September 25, 2011

September 25, 2011

This morning, I woke up at 6:00 to watch the sunrise with Erin. She had woken up to watch it the morning before and said it was really beautiful. I really wanted to do it and was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t have to meet her until 6:40. We walked along the canal by our hotel, out to the main channel. The sky was pink and really quite beautiful. We walked all the way to the point where we saw a few professional photographers getting ready to photograph the sunrise. We looped back around, past our hotel and sat down right by the water to wait for the sunrise. The sun rose at about 7:15 and was truly spectacular; definitely worth getting up early for! After the sunrise, we walked a little ways in the other direction. It was so wonderful because only the fishermen were up at this hour. It was so quiet, cool and beautiful outside! As we walked back to our hotel, we saw one more cruise ship coming through the channel! At 8:00, we had breakfast and kind of beat the rush. Erin and I had breakfast with Gail and Jodie. Gail was telling us about what she was doing that day and pulled out a map to show us where she was going. On the map, I also noticed Burano where I had really wanted to go, but didn’t think I would have the time. Mom and Sonja had also encouraged me to go there because it was so beautiful so I asked Gail and Jodie if it would be possible, as we had all of today free until we left at 4:00. I had signed up to go with Jodie to the Academia art museum but she said I should definitely go to Burano and they both said I could definitely do it in the time I had! However, I wasn’t too keen on going along. Because a lot of people really wanted to explore the art museums, it was just Alex and me who ended up going. It worked out perfectly because he had wanted to go to Burano but he had asked a couple people whom had both said no. He had been there before and really wanted to go back…and I just wanted to go!

The two of us left the hotel a little after nine and set out to find where to catch a boat to Burano. We got our boat tickets but had to wait about half an hour until the boat came, which was not a problem at all. We were a little confused by where exactly the boat was going but found out with enough time that we needed to change boats at the second stop to get a boat to Burano. We ended up arriving at the second stop just before the boat to Burano left so we really lucked out! Because of the port we left from, the different stops, and changing boats, it took us about an hour and a half to get there. I was so happy to be out on the water in the boat again though! The views were incredible and it was a beautiful, sunny day. Plus the breeze of the water kept us cool. As we came up to Burano I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had seen photos of the brightly colored houses but I figured it was maybe one row of houses that was that way. But, as we drove up, the island burst with color—every house was a different bright, brilliant color! From the moment I saw it, I felt like I was in the middle of a storybook. We got of the boat and immediately started exploring down side streets and back alleys, taking in all the brilliant colors. I couldn’t stop taking photos, saying “oh my goodness” as we rounded every bend, nor could I stop smiling the whole time we were there. Burano is a magical place…I am serious. It was really incredible to explore so many of the side streets and to see all of the laundry hanging, the little kids playing, and the old women cooking…people actually live here, this is not just a story book! Once we’d taken in lots of the colors and their reflections in the water, we decided to get some lunch. When Alex was here with his family, he ate at a restaurant that had some of the best food he had ever eaten so he really wanted to go there. It was absolutely beautiful, with silk tablecloths (Burano is known for it’s silk-making) and right on the canal. I had gnocchi with fresh basil and tomato sauces that literally melted in your mouth; you didn’t even need to chew it! It was some of the best food I have ever tasted in my life! It was a really beautiful lunch and so relaxing, as well. After lunch, we wandered for a bit longer and then caught the boat home.

We ended up taking a different boat than we had planned but we actually preferred it! It took us back to Venice via Murano so it was a more beautiful ride and much quicker (it took about forty minutes). It was still lovely to be on the boat and to be able to just talk for such an extended period of time. We didn’t have to change boats, which was nice, and this boat dropped us off on a different side of Venice than we had started from. We knew the general direction in which we needed to go but nothing really more than that, which was a lot of fun because we just wandered through random streets and alleys, eventually stumbling upon the old arsenal, which is just beautiful. From there, we walked along the water, taking everything in before we had to leave in a couple of hours. Around three, we decided to head back, walking along the water all the way from the point to San Marco. In the piazza, we got some gelato and then headed back to the hotel. We took the little gondola across and got back well before 4:00. We got our luggage out of the holding room and went to meet our group. At 4:00, our group got back on our private boat, which took us to our bus, which brought us home to Florence a little before 8:00. Franzi and I took the bus home, unpacked and we had dinner a little later, around 8:30. We started out with shell pasta with tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes and mushrooms that was very yummy. For our main course we had omelets (I am really beginning to like omelets!) and, for dessert, we had a jam tart that was lovely, as well. We were all very tired from the weekend so dinner was not as long as it usually is.

After dinner, I typed out all of my blogs from the weekend, which took a little while but I didn’t want to go to bed right after I had eaten a big meal. As I write these last few sentences, however, I am finding it a little difficult to keep my eyes open. I am going to post these blog entries so you can start tackling the process of reading through all of them and then going to straight to bed; I am exhausted. I will post some photos tomorrow when I have the school’s faster Internet because I will fall asleep at the computer if I have to wait for everything to upload tonight. Look for photos sometime tomorrow! Tomorrow marks our first day of the rest of our classes, wish me luck! I am working 10-12:00 for work-study, have an hour and a half for lunch, have Italian from 1:30-2:45 and Dante from 3-4:30 tomorrow. I am really excited to start classes and to have things pick up a little bit and come more regular! But, for now, I must get to bed.

All my love,

Kari