Day 8: Venezia

I exited the train station this morning to a bright sun, a not unpleasant amount of humidity, and no idea where my hotel was. Adding to the problem was my realization that, even if I knew where it was, I had no idea how to get there. How is this, you ask? Well, faithful reader, its
because Venice has no cars and is a labyrinth of the highest quality. (follow the link to a Google map)

Luckily for me, I had the bright idea to purchase a map. After jockeying for space with some German high school kids for space on a boat, I arrived at the section of town I thought my hotel to be in. As luck would have it, I was wrong, so I got back on the boat and went down to the next stop. At least I snapped some cool photos as I was getting lost.

Once I found my hotel, I struck out and used my superior sense of direction to make my way to Piazza San Marco and the Basilica. Of course, I ended up on the wrong island, but I did have a tasty lunch at water's edge. I was wondering if my meal was overpriced, realizing that its difficult to factor in the value of the amazing ambience because it has a different value for each individual. Still, cool clean water and ragu di cinghiale con cicoria rossa made it pretty amazing.

I finally made it to the world-famous Piazza San Marco. It was stunning!
An arcade of columns lines the square, leading you to the 941 year-old San Marcos Basilica. What immediately strikes the observers, whether artist buff or not, is that this is not a normal Roman-Catholic cathedral. Its so old that the style that most people think of when they think "cathedral" wasn't invented yet. It is clearly Byzantine in style and origin and borrows from classical motifs such as the horses atop the portico reminding one of Apollo and the zodiac on the tower adjacent. I'll be able to comment more tomorrow once I tour the inside.

At this point I started to wear down, the hot Venetian taking its toll. I read The Gulag Archipelago in a nearby park. Interestingly, some Russian kids came by and started smoking, drinking beer, and talking loudly immediately next to me. I could hardly ignore the irony of the situation - I was reading the account of how millions of their countrymen had suffered and died, enduring pains beyond comprehension and they were abusing their liberty, living a sloppy and embarrassing lifestyle. We all have a debt to pay to the generations that have gone before us that have sacrificed for our well being, institutions, and families.

I bought a slushy-thing on the way back to my hotel and decided to call it a day. I've got two more days to experience the City of Water.