Yesterday a Shakespearean scholar, Shaul, came to our apartment to discuss The Merchant of Venice. It was an interesting discussion but my class and I were not told to read The Merchant of Venice, so the discussion was mostly based on the movie. I think our professors are having trouble communicating exactly what they want. 

After our discussion, we walked over to Gallerie dell'Accademia, a wonderful collection of Venetian art. It was SO incredible to see some of the artists I've studied in person, rather than in a text book or on a slide. There were video cameras everywhere, so I couldn't take any pictures, but this was my favorite painting:

The Tempest

Today it was FINALLY a comfortable temperature. Since we've been here, it has been exhaustingly hot. 85 to 90 everyday. Today was 72, but really windy! I was wearing a dress and I had to keep doing the "Marilyn Monroe" dress hold. First we went to Universita Ca' Foscari Venezia and listened in on a lecture by Ferit Orhan Pamuk, authour of My Name Is Red and Nobel Pize winner. So cool, right!? The only problem was that the lecture was said in English, Italian and Turkish so it was kind of hard to follow. Plus, again, none of us had read the book, so we really had no idea what was going on. Bringing us to the lecture was a good idea, just not really well executed. It was cool to see what a classroom/lecture hall looked like though.

After that we walked over to the Jewish Ghetto. It was SOO interesting to see the different synagogues. The ghetto was very different than the rest of the squares in Venice. For one, there were trees and plants...very little nature besides water in the rest of Venice. Also, the buildings were much taller than the rest of Venice because the Jews were confined to one small area, so they would build new floors on top. Again, no pictures allowed, but I got some from outside.

the ghetto

outside the synagogue museum.

The Ark where the torah is held. The one picture i snuck before the tour guide came in. 

The synagogues were so beautiful and ornate. It was so interesting to see three of the oldest temples in the world.

Matzah ball soup for lunch! the matzah ball was kind of brown looking, like a whole wheat matzah ball. I was so glad it tasted just as good as Bama's. I also had some falafel. Not as good as Israel, but better than New York!

After our tour, we slowly walked home and looked in some shops, my favorite thing to do. Tomorrow were going on some type of overnight in the Alps? The details are fuzzy but I'll report back later!

xo - sam

This weekend was very relaxing. I slept in late on Saturday and went to Lido for the afternoon. Similarly to the States, there was HEAVY traffic getting to and from the beach on a Saturday. The Vaportto was PACKED and Europeans do not care about personal space whatsoever. American's have this "bubble" that no one else can enter unless invited. Venetians have no problem standing right against you, like you've been buddies for years. Also, hygiene is very different. I don’t think deodorant is necessary. Semi-unfortunate on a packed, hot, sweaty boat.

On Sunday, I slept in very late again and decided to take a walk around my neighborhood. A lot of my friends in the program were CRAVING good ol' fashion American food, so we ventured to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. After a week of small portions, American nachos may have not been the best idea. It was the most full I have been the entire time I've been here. I think that was the goal, but it didn't feel good. I missed the "light" feeling. I'm so used to eating to fill myself, but as my parent's trainor says, we should "eat to live, not live to eat."

Experience: Today was SO COOL! We finally ventured to Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark's Square. As predicted, there were MILLIONS of pigeons.

Marina (the art hisorian that has been touring with us) was able to take us inside St. Mark's Basilica and showed us a really holy area where St. Marco is supposedly buried. She told us that they hardly ever let tourists look, so it was really special to get the chance to see.

Definitely not allowed to take photos. I snuck a few.

I plan on going back within the next three weeks and paying the three euro it costs to look at the square from the top.

More amazing mosaic, similar to Torcello.

Always fun to find this star in a church!

After the basilica, we ventured to Palazzo Ducale di Venezia, or Doge's Palace. This was really awesome because it was the home to all the important government people of Venice in the 1300's, but it was also the prison for the most dangerous criminals. The building is beautiful and regal, but the basment is a cold and dark jail.

This is essentially a Tattle-Box. This is where Venetians could tell the government about traitors and rule-breakers.

One of the girls in my program was almost thrown out of the palace for taking pictures, so I only snuck one.

how gorgeous is this ceiling? I want to redecorate my room to look like THAT please.

View from the palace. I think I'm going to have to blow this one up and frame it when I come home.

Thought: Is The U.S. the only place in the world that serves ice cold tap water? Every country I've been to outside North America seems to be flabbergasted by free cold water. Here in Venice is no different. First, waiters pretend to not know what "tap" or "sink" water is. They know, they just want you to BUY bottled. Second, even when they finally bring tap, its medium cold in a TINY glass, no ice. Not even enough to wet my throat. Even at the Hard Rock, an AMERICAN resturant, we asked for tap water and our lovely waitress said she could get in so much trouble for bringing us ice tap water. We had to pretend they were voldkas. I wasn't very good at pretending; I don't know anyone that can gulp a huge glass of plain voldka as fast as I did. (The glasses were huge! And she gave us lemon! Who knew I could miss water so much.) We gave her a big American tip for her kindness.

Ciao for now! xo - sam

On thursday we sat in our living room with our professors and finally dug into what well be studing this semester. I was extra itchy to get out and explore; it was hard to concentrate. My Enviormental Psychology class seems REALLY difficult and time consuming. I hope it doesnt get in the way of ACTUALLY being in Venice. I think after we all freaked out about the workload, Mike (my professor) is considering lightening the workload. My Myths and Art of Venice class seems perfect. We watched and discussed the movie Summertime (featuring Katherine Hepburn). Although it wasn't MY favorite, I see why Kathy (other professor) assigned it. The movie is about getting lost and finding yourself and adventure in Venice. It's a nice opener to living here.

