Heading into the weekend I was sure that I would spend my time in Venice being rowed about in a Gondela by a ridiculously handsome Italian Stalion who would sing to me as I laid back and fanticized about my own Under the Tuscan Sun future. Unfortunately the gondela rides were 100 Euros, not all of the men are as handsome as I made them out to be in my head, and every Gondelier I spoke to told me that they only sing in the shower. So instead I spent my time photographing, window shopping, and laughing to the point of not being able to breathe with Nynette. What may sound silly is that we really didn't spend time seeking out the well-known sights that are recommended in my tour guide book. Instead we preferred romaning the streets and adventuring down whatever street looked the most interesting at an intersection. Most of the time it was whatever street was less crowded in order to discover the best kept secrets of Venice. Some people say that Venice is nothing you haven't already seen in the movies. If Venice was about high speed boat chase through the canals and leaving with $10 million in gold bricks, then yes, Venice is exactly what it looks like in the movies. Unfortunately I saw no such excitement on the island. Regardless of the fact that the movies reveal a nice backdrop of the corridors that wind around the small island, canals, and lots of boats, Venice, Italy is actually not done justice by Hollywood. There is an unmistakable atmosphere in Venice that can only be experienced while physically present in the city. And no, the knockoff Venice Beach, California doesn't count. Honestly, sometimes I wonder why I even blog about certain places when all you need to know is to put it on your "Places to See Before I Die" list. If you have such a list, I suggest putting Venice towards the top of your priorities.
Despite the ridiculous amount of people that shared Nynette's and my interest in visiting Venice on Easter Sunday weekend, we did a pretty good job avoiding the crowds of people and frequently found ourselves walking down corridors with not a soul in sight. Over 5 million people visit this city every year and while I am convinced that over half that amount populated the streets this weekend Nynette and I managed to still feel like we were the only two people wandering the island. We even busted out the iPod with speakers a couple times and had a dance party for two "from the window to the wall." On a couple occasions a native Italian stumbled upon our freak show, but surprisingly found our behavior entertaining and even joined in on our hip hop grooves as they passed by.
Another entertaining aspect of the trip was staying in an International Youth Hostel (Ostello Venezia) and meeting several characters from around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Germany, and of course the USA. Making temporary friends over a shared bottle of the wine (only 6 Euros at the concessions stand) always makes for interesting conversation and exchange of accents, stories, traditions, and travel stories and suggestions. There is something comforting about the comonality of meeing other people on extended travel who are just drifting in time and taking advantage of what the world has to offer.
I think the best thing about traveling to Venice with a best friend is the ability to get lost in time and geographic location. We spent as much time as we wanted taking countless pictures of whatever peaked our interest, wining and dining (and then wining again), eating gilati, and continuing our game of "Your Team My Team" (refer to previous blog for explanation).
Another useful attribute about a best friend is that they can talk you into purchasing an outrageously expensive pair of shoes that never in a million years you would consider walking out of the store with but secretly can't live without. And better yet, when you come up short in cash, they chip in the difference as an early birthday present. All in all, if I had to do it all over again there is not one thing I would have changed about this trip. It was beyond paradise :)
