a group of about 15 people over to Cinque Terre. I was concerned that traveling with such a large group was going to be a huge hassle, but everyone was so easy going and considerate that there were no major issues. There were two other large groups from SAIS also going the same weekend and we all took over the train in a rather loud way. There were bottles of wine and snacks and our car was embarrassingly empty of Italians by the time we arrived. That said, everyone in Cinque Terre spoke English and the general tourist make-up seemed mostly to be kids studying abroad, and German senior citizens. The latter totally out hiked us.

The main trail goes along the water from Riomaggiore (#1) all the way to Monterosso (#5). The picture up there is from relatively early on in the trail. It gets more difficult (stepper, and less paved) as you go on. We took a break in each town to wander around a bit. In general, though lovely, the towns are so oriented towards tourism that I fear they have lost most of the charm that made them tourist sites to begin with. Perhaps with the exception of Corniglia (#3), because it is the most isolated, off the water and up almost 400 stairs. I know it is completely hypocritical for me to complain about, but that was the general consensus.
Once you get through Corniglia you are so high up that you are actually hiking along local vineyards and olive groves. The contrast of the beautiful green vineyards above the clear aquamarine water was incredible, and definitely worth the trip, despite any of my complaints. Also in the plus column, the area is famous for its pesto and its focaccia, both of which were infinitely better than anything else, ever. A local specialty is pesto with sliced potato and this thick tube-like pasta. So awesome. Additionally, they sell pasta in the shape of the Eucharist here, in case the religious consumption urge hits you. Lastly, I hear the seafood is also amazing, but I wouldn't know about that, despite my traveling companions' best efforts. I was harassed at one point by a talking fish named Fred, but I'd rather not elaborate.

Most of the mountainsides are heavily terraced, and reminded me of what I saw in Peru when I went to visit Gillian and Chris. Here is a lovely (almost) side by side comparison.
























We finally made it to Monterosso (#5), which I believe is the lowest town, and also the most sprawled out. The beaches were beautiful, albeit rocky, and if this posting wasn't so photo overloaded I would provide one. You'll have to google it instead. We hung out at the beach and went out for a great dinner, followed by wine in the streets while participating in the local Anchovy Festival. The Anchovies of Monterosso are a local specialty designated with a Protected Designation of Origin status from the European Union.* There was music and dancing and the locals seemed relatively amused by our terrible attempts to dance along with them. I knew I should have taken Ms. Thompson's ballroom dancing classes back in middle school.

To end the post, here is a picture of the coast, taken from the beach at Monterosso. Go ahead and see if you can find all four towns in the picture.


*No clue what that means. Blatantly stolen from Wikipedia.