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Wow, August is not the best time to travel… and boy, did I bring the wrong clothes to come to Europe… I brought thick polos and tshirts, and specifically turned down bringing my track singlets, the thin vnecks and wifebeaters… what a crucial mistake… anyway, I must recount my happenings in Venice.
Venice is a lovely city in many ways, but it is definitely a tourist attraction that can be done in one day. The first day, I saw all of the sights there were to see; there were a two or 3 different large churches, none of which were spectacular, and then there was San Marco Square, which was spectacular. There are no cars in Venice, but only boats. People mostly walk everywhere, or they have their own motorboats, or take motorboat taxis. The gondolas were pretty cool too, but they cost 100 euros for a ride!
San Marcos square was definitely the highlight, along with the Basilica, which was beautiful, and the architecture was unlike anything I have seen so far in Europe. It much more resembled Middle Eastern architecture, rather than ancient European architecture. I did not go inside it, or any of the other museums, just because I was trying to save time and money, and I did not have the desire. Being out in the heat of Venice really drained me. I did go up to the top of the tower in San Marco square and got some great panoramic views of the city, and water.
The streets are very small; I would not even call them streets, but rather a series of allyways that connect larger squares. These allyways are maybe 5-6 feet across, and sometimes smaller than that, and they wind and turn every which way to create a comprehensive labrynth that are perfect for two things: getting lost, and getting robbed. I did plenty of the latter, as even the iPhone had trouble getting reception to give me accurate updates, because it would not have a great view of the sky since the alleys were so narrow. In regards to the latter, crime is really not a problem in Venice. I did see a couple of police officers, but I never felt unsafe. While the narrow alleys would be the perfect place to pounce on people, or the perfect place to deal drugs, or whatever else people think are done in dark alleys, there was none of that in Venice.
Overall, it was a good place, but I wouldn't spend more than a day in the city. Other than a few sites, a couple of overly priced boat rides, and some pizza, there isn't that much more to the city.
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