In Venice Once Again

Last week I needed a change of scenery. 

It was one of those weeks when it's just too hard to live away from everyone I love, and I needed to get out and distract myself. I thought about going shopping or heading to the park, calling a friend or getting a gelato. Everything seemed too quick and escapable, not enough of a distraction. While hard times make it challenging to live away from my family, it also provides wonderful distraction opportunities in the ease of travel. My flight home wasn't until Saturday, so on Thursday morning I woke up early, made my way to the train station with my already-packed carryon (I had never unpacked after Florence), and headed to Venice. 

As soon as I arrived, I quickly found a vaparetto to Burano, an island I'd read about but never visited. 

This filled most of my day, but left plenty of time for a little gift shopping I'd been hoping to do. I always love the little paintings you can find artists creating and the various piazzas, as well as a gift shop that I've now visited (and over-bought from) three times called Zacaria's. The artwork here is incredible! They use pieces of handmade paper, Murano glass beads, dried flowers, ribbon, even scraps from candy wrappers to create gorgeous, colorful, intriguing, collage-like (do I have enough adjectives yet) pieces that I just can't get enough of!

Other than the shop, I didn't look for anything this time. 

I let myself get lost in thought as well as in the winding streets, and was grateful for it. I did try and follow my iPhone map to get to Zacaria's, obsessively tracking my little blue dot. I have to say, it detracts from the experience. I got frustrated and it really didn't seem to help me much, as the streets twist and turn, and some don't seem to have names at all. When I was trying to find somewhere in particular, I stopped observing. I stopped noticing the crumbling bricks and the fact that residents were starting to fill their flower boxes as spring set in. But when I looked up and just let myself get lost, the magic of Venice took over. 

This was especially true Friday morning. 

I had a few things to take care of before my flight the next day, so I woke up uncharacteristically early for breakfast and one last walk around the city. My train wasn't until 10:00, which gave me a few hours to get myself lost again. While Venice is constantly packed with tourists once the weather warms up, the early mornings belong to the locals. The streets were nearly empty, and I reveled in the ability to stop and stare wherever I wanted without the fear of being trampled or smacked with a selfie-stick. I loved stumbling into a quiet square where the only people were a few children playing  a quick game of soccer before school, completely unaware of anyone trying to maneuver around them without getting hit by a ball. The streets stayed empty until about 8:45. In the end, I was VERY grateful for the little "Ferrovia" signs around the city that pointed the way back from the train station; otherwise I'm sure I'd never have found my way back (especially once my phone died!). 

Burano: A Rainbow of a City

Even from a distance, the candy-colored houses of Burano stood out vividly. 

Burano is a small journey within itself, and while this was my fourth visit to Venice, it was my first on the tiny island. 

To get to the colorful island, you need to first take a vaparetto to Murano, then disembark and grab another to Burano. The process takes at least an hour, and includes waiting in an incredibly long line. However long, the trip is well worth the time spent as Burano is incredible. 

As the daughter of a painting contractor, we always had tons of fan-decks lying around (you know, the flip-book with thousands of paint colors that you can find at Lowe's or Home Depot). I use to flip through them, picking out all of the colors I'd paint my room. I always wondered if anyone's parents let them paint their bedrooms the colors at the bottom of each card, the brightest, most vibrant shades. Well, everyone who ever dreamed of painting their bedroom neon pink or bright green will find their sanctuary in Burano! 

Set against the cloudless blue sky, the picturesque town didn't even look real. The town itself is small, and easily explorable within just a few hours. While the main strip is busy with tourists, stepping off into any of the deserted side-streets is enough to remind you that this isn't Disney World; someone really lives in these intensely colored homes.

Quick Post: Day Trip to Venice

I love being able to say things like, "I went to Venice for a day trip." Ahhhh how'd I get so lucky!?

Back to Venezia

Maybe you’ve noticed, but I’ve gotten myself a little bit behind in posts; it’s the beginning of May, and I’m just finally writing about my parents’ visit from February! I was very excited to spend February break in two of my favorite places that I’d also visited with Holly. As much as I’d like to be spontaneous, I’ve realized that I feel a lot of pressure when traveling with others; I want everything to be perfect and to know what I’m doing, so visiting places I’d been and could show off was a good choice.

 

Venice, as I mentioned in another post, is magical and otherworldly. 

During the summer it was wonderful to walk through the sun-drenched streets and plazas, but winter has an ethereal feel. The rain brought out a fog that seemed to linger along the floor, and the gloom brings out a little more of the magic. Carnival had just ended, and their was a quietness about the city that was lovely and peaceful. 

In typical Streisel fashion, we did a lot of wandering (my fav), but also toured San Marco's and Doge Palace. I don't know what it is, but recently I'm even more of a crybaby than ever before (how is that possible?). I've been getting very teary in the presence of beauty or something awe-some (I know that word doesn't need a hyphen, but I want it clear that I mean something I'm in awe of, not just something cool). We were overlooking the Basilica from the upstairs museum, and the beauty humans are capable of creating just takes my breath away sometimes. 

 

Peeking through The Bridge of Sighs...
Sigh...

The cruelty can also be just as striking, however. In the Doge's palace, we were very excited to see the apartments- we love seeing how people once lived, and could only imagine the opulence we'd find inside a palace! After making it through without seeing any apartments, we could only assume that they were either closed, or that it referred only to what the space was once used for. What we did find was a horrifying display of weapons and the dungeon. I tried to look at the huge array of instruments used to kill only for their historical value as artifacts, but the variety of ways people have found to hurt each other over the year was too real and too disturbing when seeing it all displayed like that. Yuck.

One of our favorite finds was the most unique little art shop. 

It was tiny- about the size of a walk in closet- but full of beautiful collages of different scenes from around Venice done with printed paper, beads, pressed flowers, and ribbon. We took advantage of the miniature little shop as respite from the rain, but left with a number of new works of art for our homes. I love the different look, and mine looks perfect in my apartment!

On a random note, I've been reading mostly children's books this year... 

Don't judge, I have to keep up with children's lit to be able to teach it and make good suggestions for my little bambini! Anyways, I read Cornelia Funke's Thief Lord shortly before the trip, and it was the perfect before-Venice novel! The descriptions of various city landmarks and twisting alleyways from the perspective of a child is perfect for either getting excited before a trip, or for reminiscing after leaving the lovely city.