Hello! So life in Venice has really kicked in now, I feel like I am really getting the hang of the tiny streets and endless canals. With that being said I do just look up and admire my surroundings every single day still. The first week here really was made up of exploring everything Venice has to offer. We of course have visited all the landmarks quite a lot, but I felt they deserve their own separate post! So for now I really want to show you the area that surrounds my apartment (so weird still).
We live in Castello, right next to the Arsenale vaparetto stop. This area sits just outside the prime tourist location and is a lot more residential. So we wondered around Castello until we got towards St. Elena which is were the big park is. It is amazing how each and every building in Venice seems to be unique. The architecture of this place is not like anything I have ever seen before and I have heard so many people, who are much more well travelled then me, say the same.
How is it that Venetians even make washing look cool?!
We have learnt a lot already about Venice and the Venetian culture. For example Venetians actually tend to walk on the left and all have their own dialect! But that's just two fun facts for you. Everything is actually built on top of huge wooden piles (almost like vertical logs to you and me?!) which is why the city is supposed to be sinking as they just move further and further under the water. My bedroom actually seems to be at a funny angle because every morning I wake up my bed has moved away from the wall. Me and my flatmates decided to test this theory by letting a ping pong ball go in my room. It straight away rolled from one wall to another so yeah my room is wonky which is quite funny haha. Our landlord explained to us that all the water sucks all the moisture out of the walls which is why all the buildings have crumbling plaster all over their outsides. Never the less the buildings still look beautiful.
After walking around and just generally being in ore of the place we found a few free exhibitions in Arsenale which are apart of the huge Biennale exhibition which is currently all over Venice, and something I will be visiting very soon! We viewed two and they were both so interesting, particularly one on Neo-Orientalism that we found. But as a literature student I do love anything to do with the theory of Orientalism. So if anyone is in Venice before the 22nd November I recommended you go and see at least one!
After all the walking we were starving so we came out to walk along the front of the lagoon to find somewhere to eat. I got to try my first pizza here and it really did not disappoint! I wish I could have got a picture of it now though, but I was just so hungry I eat it all pretty quickly haha. Whilst eating Venice was hit with a massive thunder storm. The picture above is one I managed to get of the lagoon just before the clouds split open. It was actually amazing to watch the lighting hit the water, and it was proper lighting, not the kind I have seen in England anyway! Before this it was a hot day so we were all in our Summer gear and with still a bit of a walk home we were going to get soaked. Luckily there was a man selling waterproof ponchos, so we all snapped up one of those each, in different colours of course and this was the outcome!
Pretty I know, I was clearly really happy..
But overall I am over the moon about living here and experiencing Venice in all types of weather! It was a wonderful first few days and I think just wondering around and seeing where we ended up really did help us get our bearings. We also spent a bit of time at San Marco's square the next night so that is what's in the next post! Thanks guys!
*All pictures are my own.
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