The Ancient World Was in My Reach, From My Rooming House on Venice Beach
I am going to make an admission:
I don't think Venice is all so special.
Sure, it is exciting to see the canals, and the super old buildings. Of course, San Marco church is very grand, and very large and very fancy. Of course, the weather is pleasant and the city is small enough to not be too overwhelming.
But never, ever, have I seen so many tourists. Never have I been to a city where the tourists so outnumbered the visible natives. Where not a single business or establishment seemed geared towards anything but tourist consumption (except for the 2 markets I saw).
The old buildings are pretty, but aren't there old buildings all over Europe? I'm sure the super expensive food is is excellent, but the reasonably priced food is fairly mediocre, especially compared to the reasonably priced food everywhere else I have been. I ate a sandwich on the street in Paris that was delicious. I ate pizza in Cinqueterra that was some of the best I have ever had. For about 10 Euro, I ate some very special fish and wine in Barcelona. For 23 Euro today, I had a "pretty good" piece of fish, a beer and some stale bread.
Cinqueterre to Venice was a much longer trip than I expected. I woke up early, but later than planned, feeling like death, and got on the first of three trains. After a few hours my iPod battery ran out, and after a few more I finished The Rule of Four (it got better -- I shouldn't complain so much about it, really) and was left with nothing to do. No one to talk to. Not much to look at. And not much to think about. I was lonely and tired and bored.
But I was happy to arrive in Venice. My hotel is a short walk from the train station and while slightly overpriced, is also nicer than most other places I have stayed. No bunk beds, a larger and cleaner bathroom and only 6 people in the room.
I did end up running into those two British girls from the night before, but after greeting them in the lobby, I never saw them again. I spent the next 5 hours exploring the city, getting lost in the narrow and labyrinthine streets. Saw San Marco. And now my internet time is running out.
Being in a city with so much history would be more interesting if I knew anything about Rennaissance Venice. I did see a rat though, and it reminded me that the Black Death first hit Europe around here.
I don't think Venice is all so special.
Sure, it is exciting to see the canals, and the super old buildings. Of course, San Marco church is very grand, and very large and very fancy. Of course, the weather is pleasant and the city is small enough to not be too overwhelming.
But never, ever, have I seen so many tourists. Never have I been to a city where the tourists so outnumbered the visible natives. Where not a single business or establishment seemed geared towards anything but tourist consumption (except for the 2 markets I saw).
The old buildings are pretty, but aren't there old buildings all over Europe? I'm sure the super expensive food is is excellent, but the reasonably priced food is fairly mediocre, especially compared to the reasonably priced food everywhere else I have been. I ate a sandwich on the street in Paris that was delicious. I ate pizza in Cinqueterra that was some of the best I have ever had. For about 10 Euro, I ate some very special fish and wine in Barcelona. For 23 Euro today, I had a "pretty good" piece of fish, a beer and some stale bread.
Cinqueterre to Venice was a much longer trip than I expected. I woke up early, but later than planned, feeling like death, and got on the first of three trains. After a few hours my iPod battery ran out, and after a few more I finished The Rule of Four (it got better -- I shouldn't complain so much about it, really) and was left with nothing to do. No one to talk to. Not much to look at. And not much to think about. I was lonely and tired and bored.
But I was happy to arrive in Venice. My hotel is a short walk from the train station and while slightly overpriced, is also nicer than most other places I have stayed. No bunk beds, a larger and cleaner bathroom and only 6 people in the room.
I did end up running into those two British girls from the night before, but after greeting them in the lobby, I never saw them again. I spent the next 5 hours exploring the city, getting lost in the narrow and labyrinthine streets. Saw San Marco. And now my internet time is running out.
Being in a city with so much history would be more interesting if I knew anything about Rennaissance Venice. I did see a rat though, and it reminded me that the Black Death first hit Europe around here.
posted by Jed at 6:34 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home