July 12th, 2009...Last day in Italia!!!

Sunday was basically a free day in Venice, except for the fact that we had to be at the train station for the overnighter to Paris at 8. But we had most of the day. Amanda, Julia, Michelle and I still had to visit St. Mark’s, so that’s the first thing we planned to do. We just kind hung around town for a couple hours because we couldn’t get into St. Mark’s until 2 pm. We did some shopping, sketched a bridge, took a bunch of pictures…usual time wasting activities. We headed over to the church at around 1 to get in line, and while Michelle, Julia, and Amanda were standing in line, I left to make a phone call. I didn’t think that the line would start moving until 2 because the chapel wasn’t open, but apparently the museum and other sites were, so the other girls went through the line and when I came back, they were nowhere to be found. So, I just got in the back of the line and assumed that I would run into them inside of the church. I was fortunate enough to end up behind three boys from New Zealand, meaning that they spoke English. So at least I had someone to chat with in line rather than just standing there by myself looking like a lost American tourist. And I got to talk to some interesting kids (they were traveling around Europe for slightly less than 2 weeks for free because they had won a film festival together…sweet prize), so that was a plus. While I was in line, right before I got into the building, the other three girls found me and said that the line was only going into the museum and other sites and that the chapel wasn’t open yet (imagine that), so we had to waste the rest of the hour, then check Amanda’s backpack, then we could go in. When we got inside though, it was well worth it! It was so incredibly beautiful. Architecturally, it was nearly as impressive as St. Peter’s in Rome, and in decorative terms it was just as beautiful. The chapel is one of history’s best examples of Byzantine design. It is based on the form of a Greek cross, and there are 5 separate domes. Most of the ceiling is made up of mosaics that are comprised of precious stones, including a lot of gold. It was such an amazing thing to see. We had the opportunity to sit inside and sketch for a few minutes, but no sketch (especially mine J) could ever do the building justice. It was remarkable!
After St. Mark’s we did some more time wasting with shopping, grabbing pizza, etc. until 5 when Michelle and I met Kylee and Megan on top of the Rialto bridge for a Gondola ride. We had already picked out a particular stop, so we headed over to that stop and there happened to be a boat pulling up right then so we could get on right away. It was 20 Euro (about 30 dollars) a piece, but it was definitely worth it. Our Gondolier took us around the Grand Canal and through the smaller canals, the whole time explaining cultural and historical facts and landmarks. We passed by the oldest building in Venice, Marco Polo’s home, the old women’s prison, and many others. When we were in a small canal by ourselves, he sang to us for a moment, but he explained that they are very shy about singing, and that he really did not like his own voice…I thought it was pretty great anyway. He explained to us that Gondoliers have to go through school where they learn multiple languages and a lot of history, as well as driving lessons and how to maintain the boats. He also explained that there can only ever be a certain number of Gondoliers, and so even if you do the training, you generally cannot be an actual Gondolier until somebody, usually a father (in his case, an uncle) passes the license down to the next generation, specifically the oldest boy in the family. He was really excited to talk about his job, and you could just tell that he felt very honored and proud to be able to do what he does. The ride was only about 45 minutes but it was so great, and definitely worth experiencing.
After the Gondola, we headed back to the hotel quickly to grab our luggage (they had stored it all day for us so that we didn’t have to pay for a locker at the train station), and then we made our way to the train station. We had to be there at 7:50 pm, and the train didn’t leave until about 8:30, so we had a little time to just relax and hang around the train station. When we got on the train, we were situated with six girls (some only had 4) to a room. Julia, Amanda, Megan, Michelle, Kylee, and I were all put in a room together. When the seats are folded down, they make two couch-like seats that each seat 3 that are facing each other. The back of the couch fold up to make a bunk, making 2 bottom bunks (the couch seats), 2 middle bunks (the couch backs), and then 2 top bunks are above the seats. We were literally like 6 sardines in a can. I got the bottom bunk, which was the crappiest place, but I’m the shortest so it was easiest. I had the head rests from the bottom of the couch back protruding down over me, in some places only leaving a few inches above me, and there was a huge gap between the back of my bed and the wall, so I kept falling into it. Not to mention, the bed itself was only about 18 inches deep. Come to find out later, we hadn’t finished setting it up and it actually pulls out farther, lies flat, and pushes against the wall. If I’m ever on an overnight train again, I will know how to properly set it up. But for this particular instance, it was an uncomfortable night, but definitely a memorable story!