Ara ara - Venice

Venice is a total contrast to Palermo.  There are no cars or insane traffic -- everyone travels on foot or by boat.  A less welcome difference is that Venice swarms with tourists, even in March.  At Oxford, one realizes just how bad American accents sound (Yeah, Oxford makes you really insecure about the sound of your own voice). When I'm in Venice I start hearing strangers' ugly American accents again, because Americans are everywhere.

Fuck Yeah Aria

My only knowledge of Venice comes from Aria.  Still no camera, so you're gonna get pictures of Aria-Venice (Neo-Venezia) instead of the real thing.   Noticeably absent from Neo-Venezia are the masses of chatchka shops that are omnipresent in Venice.  Seriously, I have never seen a city with anywhere near as many stores that sell junk.  If you are looking for a new letter opener or paperweight, Venice has several dozen stores that specialize in such items.  On my first day in Venice, I decided to buy a decent pen and a notebook, so I could chill by a canal and write my thoughts (because if there’s one thing I need more of, it’s bullshitty introspective self-analysis, but whatever).  I spent a full SIX HOURS looking for these things.  Venice is the only city on the planet with more shops that sell dip pens than rollerballs.  In fact, Venice has more shops that sell decorative glass pizza wheels (really) than pen and paper.  Numerous shops sold extremely expensive (over 40 Euros) notebooks, and lots sold glass dip pens that do not actually work.  Fountain pens with cartridges or filling systems are great.  Dip pens are birthday presents for people you don’t like.  I finally found an art store that stocked practical art supplies rather than souvenirs somewhere near the Realto.

Y U LIE TO ME ARIA

I say “somewhere near” because Venice is a complete maze.  My hotel in Venice is by far the most expensive place I am staying for any of my trips, because it was selected primarily on the basis of ease of location.  It is a really nice hotel though, and I think an absolute steal for what I’m getting.  That’s another bad thing about Venice:  Everything is outlandishly expensive.  Oxford is an extremely expensive city to live in, but prices in Venice are absolutely outrageous.  There is only one chain restaurant in the entire city, and I ate at that solitary McDonalds in protest of how badly every other food outlet in the city rips tourists off.  The hotel provides a large free breakfast buffet, where I ate as much as I could.

So basically, in my first day in Venice I wandered for hours around a city filled with tourists and shops selling junk.  And it was still a great day because Venice is such an amazing city.  There are so many extraordinary buildings.  The lack of cars is tremendously refreshing.  I imagine that had I been born in Venice, I would have difficulty living anywhere else.  Once one gets away from the more touristy areas, Venice is a labyrinth of canals and tiny streets, with clotheslines everywhere and not a modern building in sight.

 

For the rest of my trip I basically wandered around, seeing as much of the city as possible, since all of it is cool in its own way.  The Vaporetto (water buses) are a great way of cruising around the city, and it’s so easy to hop on and off during a day of exploration.  In fact, I was so wrapped up in my “explore Venice” mode that I actually did a really bad job of seeing the tourist attractions.  The only really famous museum I saw was the Academia.  I finally figured I ought to visit the interior of the Basilica de San Marco on my last day in Venice, and a thunderstorm ended that plan (San Marco square entirely lives up to the hype too – it’s absolutely breathtaking).  Still, I’m glad I discovered all the random free churches and museums dotted around the city.

Pretty sure the hordes of tourists in St. Mark's Square would trample any snow used to make snowmen

And yet, I still feel like in a way I experienced Venice incorrectly.  Sure, monuments like the Basilica are impressive, but what makes truly extraordinary is the nature of the city.  Some parts of Venice feel like they are from a different century.  As probably everyone reading this blog knows, I walk really fast and also eat really fast.  I felt really hurried amidst the tranquility of the city as I ran around and gobbled overpriced meals.  In Aria, Neo-Venezia is a haven of unhurried, technologically backwards life in a future society.  The people of Venice, even the tourists, seem relaxed.  Since I was hoping to relax on this Italy trip (it was unfortunately not a particularly relaxing trip), I felt like I failed in part to appreciate the uniqueness of an entirely water-based city, because I did not adapt my natural habits.

