Sinking City

Yesterday was our first full day in Venice. We arrived too late (and too exhuasted) on Sunday evening to actually go into the city, so we had some delicious pizza and went to bed in our tent! Yes, you heard right, we are staying in a campsite for this leg of the journey. What originally began as a preferred cheaper alternative to the expensive hostels in Venice soon became a haven from the hustle and bustle and overpriced food of Venice proper. CAMPING JOLLY ( as they fondly refer to themselves) is on the mainland about a 15 minute busride from the Venice-gondalas-bridges-lagoon-St. Mark's Square that everyone thinks of. CAMPING JOLLY has permanent, aluminum-frame tents with bunk beds inside, swimming pool, work out facility, and its own grocery, restaurant, and bar. It is connected to Venice by shuttle and city bus, so it is very easy to get back and forth. It's perfect for what we want right now, because traveling does wear on a person and a little relaxing getaway was just what we wanted. This morning we went swimming, did a load of laundry, and are FINALLY updating blogger before heading into the city later to see Venice at night.

Yesterday was a power visit. We walked all over the winding streets and over the bridges, saw the Carrer Museum, St. Mark's square and Basilica, and the Doge's Palace. Each of these were quite interesting, and really give you a well-rounded idea into how the city functioned throughout its history such as a stowaway for barbarians, mercantile and marine power, and its own little autonomous state. The figure of the doge fascinates me immensely. His role was more similar to current English monarchy aka symbolic and state importance more than the actual ruling of the land. They also wore a funny little hat. Venice had a ruling aristocracy and no constitution, which amazes me that they were able to last so long. The Carrer Museum gave a perfect idea of this with its rooms full of Venice's currency throughout the years, naval trading ships, and armory.

The Doge's Palace was very dark and ornate with large portraits on the walls, and wood paneling all the way to the ceiling. We were surprised to find that it was connected to the state prison only by a Bridge of Sights, where the prisoners would look one last time at the beautiful canals of Venice with a sigh before being committed to the dark prison for life. Venice has left a very good impression on me... I mean, how many places are partially under water, and perhaps might be gone in the next 20 years? They are taking precautions to prevent this, however, with a billion dollar inflatable dam wall that protects the city during the 100 times a year that it floods.