Venezia

Boy, do I have a love/hate relationship with Venice.

On the one hand, Venice is the single most beautiful place I have ever seen with my own two eyes.

On the other hand, Venice made me want to poke my eye out with a stick because of the excessive tourism. And, I mean excessive. This was like nothing I had experienced before in my life, and I grew up going to Ocean City, MD, land of all things crowded and tacky.

Upon arrival, C and I walked out of the train station and saw this:

The streets are made of WATER.

I know, I know, I'd heard of Venice before, but to see streets made of water right in front of me was still a shock. Luckily, our hotel was in a somewhat out of the way part of the city, so it was a few hours before we realized just how touristy Venice can be.

As we wandered, we were presented with many options like this: do we take the lesser traveled path on the left? Or the more crowded path on the right? Hint: we always took the lesser traveled path. 

One thing we learned about Venice pretty quickly is that you either stay on the over-crowded main drag, or embrace the art of getting lost. There's no way to truly be lost, because, after all, we were on an island. One way or another, we would find our way back. 

One of the best parts of local life in Venice is that residents have found ways to bring in some green wherever they can. There are no yards, obviously, so there are window boxes everywhere you look. 

Here, we were getting closer to the main tourist attraction (Piazza San Marco). On a whim, we wandered into a free art exhibit and enjoyed the bizarre yet fascinating modern art. I happened to look out the window, and saw the view in the photo above, with the giant hands. This was magical. I excitedly called for C to come stick her head out the window, too, and we hogged that window space for several minutes while we took photos. That photo is unfiltered. That is what I saw with my own two eyes. See what I mean about magical? It's as if the place is positively enchanted. 

That is, until you get to Piazza San Marco, and then it's as if you have stepped right into tourist hell. We walked out of the tunnel underneath the clock that you can just see in the upper right hand corner of the photo above. Those throngs of people are what you have to embrace if you want to get inside the church. Good luck finding a bathroom, by the way, because in true tourist-town fashion, the restaurants all along the piazza cater to tourists and do not have public bathrooms. If you want to use them, you must be a patron. We found a coffee shop and spent an hour getting our beverages just so I could use the bathroom. 

While wandering the maze-like sidewalks on our way to and from Piazza San Marco, I started snapping pictures of my view. We couldn't walk without dodging and weaving around people. What I did not capture with photos is the way that restaurant workers would stand outside their businesses, shouting at us to come in, come in, there's a special today, hey, sweetheart, you're beautiful, come inside. It was relentless. 

I was so frustrated with the constant throng of humanity - the noise, the jostling, the being-in-edge for pickpockets - that at one point, I dropped, and broke, my camera. Awesome. 

I'll likely share a few other posts about Venice in coming weeks. I saw one of the most amazing art exhibits I've ever seen while there. I explored Murano glass and bought a great souvenir. I took many photos, ate some wonderful things (and some not so wonderful things), and enjoyed the wandering, the getting lost, the finding of my perspective, and my way. 

Me making the best of my afternoon in Piazza San Marco.

The worst piece of travel advice ever

My single least favorite piece of travel advice: Pack in layers.

Seriously, people, how is this helpful? That's the same as saying, at best: "oh, you didn't bother to check the weather report? No worries, here's how you deal with it: just pack everything you own so you have ALL the options!" Or, at worst, "just pack a few of each layer so that if the weather reports are wrong, you'll be stuck wearing the same smelly t-shirt four times in a row because you don't have time to do lots of loads of laundry and you only packed two shirts because you also packed ALL THE OTHER LAYERS."

I'm not picky about being pristine when I travel, but I do like having the clothing layer closest to my skin be as fresh as can be. I'll pack more t-shirts than I probably need to pack, because I would rather have a fresh shirt but re-wear the same sweater or vest over and over again than I would rather wear all repeat clothing day after day.

In my real life, a pair of jeans can easily last me a week. In my travel life, though, I walk for miles each day, and weather is unpredictable, and sometimes you get gross. And it's nice to have something fresh or at least close to it to put on so you feel like yourself. Because you're already out of your comfort zone a little when you travel, no matter how much you love it. Why throw in awkward sartorial choices, too?

As I pack for my upcoming trip, I'm considering how to pack so I have options without being gross. I will probably pack at least one more pair of pants than I need, and probably a few extra shirts. This is despite having laundry facilities at the place where I'll be staying. I'm fine with this. I'll probably do one load of laundry while I'm there and that's about it because, really, who wants to do lots of laundry when they're on vacation?

As for layers, yes, I'll have a few things available to account for changes in weather, but not so many that I'll be mixing and matching the same four items day after day, because, ew. Instead, I'll likely have those extra pants and shirts but I'll also have one light jacket, one cardigan, one v-neck sweater, and perhaps a fleece vest. Those outer layers are what I'll bring few of but will have on hand to adjust the rest of my wardrobe.