Ciao from Venice!
Today was our first full day in Venice, and we were set to head out to Piazza San Marco at around 10 am -- which for us is a late start. I think we were all pretty excited about those few extra hours of sleep in the morning. After the short trek to the plaza, we were all pretty awestruck by the incredible Basilica San Marco, and its neighboring "Doge" (duke) Palace. In fact, Venice in general is absolutely beautiful and all of the water is very blue. The Basilica San Marco was covered in intricate mosaics from all different time periods. Fun fact, that's because the basilica took CENTURIES to build, so the artwork inside is quite literally from different times. This basilica is also the resting place of Saint Mark, so we were all able to see his tomb while walking through. We also got to hear the legend of how St. Mark's bones ended up in the basilica in Venice. I highly recommend you look this up online -- no spoilers but it may contain a barrel filled with hams.
After visiting the Basilica, we boarded a boat and went to the island of Murano. This island is famous for the glass art sold in stores all over Venice. We were able to go into one of the workshops and watch the artist use a really cool technique to make a glass jar (see pictures below). He was able to shape the jar very quickly, which apparently is necessary as the glass will harden after only a few minutes. The reason that all of the glasswork is done in Murano, despite being famous all over Venice, is because the furnaces were a fire hazard in the city. After watching the demonstration, we got to look around the store for a few minutes and really see how many shapes and patterns these artists are able to create out of glass. Pro-tip for when shopping though: there are many stores in Venice which sell glass jewelry and art for a fraction of the price of the actual workshops in Murano. I am definitely planning on going shopping later at a place that is both cheaper and closer to the hotel so I don't get lost. As Mike says, to get lost in Venice is to get marvel in its beauty, and as it turns out I am pretty good at both.
I would say we definitely had a successful first day in Venice!
Ciao for Now!
-Hannah
P.S. -- I don't have enough wifi to upload any of the pictures now, but if you want you can check back in a few short days once I am back at Elon! :)
Today was our first full day in Venice, and we were set to head out to Piazza San Marco at around 10 am -- which for us is a late start. I think we were all pretty excited about those few extra hours of sleep in the morning. After the short trek to the plaza, we were all pretty awestruck by the incredible Basilica San Marco, and its neighboring "Doge" (duke) Palace. In fact, Venice in general is absolutely beautiful and all of the water is very blue. The Basilica San Marco was covered in intricate mosaics from all different time periods. Fun fact, that's because the basilica took CENTURIES to build, so the artwork inside is quite literally from different times. This basilica is also the resting place of Saint Mark, so we were all able to see his tomb while walking through. We also got to hear the legend of how St. Mark's bones ended up in the basilica in Venice. I highly recommend you look this up online -- no spoilers but it may contain a barrel filled with hams.
After visiting the Basilica, we boarded a boat and went to the island of Murano. This island is famous for the glass art sold in stores all over Venice. We were able to go into one of the workshops and watch the artist use a really cool technique to make a glass jar (see pictures below). He was able to shape the jar very quickly, which apparently is necessary as the glass will harden after only a few minutes. The reason that all of the glasswork is done in Murano, despite being famous all over Venice, is because the furnaces were a fire hazard in the city. After watching the demonstration, we got to look around the store for a few minutes and really see how many shapes and patterns these artists are able to create out of glass. Pro-tip for when shopping though: there are many stores in Venice which sell glass jewelry and art for a fraction of the price of the actual workshops in Murano. I am definitely planning on going shopping later at a place that is both cheaper and closer to the hotel so I don't get lost. As Mike says, to get lost in Venice is to get marvel in its beauty, and as it turns out I am pretty good at both.
I would say we definitely had a successful first day in Venice!
Ciao for Now!
-Hannah
P.S. -- I don't have enough wifi to upload any of the pictures now, but if you want you can check back in a few short days once I am back at Elon! :)
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