Venice, Day One

Long day today! Woke up at 7 for fresco class at 9. I only worked for the first half of class, finishing up by 11:45. For lunch I got some ravioli at the Central Market. Pasta was OK, not amazing. It came in a nice container, though, which I think I'll keep for the time being.

At 12:45 I walked to the train station to meet all the SACI people going on the Venice trip. The train was supposed to leave by 1:15, but it was delayed, and we left more by 1:30. The bullet train ride was delayed further by track problems, and we arrived at Padua, a city near Venice, about 45 minutes behind schedule. That made the art history teacher leading the group all nervous, but it turned out alright. We visited a cathedral with lots of Giotto frescos, then a baptistry with even more frescos, and then walked back to the train station. Nice city.

The main church in Padua.

That's me in the church.

More me and church.

In front of a major Giotto fresco.

Even more frescoes.

Padua still.

Donatello monument.

The train to Venice took about half an hour, and when we arrived at around 8, it was dark and pouring rain. We bought water bus tickets for the weekend and then got on to a crowded water bus. It was sad because it was too dark to actually see any of the city. Hopefully in the morning it'll be better.

The hotel is near San Marco square, and it was a short walk from where we got off the water bus. Upon arriving at the hotel we had to show the receptionist our passports in order to get our room keys. I got kind of lucky and am only sharing a room with one other person (instead of 3), a friend named Kaitlynn. It also means we got a tiny room, though it does have a nifty chandelier hanging from the ceiling above the bed.

Ooh. Ahh.

At this point it was around 9, and I was very tired. I tagged along with the art history professor and a couple other students to a restaurant so I wouldn't have to figure out the food situation for myself. The restaurant was pretty good. I got a bean soup and tiramisu for dessert. Tiramisu was the highlight.

Bean soup. Tasted better than it looks.

Tiramisu dessert. See the note on the bean soup.

Cold and rainy, but we're in Venice!

Now it's after 11, and I should sleep so I can wake up on time tomorrow. I didn't bring my laptop with me, so I can't upload any pictures here. I'll do a mass picture upload on Sunday or Monday.