We lost electricity at around 10 pm last night! 6 girls blow drying and straightening their hair with American appliances is not the best of ideas. Again, I was stuck without internet for almost 24 hours. It's insane how much we rely on our laptops.

Experience: Today was awesome! We went to Torcello really early this morning. One of my professor's friends, Marina, an art historian, came along to show us.Waking up early was NOT fun, but seeing Torcello Cathedral was awesome. 

this picture is too dark to really see how amazing the mosaic is. its incredibly detailed, and the gold just glitters. its beautiful.

again, such insane mosaic.

After Torcello, two friends and I went to Burano, the town famous for making beautiful lace. Burano reminded me of a fairytale! The colors are so pretty!

After visiting Burano, Christian, Tara and I managed to find our way home really fast! This included two Vaporetto rides and wandering through some streets we didn't know. I was really happy with how fast we got back! We even beat home some friends that didnt visit Burano and left almost 45 minutes before us from Torcello.

Thought: Skype is awesome. I really loved hearing my mom's voice today. I wish I had a functional laptop. (hint hint dad)

Today we all slept until noon. Jetlagged much? We had planed to wake up early and go to Lido (the beach), but I think sleep trumped beach. We took the Vaporetto (basically the subway, only by boat!) to the last stop in Venice.  

As soon as you step off the vaporetto. Cute little bike parking!

We layed out on the beach for a while. The water was warm, but it was like swimming in the Hudson. Not exactly like the Australian beaches I've been to. The beach was fun, but I wouldn't recomend it to someone looking for clear blue-green waves. I got some color, thank youuuuu. I was begining to hate wearing shorts with my white legs.

Experience: After we got some sun, some friends and I decided we were curious about Italian Chinese food. Even thought I was skeptical, I can never really pass up Chinese food. The wonton soup was okay. Instead of scallions they used shredded letuce. Gave it a very "lettuce-y" taste. In fact, lettuce was probably their main ingredient in most of their dishes. Surprisingly, the kung pow chicken I tried was really good. Everything was way lighter than a normal American Chinese meal. No thick breading or heavy sauce. Just chopped white meat and veggies with a light, slightly spicy sauce. Kinda cool.

After a nice day at the beach, this was a really awesome sight. The picture does not do it justice:

Thought: Isn't it a crime to be stuck inside the apartment while beautiful, sunny Venice is just outside the door? A day off from class today means a full day tomorrow, 9 am-4:30 pm.

xo - sam

Sorry to have been a little M.I.A. Besides beging really busy, my laptop has been on the fritz in a MAJOR way (hint hint dad) So I finally got it to work after two days of seperation.

My first breakfast in Venice!

A few of us from the program went to a little cafe near our apartment. Croissant and Cappuccino! Then we went out with our professors and expored Venice a bit. I got an Italian cell phone, but it was really difficult to buy with the language barrior. Turns out I need to buy a sim card with minutes.

Then we got some...

Gellato! My first gellato of the trip was hazelnut. A wise choice.

Then at night I went out for an AMAZING meal with two friends. I got frutti de mar over spaghetti. It was bangin', but sooooo expensive. I wont be going out for a meal like that again until the last few days of the program.

After our meal, we met up with everyone else and went to this AWESOME square (forget the name, I'll report back later) with a really cool vibe. It was lined with cool cafes, resturants and bars and it seemed like a really young crowd. We had a lot of fun! Stayed out soooooo late. We got SOOO lost on the way home. Venice is really like a labyrinth. Especially at night when everything is closed and all the buildings look the same. We walked for a lonnnnng time; it was a really good workout. By the time we got back it was 4am Venice Time / 10 pm New York time, so it was almost like going to bed early in the states. 

Experience: Today we went supermarket shopping. Christian and I bought a bunch of food we thought would be quick to eat so we wouldnt have to go out for as many meals. We got cheese, bread, yogurt, eggs, granola bars and pasta (of course). Shopping for simple foods in another country is so much harder than just going to pick up a few things at the A&P. Christian needed milk for his cereal and it took us at least 10 minutes to figure out which was skim. A cute Italian lady helped us. She hardly spoke english, but was so willing to help. She was so nice!

Thought: Children that throw tantrums in the U.S. are bratty. Children that throw tantrums in Italy are adorable. Everything is cute in a different language.

Thought: Yes, tipping is not customary in Italy. But getting charged a euro to sit is. Hmm.

I have arrived!!! After a loonnnnng trip across the Atlantic, i have finally made it to Venice! My BEAUTIFUL appartment is located in Sant'Angelo. Seriously, this appartment is crazy!!!! I can't even believe I'm living in such a beautiful place!

My bedroom...I got so lucky!!! It's actually a double, with a cot as the second bed, but obviously no one wanted to sleep in a cot, so I have the room to myself! The wall across from my bed is built in book shelves...which I decided to use for my clothes.

View from my room! Quite Interesting.

We have an AMAZING living room and kitchen...my favorite part is our balcony. Awesome views.

View from mini-balcony.

Christian on the mini-balcony. I took the picture from our big balcony.

View from big balcony <3.

This picture doesn't do the apartment justice. It's marble floors, cute furniture. Super nice.

Experience: As soon as we all finished showering and unpacking, we left to grab some dinner. We ended up hanging out in Piazza San Marco and eating at a little pizza place called Pizzeria Marciana. I had Vegitariana pizza, which was okay. The Pinot Grigio was delish.

Thought:  I can see how annoying Americans can be. We're so lound and pompous. I hope people think I'm Canadian.

Ciao! xo - sam

1, 2, 3. Testing. Testing.