A real post about Venice

I am much less tired tonight, so I'm going to write an actual post about Venice! Starting with yesterday:

When we arrived in Venice, the owner of the B&B where we were supposed to be staying met us in a square close to the hotel. Upon our arrival he told us that instead of the B&B, we were actually going to be in the apartment that they also own (on the same square). So instead of having one room and a shared bathroom, we have an entire apartment to ourselves!

The view from the apartment and the main rooms of the apartment.

We arrived in the afternoon and we mostly just walked around Venice. Everything in Venice is beautiful: the streets, the canals, the buildings - so there are plenty of photo opportunities. After walking about one block, Karen had decided that she loved Venice. And I was thrilled to be back! We also had perfect weather yesterday.

Canals and gondolas. Always pretty.

Rialto Bridge, one of only four bridges that crosses the Grand Canal. It has shops that line it and three different walkways for pedestrians. It was packed with tourists when we walked across. All of Venice is packed with tourists.

Canals!

Piazza San Marco and the tower. The cathedral is in the background.

The (very large) cathedral, partly under construction. It was under construction when we were here two-and-a-half years ago as well.

Despite the extreme amount of tourists in Venice (I think there are always an extreme amount of tourists), we haven't had to deal with bad lines yet really. At Piazza San Marco we decided to go up the bell tower to see the views of the city.

View of most of the main part of the city.

The lagoon and one of the nearby islands. 

More of the city.

It's a very pretty city from above as well. Venice was lucky in that it was never destroyed by war or by conquering armies. The buildings have been intact for hundreds and hundreds of years.

We wandered the streets for the rest of the day and after dinner we went to watch the "dueling orchestras" at Piazza San Marco. We saw these bands when I came to Venice with my family a couple years ago and they were great. There are two big cafes next to each other in the piazza and basically one group plays for ten minutes and then the next group plays and they go back and forth for hours. People sit at the cafes, but dozens (or more) people stand and watch the orchestras, moving back and forth between the two cafes to watch both groups. The orchestras (five people each) are phenomenal, so it's a ton of fun to watch. We must have watched for more than an hour last night.

Today we did a lot more wandering and we also went into the cathedral at San Marco. There were services going on, so we couldn't go into the actual church, so we went up to go out to the "balcony" of the cathedral. We thought that was all we were paying to do, but we actually were paying to get into a museum housed in the upper parts of the church. It was full of mosaics and art, but it also brought us close to the ceiling of the cathedral which is one massive mosaic of stones and gold. It was unbelievable, and it was so much better to be up by the ceiling rather than down in the church. Unfortunately, I couldn't take pictures, but it was really amazing - one of the coolest cathedrals I've been into. There are also these four enormous horse statues that Venice stole from Constantinople more than a thousand years ago, though Constantine had stolen the horses from the Romans who had probably stolen them from someone else. (Also, Napoleon stole them from the Venetians for a little while, but they went and got them back.) They decorated the outside of the cathedral for a long time, but now they're inside and replicas have replaced them.

The views from the balcony of the cathedral were nice as well:

Piazza San Marco. On the right you can see the awnings where the two bands play.

San Marco, looking out toward the lagoon. The Doge's Palace is on the left.

With Karen and in front of the bell tower (cool statues at the top actually hit the bell to ring it - they have hammers that they bang on the bell.)

Our weather was good for most of the day, so we basically just wandered around some more. It started raining this evening unfortunately, but luckily with this apartment we could just come back and relax for the evening. It felt good to take a break! We watched a movie and just took it easy.

I don't have too many thoughts or stories, but luckily, as I said, Venice is beautiful, so I can fill my blog post instead with pictures!

The Bridge of Sighs (on the left), so named because it connects the palace with the prison and it was the last glimpse the prisoners got of the beauty of Venice...therefore, they sighed. On the right, another canal. 

Buildings on the Grand Canal. 

A canal in a quieter part of Venice. We walked away from some of the touristy areas to see some other canals/streets/buildings.

The Church of Good Health (I think that's the translation, I don't totally remember what it's called in Italian). The church was built in honor of good health to try to keep away the Plague. Didn't work so well, but a good idea nonetheless.

Gondolas on the Grand Canal.

One more!

Tomorrow the plan is to go visit two of the other islands that are a bit farther away from the main part of Venice. One is Murano, where they make the glass that Venice is famous for, and the other is Burano, a small island that has a bunch of extremely brightly-colored houses. We've been told it's a cool sight to see! Hopefully we'll have some sun for at least most of the day! I haven't seen either of the islands so I'm looking forward to doing some new stuff tomorrow.

I'm also looking forward to eating more gelato. We did that two times today.

Euro Trip Part II: Venice

I am exhausted and have no energy to write a long blog post, but I safely arrived in Venice and spent the afternoon walking the city with Karen. We wandered, got lost, climbed the bell tower in San Marco, ate pizza, and watched the dueling bands. I'll write more about all that tomorrow - I'm too sleepy and my feet are too sore to write about it tonight!

