Day 75: Venice

7:45 am: wake up and shower.

8:15: breakfast at the main hotel. We were given: cereal, ham and cheese, biscuits, bread, fruit, yogurt, orange juice, coffee, tea.

8:50: visited monuments at Piazza San Marco including: the Piazza itself, the Piazzetta, Doge's Palace and the Basilica of S. Marco. Within each we viewed frescoes and other works of art. My favorite part was walking over the Bridge of Sighs which connected the palace to the jail. It is called such because as prisoner's would cross and get a glimpse of the light and water of the Canal they would sigh knowing that they were about to be placed in jail.

We took a break and then checked out the basilica of S. Marco. Inside was filled with mosaics. It was so beautiful. Be broke for lunch. I had a cheeseburger and Irish Coffee (cappuccino with Baileys). Next we took a boat to Murano which is known for its glass. We got a demonstration of someone blowing glass. He made a vase and a horse. After going through the shop we headed to the boat and went to Torcello which was a favorite spot of Hemingway. Then we went to Burano which is known for its lace. After a while there, we took the boat back towards Venice.

An hour and a half later we arrived. Kathryn, Melissa, Heather, Jane and I all wandered around the city and went to various shops along the way. After a bit we ran into some other students and formed a giant group. We set a game plan to meet for dinner and ended up going to a Chinese Restaurant. I ate baked duck, fried rice, and split dumplings with pork. There was a big fiasco with paying the bill that basically went like this: We were handed a check with just prices, no words to accompany them, then we tried to add up our meals and then hope that it matched the price on the check (it didn't), so then we had to finally just each pay individually. It was a very complicated situation.

We went back to the hotel for a bit then we walked around as a large group. We finally settled on a place in the S. Marco piazza and listened to someone playing the piano inside one of the restaurants. We spent a few hours here with the large group and it was this moment that I probably enjoyed the most. Getting to know the other students and have an all around great time. After everyone left, Alonzo, Jeremy and I were left. We sat around talking and were approached by the police. They asked for our passports (which I didn't have with me) and then after about 10 minutes of us all standing in an awkward circle as they filled out some form, they said 'thanks' and walked away. Very weird.

I went to bed.