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Venice.. One of the top locations on my bucket list! Wake up call was 6:00 so we could ensure we actually made the 7:25 train since we went through so much trouble to get the tickets! Alyssa, Karina, Olivia, Austin, and I napped and arrived in Venice in 3 and a half hours. The train station is literally located right on the Grand Canal which is the main waterway that runs through Venice. We walked out of the station to one of the most amazing views I have ever seen! We bought tickets for the vaporetto, which is the public boat transportation system that you use to navigate the city. Since our hotel, Le Boulevard, was located in Lido right off of Venice, we hopped on the vaporetto to drop off our luggage. The ride was so perfect that we did not even feel the need to go on a gondola ride. The Grand Canal is completely picturesque, lined with beautifully unique buildings ranging from apartments to churches to restaurants and hotels. Many contained balconies with flowers since there is really no room for shrubbery or backyards in the city. You can even spot little gardens and pools on the rooftops of the buildings. Some buildings contained sculptured faces over the arch of the windows which was an interesting aspect of the cities architecture. The city is sinking a little bit each year, so you can see steps in the water that used to be above ground.
I have concluded that Italian businesses go by the phrase, "The customer is never right." We encountered the rudest service ever at our hotel that was simply laughable. I was almost not allowed to stay in the hotel because I forgot my passport, whoooops! We headed back to Venice via vaporetto and grabbed pizza at a small cafe with a garden. While on the boat, we spotted a beautiful church that had to be St. Mark's Basilica and took so many pictures! Then we spotted another one that had to be St. Mark's Basilica and took so many pictures! Then we realized that Venice is simply crawling with beautiful churches and neither were actually St. Mark's.. Such tourist problems!
It was incredible to just wander the narrow streets and alleyways of Venice, which are scattered with mini canals with bridges. Let me just warn you that I have about fifty million pictures of the little canals and alleyways. We took pictures by the Bridge of Sighs, where prisoners used to walk before going to their sentence, sighing as they got one last look at the beauty of the city.
The grandiose St. Mark's Basilica literally takes your breath away. The entire floor and ceiling is covered with amazing mosaics. The rooftop domes were covered with depictions of biblical stories with a glittering gold background. My favorite was probably over the altar at the front of the church, where there were statues of the apostles and other saints are suspended on a bean. It was incredible to be able to say a prayer in such a special location. I even lit a candle in the church for Grandma :) The floor of the church is very uneven due to the rising water levels of Venice.
The shops in Venice contain lots of masquerade masks and Murano glass. We stopped in a small bar where we ordered the drink of Venice.. A Bellini! It tastes very similar to a mimosa with a sweet kick to it. Around 8, we headed back to our cute little beach island of Lido, where we grabbed caprese paninis with prosciutto ham for dinner. That night, the entire group of us headed to the beach where we found the best bars because there were actually people there and there was American music! Dollar shots was the main attraction.. Nothing in Italy is that cheap! However, the group resorted to Lucas's suggestion: strawberry caipiroska! Delicious! The bartender even spilled one on Alyssa and I with no offer to clean it up or even give us napkins... We love Italian service! The whole group included Alyssa, Karina, Olivia, Christian, Adam, Austin, Eric, Shannon, Natalie, Ana, Tommy, David, Nick, and Todd. UMiami takeover in Lido! It was a great night, and we had the best time hanging at the beach, watching fireworks, and playing pool. I was a little homesick today, but so happy I had the amazing opportunity to be in Venice!!
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