I'm really happy to be back in Venice though. This is probably my favorite city on Earth...so I'm pretty thrilled. This is also Karen's first time being here - and she adores it.

A couple photos:

One of the many lovely canals.

In one of the streets while we were wandering around the city.

More pictures and more information tomorrow!

The last day in France

Today was my last full day in France - though I actually spent several hours of it in a different country. Goodbye to cheap cheese and baguettes and the French language! I will definitely miss all of that...just thinking about not speaking French every day makes me sad. I need to find a way to keep talking it! I go to Venice tomorrow morning; I'm going to be tired, but I wanted to write a quick blog post!

It was a very long and tiring day - but it was a good day. We started off by heading to a tiny Medieval town called Eze that sits on the top of a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean.

This is what Eze is surrounded by...

...and this is what Eze looks out on.

It wasn't much of a town - just a tiny little place with small roads and shops. The streets were very pretty to walk along, and there was a gorgeous small five-star hotel that made you drool just to think about staying there. There's apparently a whole list of small five-star hotels and this is one of them. It's a pretty amazing place to stay!

Some of the "streets" of Eze. It reminded me a bit of Mont Saint-Michel except it was full of flowers and palm trees. 

More streets and one of the churches on the hill - this is the newer church, built in the 1700s.

We paid to go into the "exotic gardens" at the top of the mountain that led up to the ruins of the old castle. The gardens were full of strange flowers and tons of cacti. There were also spectacular views of the Alps and the Mediterranean from the top and from the ruins of the castle. It was a bit hazy, but it was neat because sometimes the fog would come rolling in and we'd be momentarily engulfed and then it would clear up again. But we never saw the horizon; the sky and sea just kind of blended together. It was a pretty magical setting - it didn't seem like it could possibly be real.

Some of the plants in the gardens. The cacti and plants were from all over the world. The Mediterranean climate is apparently friendly to all (flora and fauna).

The view looking down on the gardens and the town from the ruins of the old castle.

At the top and the view to the west (back toward Nice). 

A shot showing some of the fog coming in.

After exploring Eze we got back on the bus to go a few more kilometers down the road to Monaco. Monaco is less than one square mile but is its own country - with voting rights in the UN and everything! It's a principality, so it has a monarchy. The Prince of Monaco - rings a bell, right? It's a tax haven and essentially a playground for the rich - and most of the city is horribly ugly! The casino, Monte Carlo, is fabulous and the old town is very pretty, but the rest of Monaco is horrible apartment buildings surrounding a port of incredibly expensive yachts. Everyone does have a very gorgeous view of the sea, though. But you'll be able to see how different most of Monaco is compared to the old part of town.

They were also in the process of setting up for the Grand Prix all over the city. There were grandstands set up all over the place and railings going up in all the roads. The cars race all over town when it happens.

We started by going into the casino. You can't take pictures inside, but you can go in for free and wander around some of the gaming rooms. It was unbelievably elaborate inside and also a very pretty example of Belle Epoque architecture. Monte Carlo is also one of the oldest (and certainly the most famous) casinos in Europe.

A Rolls Royce and two Bentleys parked in front of Monte Carlo. They were only a few examples of the extremely expensive cars that we saw in Monaco.

Monte Carlo!

A statue in front of the casino - the only way I could get the entire building into one photo!

The casino wasn't too busy when we went in so we wandered around a bit and then walked from the casino around the port to the other side which is where the palace, the aquarium (an enormous building which was once curated by Jacques Cousteau), the cathedral, and the old town are located.

View of the Mediterranean from the casino area.

Some of the (many) massive yachts in the port. On the opposite rise is the old town and the Prince's palace.

The other side of the port was much nicer. The old town was small but pretty (though very touristy) and the palace was surprisingly unassuming; it wasn't big and gaudy as I was expecting. There were some beautiful gardens overlooking the sea and a really amazing cathedral (where Grace Kelly and the other royal family members are buried). The Grimaldi family has ruled Monaco since the 1200s - meaning the current prince is a direct descendant of the original prince. Pretty cool! Though I don't really know what you do as Prince of Monaco. His city is .78 square miles. And the responsibility of protecting the country falls to France. And everyone who lives/hangs out there is unbelievably wealthy. And the weather is awesome.

I'm thinking he doesn't do much. Though we learned over Christmas that sometimes he has to go watch a circus.

But speaking of the Prince, we saw him. We were outside of the palace around 6pm waiting to see if there would be a changing of the guard ceremony when the guards (who were all strangely handsome - we all agreed on this) blew a whistle and moved the chains that blocked the entrance to the palace. Two police motorcycles came around a corner followed by two cars.  We were waiting for a long motorcade and didn't realize until the one car drove past us (about six feet in front of us) into the castle that Prince Albert was inside. We were looking in and there he was, right in front of us, before we even thought to grab our cameras. So that was pretty cool!

