WEEK 8
Last week the Istituto published a newsletter telling the world that spring had arrived in Venice, and I was feeling that perhaps they had been a little hasty with such a proclamation. I couldn’t have given you any concrete reason for such doubt, it just seemed a little ‘early’ to me, that’s all. The weekend of week 7 was sunny, but cool, and by Monday evening of this week it was clear that ‘something was a foot’. I was out late on Monday night walking along the fondamente that keeps the lagoon back from the Giardini. It’s become a favorite late night walk for me. The apartment is sometimes too empty and the sound of the waves against the walls and the sighing of the trees that beetle over the caste metal fence of the Giardini fill up my empty spaces perfectly. I seldom encounter anyone on these sojourns, and if I do there is only the brief exchange of “Salve” between strangers who know the need of such solitude.
As I came out of the Giardini the wind cut through my coat and no matter how I snuggled into it or cinched up my scarf it was inescapable. I immediately headed for home and in the 10 minutes it took me to reach my door, the temperature had dropped perceptibly. I hurried up stairs and was ready for my bed in minutes, standing by the window looking down at the calle below before I switched the light out. I wondered aloud what the street would look like in the morning.
At 6.00 am I was back at that window looking down through a cloud of large, wet snowflakes as they swirled to the snow covered streets below. Every hour or so during the day I returned to the window to take stock of the situation and the only thing that changed was the thickness of the snow on the ground.
By 4.00 pm I couldn’t bear the apartment any more so I ventured outside. Wet heavy snow caked everything and one couldn’t help noticing the look of disbelief in the faces of the Venetians. I asked when was the last time that anyone could remember this kind of weather in March and the answer was always “Mai”…Never
Venice was wrapped in a shroud of wet, icy snow, and like the rest of its populace I went to bed early and read until I fell asleep.
On Tuesday people slipped and slithered and splashed and sploshed through a Venice that had become a giant slurpy. It was entirely unpleasant, and I couldn’t keep a smile off my face for the whole day! I met the group for a lunch of pizza after class and we all exchanged stories of what this strange weather had meant for us.
That evening I was invited to the San Basilio apartment for dinner and the vaporetti ploughed through the grey wetness as if it wasn’t there. I walked along the Zattere with the snow lapping at the tops of my shoes, but arrived at the appointed hour as if nothing strange was happening outside.
Caitlin, Erika, and Kyle were great hosts and the group was treated to a dinner of curried prawns over rice, we talked and joked about the weather, ate ice cream and then went back out into the snow to make our way home. I cancelled the next day’s outing as I was not sure what the weather would bring, and we all agreed that we would rather be in our warm apartments.
And it was all over by Wednesday morning!
Wednesday brought some sunshine and by late afternoon there were open tracks down the centre of the calle. The thawing process continued into Thursday, and by Friday there was little evidence of the entire episode. The trees suffered the most and broken limbs and twigs still litter the city.
On the weekend I went over to Sam Michele (the cemetery) for a walk and discovered some very serious damage. A number of very large trees have either been uprooted or broken down by the weight of the snow, and it is clear that a great deal of clean up will need to be done to restore it to its previous beauty.
Most of the students went exploring Milano this weekend, and their blogs reflect a level of excitement and wonder that I find entirely fulfilling. Erika, however, was not quite so fortunate, and spent the weekend fighting an infection. We stayed in contact through ‘texting’, and I’m happy to report that she is returning to her previous self (read vibrant, enthusiastic, entirely theatrical)…I fear that her parents will read this week’s blog and decide that she was on her ‘death bed’…this is not the truth…and while readers can be excused for believing that some old man in a dark smelly robe, carrying a large scythe was sitting at the bottom of her bed while she was writing said blog, let me assure you that she has returned to the land of the living, and attended today’s classes.
This was a rather dreary week in Venezia, and it seems like a perfect time to include some photographs that Caitlin has taken over the past weeks. She is also responsible for the Milano photos. Thanks Caitlin
Perhaps by this time next week we will be able to truly report that spring has sprung. Perhaps another blizzard!
The adventure continues
Ciao, ciao
John
John Rawlings Director FVCC Semester in Venice
Erika’s Blog:
The monster struck. It came without warning and without signs. It’s way too smart for that. I considered all the aliments I was familiar with, either from experience or understood by assassination of others, and found myself to be in unbroken trail, foreign territory. I struggled against it, attempting my best home remedies to combat this fiend, but all was futility, for I was fighting an enemy I didn’t even have a name for. I battled, but in the end, I was left wasted and alone, a hand to hold but none to fight the battle in my stead. I was drained of my faculties and my will power to fight against it. I slipped between dream and reality, wandering in a comatose state of gray. Some things are certain, others are still clouded over in a fog of pain and discomfort, but I struggled to maintain a hold on the edge of my sanity. I found my strength and determination and combated the fevered thing until I saw the light and dragged myself towards it, managing to escape with only a few scars and emotional trauma after. It is a horrid memory of the past that I can look back on and remember when sickness strikes me for a second time, to remember true pain and consider my present condition in juxtaposition and come to see the truth of the pain and realize it to be lessened.
