Venice, the city of Water

This weekend I took my first trip out of the country. Two other interns, Jenny K. and Preeti, joined me to explore the city of Venice. It was an amazing city!

Friday morning, Preeti and I boarded a train, six hours later we were at our destination. We had reserved a room at the bed and breakfast on the outskirts of the city. It was the perfect place to stay! Quaint and cute. Breakfast - which consisted of plums (grown off the tree in the back) stuffed croissants, breads and jams- was served in the back yard. Both mornings were glorious and eating together with others made the experience unforgettable! (Sometimes, I turn on my emotional sponge to absorb the experience and memories. This is was definitely one of those moments!)

The city itself was great. Preeti and I arrived the day before Jenny, so we explored Venice Friday night. It was more than I could imagined, but looked just like you see in the paintings and photos. Stone bridges were built over the canals. Men pushing gondolas steered tourists through the maze of water. Walking through the squares, we found many restaurants. At one, men in stripped shirts played violins and the accordion (think Lady and the Tramp). For dinner, we ate authentic Italian pizzas. Preeti had one with grilled vegetables while I had a spinach calzone. In every sense, it was Europe at its best!

Jenny arrived the next day and enjoyed the city as much as we did! We travelled on the public ferry boats. It felt so great to be on the open water! In the city, the boat moved slow through the canals, but it sailed much faster on the open water to the islands. We first visited the island of Murano, famous for glass-blown beads. We also saw the historic clock tower and St. Marks’s Basillica. In this square, I confronted one of my biggest fears-pigeons. Ick. The birds were EVERYWHERE. To make matters worse, tourists fed them, held 8 to 10 on their arms, and let the birds flap in their hair. Ick, ick, ick. I did okay walking in the open square by the birds but I had to retreat to the covered path when I saw a bird flap, flap, flapping in a man’s hair. ICK! Every since living in D.C. and having pigeons fly by my head, I have been scared of those icky, gross birds. I was happy to leave this square.

We rounded off the exploration with a trip to Lido on Sunday. This is the island known for its beaches. It was so nice to be in a place where the sun was shiny and the temperature was TOO hot. We all enjoyed a great swim in the sea. It was just what the doctor had ordered. A needed change from the cold rain in Geneva.

This week holds classes and lectures with many of Geneva's great minds.