This weekend was our school planned and paid for trip to Venice. Every semester Trinity Rome has a school trip to either Naples/Pompeii (fall) or Venice (spring). While I hope to Naples/Pompeii later in the semester, I am so glad I got the free trip/tours that go along with the spring semester, as it was a non-negotiable destination for me.
We left early Friday morning to embark on our Venetian adventure. After a four hour train ride that included some spectacular views of snow covered mountains, we got our first views of Venice's magic as we walked out of the Santa Lucia train station.
We had three days of tours and free time, and every minute was incredible. It rained and it snowed, but that didn't stop me for spending every free minute walking along the canals. Thomas Mann said Venice is "half fairy-tale and half-tourist trap". Both are absolutely true, and I regret neither. Everything from the green canals to the clichéd gondoliers and their boats; the Ducal Palace, to the souvenir stands wherever you look; St. Marks, to the designed-for-tourists Murano glass shops. We spent three days there and I could have spent every hour of those days just standing on bridges and looking over the canals, or just going in and out of every shop I passed. As it was, I did a little bit of everything and therefore did not do nearly enough of anything.
There were some things that I did not to at all (like actually go for a ride on a gondola), and I realized later that I saw only a fraction of what Venice has to offer. However, I am not disturbed in the least as I simply see the opportunities I missed as an excuse to go back. And if that is the case, I really cannot complain at all as I am completely ensnared in the magic of Venice.
Ciao
J
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