I think we might be....related??

Venezia! Ah bellisimo citta! Where do I begin? Venice was probably one of my favorite cities that I've visited in Italy.(Besides Roma of course!) Well, I departed for this weekend trip Thursday night straight from school. My two good friends in the program (Jessica and Jasmine) were my travel buddies for the weekend and we took a short 45 minute flight right up north to the city on water. A particular hostel was recommended to us by my roommate who had stayed there the previous weekend. Our hostel was called "A Venice Fish" and had its own little bridge leading to the front door. A Venice Fish was definitely an experience in itself, the hostel was set up similar to a Co-op. There was one main common area with a giant vintage looking chandelier hanging over a large table with twenty chairs. Five large rooms were connected to this common area and each room had around 5-6 bunk-beds, meaning a minimum of ten people were sleeping in each room. Dinner was included in the cost, which usually consisted of a huge pot of pasta along with possibly a bottle of wine that you pick up at the grocery store on the way home from your daily excursions. Some would think, oh vey sleeping in a room with 9 other people then eating in a huge common area sounds horrible, but I can reassure you it was one of the most entertaining things I have done and I met some really neat people! Everyone has a different story and if you open up just a little you can meet some amazing people.

For the majority of the time we were in Venice, we just wandered through the whole city stumbling upon gorgeous piazza or bridge at a time. We happened to come across what is known as the Rialto Bridge, which is one of Venice's most popular sites. I had emailed my Aunt Kerri the week before I left for Venice and asked her about a confectionary shop with the name "Mascari" on it I remembered her and my Uncle Ben mentioning after a trip to Venice. My Aunt Kerri sent me all of the information about the shop along with pictures, which I printed out a took with me to Venice. My friends and I were determined to find this little shop. We crossed the Rialto Bridge and I had my directions out looking like your typical tourist, then I slowly looked up for a second and there it was: Drogheria Mascari. This cute little store sold delicious chocolates and wine(My kind of grocery store, I thought it was appropriate that I was potentially related to the owners). I slowly walked into the bustling little shop and walked up to the counter with the picture of my uncle with one of the sons of the shop owner. I asked "Parli inglese?" (Do you speak english) The elderly man said "A little." So I pointed to the picture and explained "questo è mio zio" (This is my uncle!) and the younger man walked over and exclaimed "And that's me!" pointing at the picture I was holding. Nevertheless my friends and I received some free chocolates and I was able to get a picture with the store owner. In the picture below he has his hand raised like a true Italian and is saying "Mascari!!" I believe my Uncle Ben was able to connect a few family member names when he visited, it was nice to meet someone who I was potentially related to! Ah come è bellissima famiglia. (Ah how wonderful family is)

Two of our friends in the Rome program were also staying in the same hostel as Jess, Jazz and I so we all ended up exploring Venice together. We walked down a little street and found a little coffee shop that had one of the best pastries I've had in Europe!(No surprise here, I'm starting to think I have a mental pastry GPS now) The pastry was called a "Krapfen." It was almost like a doughnut, but much chewier with the choice of either cream or nutella inside covered in powdered sugar. Although it might sound a little excessive, I'm not going to deny this, I went back to this little store all three mornings I was in Venice and had one.

After delicious pastries and coffee, the five of us headed to St. Mark's Basilica right in front of Piazza San Marco. Piazza San Marco is one of the biggest Piazza's in Venice. Mark's Basilica was had one of the most intricate wall designs that I have come across in Europe. Gold Mosaics covered the walls, ceilings and archways. This particular basilica had a large cross hanging in the center of the church that looked similar to a chandelier and had red candles lining the entire perimeter of the cross. The churches I saw in Venice were very different from that of Rome, Spain or France. Most of the windows had red stained glass, red curtains covering the windows, or settle hints of red throughout the church. They were also very dark and most of the art in these churches had a very Baroque style, keeping in theme with the darker color scheme.

The last night we were in Venice we had one goal: to take a gondola ride. We went around 5 p.m. just as the sun was setting. Jess Jazz and I found a beautiful black gondola with red interior that we decided was the perfect one. We swiftly drifted through the canals of Venice with the sun slowly setting reflecting the colors of the city on the water. As we floated down the canals, we passed the opera house and could actually hear a woman singing. Her voice echoed off the narrow walls for a few blocks and the three of us sat in silence taking in this wonderful little city on water.

Venice was a gorgeous city, I'm extremely lucky that I was able to visit it for a weekend. If anyone is visiting Italy for a week or so I would say Venice is one of the must sees. There's nothing like it in the world, everything in the city is so unique. Good food, beautiful scenery, and meeting potential long lost relatives, what could be better?