LOTS of pictures from Venice
i (wendy) am here in venice for phd research. (yes, choosing a subject area where the resources are in venice was a conscious choice.)
i love being here in winter! compared to how crowded it was in summer, the city feels deserted (in a non-creepy way). the locals are out like normal and are much more charming when not being annoyed by barrages of tourists.
the first day i was here was the last day of the exhibition ‘Venice e l’Egitto’ at the Palazzo Ducale. it had some interesting ties to my research and i’m glad i got see it, along with touring the Doge’s palace (on right in pic below). also, i got the youth discount without asking, apparently i can pass for 25 or under (woot woot night cream).
here are some iPhone shots i got with captions underneath:
george clooney advert at the piazzette s. marco
sunset from the balcony of the palazzo ducale
sunset and reflection from the palazzo ducale
atlas flanking the golden staircase (palazzo ducale)
golden staircase (palazzo ducale)
view of venice from inside the ‘bridge of sighs’ connecting the sentencing rooms of the palazzo to the prison
other side from within the ‘bridge of sighs’
winter sunset at piazzette s. marco
hello again, tetrarchs.
lots of italian ladies are wearing fur coats.
today i finally went inside basilica san marco thinking of proust and ruskin and my friends bethie (from brevard) and ashley (who hung out with me in a few italian cathedrals). there was no wait at all and i stayed as long as i wanted (until i almost hunger-fainted because i love me some italian churches)
inside the basilica some italian ladies asked me about one part of the church. i managed two sentences of dialogue before they said ‘you’re not italian are you?’ but hey, it’s the 2nd time in 2 days that i’ve been assumed to be italian and at least my speaking wasn’t so bad that they knew right off.
there are no pics allowed in the church, hence why these are iPhone pics of the floor and outside:
beautiful mosaic floors
my gold herringbone toms on the mosaic floor
san marco <3s Doge
on the roof of the basilica
view of the clock tower from the roof
view of the piazzette from the roof of the basilica
doge hanging out with san marco, the winged lion
i wandered back to the apartment and on the way picked up a present for zeke in a cool man store and went into a thrift shop and got a cool button for my sad cardigan. in the tiny square behind san toma (near the apartment) there were many parents who had just picked up their kids from school and were taking them into this beautiful shop for hot chocolate. it was the most luxurious hot chocolate i’ve ever seen (think real european drinking chocolate) and the children were singing and skipping out. it was wonderful!
this shop made me miss dairy pretty hard. but i did get an espresso and watch everyone dip spoons into their hot chocolate.
then i saw these penguins in a bathroom shop on the way home:
zeke would love a penguin rubbish bin!
tonight zeke and i have a dinner date via videochat (thanks for that idea katherine and grant) and then i’ll write a bit more.
here’s my little studio apartment:
i get to write beneath a venetian chandelier! so glam.
there’s a little kitchenette that connects the living/sleeping room to the bathroom. my favourite part is the ceiling and hanging light above this nook:
the rest of the week is devoted to the textiles museum, Ca Mocenigo, and the Fortuny museum where i’ll be in the archives again!