Caitlin’s Blog
Well this week started off as a normal week, all of us struggling through school and going about our every day normal lives. But on Saturday a group of 8 of us headed out to Milan. We were a bit worried about the weather but it turned out to be perfectly clear, sunny and rather warm! We hopped on a train at 11:03 AM and started our trek to Milan. After about 3.5 hours of travelling we arrived. We immediately headed to our hostel, checked in and dropped our stuff off. We ate a quick lunch and then started exploring Milan. It was kind of late in the afternoon so we did not see much but we still got to walk around and see many things, eat many things and shop at many places!
The next day we walked through the Duomo. I did not know this cathedral existed let alone the extensive architecture and decorations there. Nothing prepared me for the sheer massive size of this building! My favorite part was climbing the many stairs to the top of the cathedral and spending some time photographing and looking. After descending the stairs and catching our breath, we walked over to an old castle and toured that, seeing many things including a whole museum dedicated to ancient forms of instruments. We were all dwindling in strength so we decided to see one more museum and then head home. We walked over to the Museum of natural science and the technology of Leonardo Da Vinci. This was such a fascinating place. There was everything in there from old jewelry to the first forms of telescopes AND we got to play lots of interactive games including sending each other messages via Morse code.
After stumbling to the metro, retrieving our luggage from our hostel and then trudging to the train station, we all fell into our seats, exhausted and headed home, to Venice. It was a great weekend, but it was nice to come “home” to the quiet life of Venice.
Jessica’s Blog
Time has passed so quickly this week that I feel like I am riding downhill on a bike with no brakes. Although it has been fun, and there has been excitement around every corner, things pass by and all I remember of them is blurry. I am very sad to think that in only a very short time this trip will be over and I will have to leave this place I have started to deem home.
Italian language classes have gone on as usual, yet are more and more challenging each day. I spent my week going to school, hanging out with friends and battling the elements here in Venice. It was very cold and snowy most of the week. Snow in Venice is still hard to get used to seeing, but I love it because I get to walk around in the polka dotted boots John let me borrow, and I feel invincible! Because of the ugly weather we had more time to be inside, and spent most of the week deciding where our next adventure would be for the weekend. We decided on Milan, and headed out by train on Saturday morning. Milan was a whole new beast as far as places we have visited so far. It was a “real” city with subways, trams, taxi’s and bus’s galore. The city is filled with beautiful monuments, and it was very fun trying to plan out how to get from point A to point B. Milan being the fashion center of Italy, there were tons of stores to buy clothes, and a TON of second hand clothing stores, which made me very happy. Milan is a city that I would definitely love to go back to.
Allysa’s blog
As we progressed in the second half of our time in Venezia, we were reminded of our wonderful home towns by a couple days of snow. This is the third time we have seen snow, but it is uncommon to happen so late in the season! We all had our rubber boots on for a few days. What a superb invention for that kind of weather; you feel invincible! They are practical for multiple uses. And they can be stylish! Jess’ are polka-dotted, and mine are tan and are the rubber-boot-version of Uggs! You can wear bulky wool socks underneath for comfort and warmth and when you can’t go under, can’t go around, you bet you CAN go through it! Bring on the puddles! Mud! Snow! We have fun taking the dirty detours!! I will be implementing a fashion trend upon my return to Montana.
A friend of mine, whom I met at the Istituto, Melissa, has a quote that she’s carried with her through her travels in Venezia, “Do one thing a day that scares you.” She got it from a Lulu lemon bag. Sometimes on our short break at the Istituto we go to a café and over a cappuccino we talk about the things we’ve done here that have pushed us out of our comfort zone, or things that we haven’t done and need to. We cheer each other on with “Why not?” On Friday when she came into class, she had a Lulu lemon bag for me.
*Awe*
In closing, some words of inspiration, my Lulu lemon bag says: “BREATHE DEEPLY and appreciate the moment. Living in the moment could be the meaning of life.”
Love,
Alyssa
P.S. Had lots of fun in Milano this weekend with “our group” (which is growing weekly), and enjoyed the Duomo, the castle, and the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum which is the biggest Science and Technology Museum in Italy. I must go back!
Kyle’s Blog
The last week had a very pleasant conclusion, with the weekend spent in Milan. A group of eight ventured there for two days, only to arrive back in Venice Monday morning at midnight! It was worth the sleepiness, however.
Milan certainly offered a different pace for us country folk, and a diverse choice of activities. It is not the most beautiful city I have personally visited. But, Milan still offers great museums (Museo Leonardo), architecture (Duomo), and all the intricacies of a big city to satisfy the tourist’s weekend pallet.
The weeks persist to flash by, but I assure everyone that things are going quite well and there is fun every day of the week; not simply on the weekend releases. Be it striking conversations with strangers, going out with friends, taking a walk, taking a trip, going out to eat, or discovering new things – there’s always something to do. Europe is awesome!
Snow in Venezia
Snow!
The day after
Caitlin's photo....Verona
Caitlin's photo
Caitlin's photo...Verona
Caitlin's photo...Verona
sunset over the lagoon
Caitlin's photo
Caitlin's photo
Caitlin's photo
Duomo...Milan
Duomo...Milan
Sforza Castle...Milan
Milan
March 21, 2010 at 4:17 am |
John, your week 8 entry was especially evocative and real, so like you- you really can write! And as usual, the kids’ observations and engagement is a delight. La Serenissima truly lives thru your eyes. Karen leaves for her grand adventure there monday- Mi manca tutto.