Here's the rest of Monaco:

The massive aquarium. It was a really amazing building right on a cliff over the sea - the perfect location for an aquarium!

Some of the gardens - they were up on cliffs above the sea as well. Very lovely.

More views of the sea. That's the back of the aquarium on the left.

Exterior and interior of the cathedral. Everything was gold leaf inside the cathedral. Not surprising when the prince is estimated to be worth $1 billion. 

Streets of the old town. The town houses look over the port and city of Monaco - probably some of the most expensive real estate in the entire world.

The royal palace. Pretty plain. The Prince drove in through the main gate right there. We were standing to the right by the chains there.

Monaco port. 

I saw a ton of stuff today - it was great! I absolutely loved this area of France, the Mediterranean coast, and would most certainly come back. It was great that I was able to see four different cities/villages while I was here, all of which were very different. And I got really lucky with the weather! I'm actually sad to leave this area. I wouldn't mind staying another few days to see some more villages and explore a bit more. But I can't complain that my next stop will be Venice!

Time for sleep since I have to get up tomorrow and get to the airport!

A day on the Mediterranean

The Mediterranean Sea is a very pretty body of water. It's a lot like the Caribbean in terms of how clear and calm the water is. It's very blue and changes colors and is gorgeous to look at. Today we saw it from Villefranche-sur-Mer, a small town west of Nice that sits on a cove of the Mediterranean surrounded by the hills of the Alps.

One of the views of the cove and part of the town.

Ana, Alex (Ana's friend), and I got up and walked over the bus stop and took the bus over the Villefranche. The bus was packed with tourists (we barely made it on) heading to Monaco, but luckily our trip wasn't too long. Villefranche is an old village right on the water; it's full of tiny streets and shops - not unlike Périgueux, except it's set on the Mediterranean and all of the buildings are brightly colored. Sooo a little cooler!

There were tons and tons of restaurants. When we arrived (around noon) it was fairly quiet, but by 2pm or 3pm it was packed with tourists. 

Some of the little colorful streets of the old city. 

I just really liked this street.

We also walked along the beach and around the cape a bit. There were plenty of topless sunbathers - as there are in Nice as well. Lots of them. Young and old. It's just not a big deal here; there were kids on the beach running around and I saw a mother sunbathing topless next to her daughter, but no one seems to notice. That's cool for them, but I, however, will not be partaking in the experience.

The beach was really pretty though. The water was beautiful and it was a nice little place to walk around. We felt the water (it's cold) and sat and looked at the setting for a bit. I'm a little bit sunburned from sitting - though I have funny strap tans from both my shirt and my purse.

Beach - but I made sure there were no topless sunbathers in this one.

More beach - look how clear the water is. It's very blue but it other parts it looks a bit green and you can see all the seashells and algae and rocks.

With Ana! We had a really fun time today - it's so cool that it worked out like this!

The town of Villefranche from across the cove.

Today was mostly just a lot of walking, but that was okay. I love being in the warm sun and the warm weather - I have not gotten enough sunlight in Périgueux! I will also be totally ready for summer when I get home to D.C. It's going to be hard to transition from this weather to some of the other weather on this trip - mainly the weather of Iceland. It probably won't get above the 40s.

We walked through an old citadel in Villefranche as well. It was built in the 16th-century and helped overlook the town. Now it's a public space and you can walk around in some gardens and in the fortress. Of course, as all places in this town, it has lovely views of the Mediterranean.

The citadel that we walked back over to see.

Gardens of the citadel.

Looking out through many of the points with views of the Alps/coast/Mediterranean. This was a seriously nice little town. I really liked it.

Another little garden area within the citadel. It's flowers were dedicated to the Resistance fighters and deportees of WWII, which of course interested me because of my thesis.

We headed back to Nice in the afternoon - and almost didn't make it onto the buses that came through. They were packed with tourists again and we were sardined into them. On the way back the driver pulled over and let a few more passengers on and the one French lady who got one went off on him about how the buses are too crowded and she needs to get to Nice. He argued with her and told her that he had stopped for her, so what was she complaining about? This went on and on and I almost burst out laughing when she said that it should be up to the passengers to decide if the buses were too full, not the bus drivers and that it's ridiculous that they don't stop when they're "full" because this is France, and is not the motto of France "liberté, égalité, fraternité" (freedom, equality, brotherhood)? She ultimately thanked the driver for picking her up, but not until after a 10 minute rant on the Nice area bus system. It was entertaining, to say the least.

I also went into a perfume shop (this is the capital of the perfume world) and bought Fragonard perfume that I had worn in high school/early college and had loved. A friend got me some one time in France and I had never seen it in the States. It was super cheap here, so I bought two bottles. I'm very excited about this find.

Tomorrow evening I'll have to pack up and make sure everything is in my suitcases again. I need to be ready to get on a plane on Saturday morning! I know that I'll definitely be sad to miss this area - I would definitely come back here!