This is a good thing

Also, shout out to Sam and Judy from Yorkshire, two really friendly and open British people I met (friendly and open British people?  Waaaaat?  They said being reserved was a southern England thing).  And another shout out to the friendly people of Traviso airport, who got me on my plane despite the fact that I was an absolute imbecile and managed to lose my boarding pass.

Palermo

No, I did not bring a camera to Oxford.  Yes I am a moron.  If you want pictures, google "Palermo" and get better pictures than I can deliver.

LonelyPlanet calls Palermo a city of "decaying splendor", which is an extremely accurate description.  The city is a claustrophobic, loud, dingy mess, dotted with extremely impressive buildings that all need repair.  For example, I went to examine what appeared to be the remains of a Greek temple, only to realize that the floor was covered in ratty blankets and cardboard boxes.  This tremendous piece of architecture was being used by the homeless since it gave them protection from the rain.

Other interesting sights in Palermo:

-A girl who looked like she was about 9 years old smoking a cigarette.

-A group of people slowly pushing their car down a busy street.

-A marble statue standing amid a pile of rubble that was being bulldozed away.

-Ambulances and fire trucks getting stuck in Palermo traffic.  Watching an ambulance sit motionless, sirens wailing, really makes one realize how efficient American and British traffic systems are by comparison.

-A group of kids playing soccer and running into a busy street after the ball.  Drivers in Palermo are terrifying.  Left turn on red seems to be legal, and cars frequently run red lights entirely.  Cars will also cross double yellow lines to pass each other, which is about as terrifying to watch as it sounds.

Basically:  Do not drive in Palermo.  Or walk in Palermo.  Or ride a bike in Palermo (these people are also mad).  I recommend using a jetpack or some other aerial transportation mechanism.

Also, I've never seen a city that so clearly did not have its shit together.  The Palermo cathedral (really magnificent and unique cross between Romanesque and Moorish architecture) claimed to charge admission, but I walked right in while looking around in bafflement for a ticket counter.  I eventually found a counter, bought a ticket, and walked into a special area which my ticket did not cover.  When I was in the crypts one emergency exit sign pointed to a crumbling and almost inaccessible ladder, leading up a dark tower.  In an emergency, if that is your only exit path you are very screwed.  Similarly, the castle at Palermo is currently used to house the Sicilian parliament and some military installation.  This would be like holding parliament in the Tower of London.  Problems started before I even got out of the airport. The Palermo baggage carousel did not work properly, prompting the Italian guy I had been sitting next to on the plane to snarkily comment "welcome to Sicily".

After a few days, I got used to the very un-Oxford zaniness and chaos of Palermo.  Unfortunately, due to personal drama I was miserable for most of my stay.  Sicily is beautiful, but it is hard to appreciate when you feel like shit.  I'll just mention one anonymous Sicilian guy who cheered me up immensely.

One of the sights in Palermo is the Teatro Maximo, this absolutely gargantuan opera house.  If this structure was in Rome, it would just look like an extremely impressive opera house in need of repairs.  In Palermo, it looks ludicrous.  There cannot be enough opera lovers within 20 miles to fill this thing - each side is half a block long.  Anyway, I was moping around there and wandered into one of the million of little cafes that dot Palermo.  I was even spacier than usual, and managed to knock this tray of brioches (at least I think that's what they were) onto the floor.

I was already having a terrible day, and now felt like a total moron.  I desperately tried apologizing to the guy behind the counter in my non-existent Italian.  He insisted that I sit down (I was planning on ordering something to go), calm down, and gave me the most delicious cannoli I've ever had in my life.  He also refused to accept any money for the brioches, or my 400% tip for the cannoli.  That was actually the only cannoli I had in Palermo -- that place was closed when I went there again that evening.  I know that guy will never know it, but he really brightened up my day.

End of Hillary Term

Oxford runs on a trimester system, meaning that there are three terms:  Michaelmas, Hillary, and Trinity.  I'm at Oxford for Hillary and Trinity terms.

There's actually about a 5 week break between terms so I get to wander around Europe for a bit.  Currently I'm visiting Italy, France, and Morocco, but I only have about half(!) of my break planned out.  I wish I was more motivated to get work done, since I still have internship applications and some other stuff to work on, but right now I'm just trying to figure out flights and how I am going to find my hotel in Venice when my flight arrives at night and Venice is an absolute maze.

No updates for a while, but I'll be having a blast, and am excited to return to Oxford for Trinity term!