Artsy Stuff

Got into the fruit market, which was closed because it was sunday, so I ended up overpaying somewhere else because I still wanted fruit. Took the vaporetto to the exit where I found the ghetto (Venice has the original ghetto). It's shocking how small an area they were kept in (comprable to about 2 square blocks), but the history there is so intense that you can feel it. I toured the very small museum, but didn't take the synagogue tour, as I had forgotten a coverup and didn't want to offend anyone. Wandered for a bit and found a panetteria (bread shop), where I ordered home baked matzo in Italian, then tried to help the little old lady shopkeeper speak with a groud of British tourists. From there I went and toured the Doge's Palace (shocking contrast) which is amazing and ornate (although I hadn't realied that it was mainly a ceremonial role). After that, tired feet made me take a very long vaporetto ride the wrong way round the island to get to the Zaterre stop (where the trattoria Dad and Nomi liked is) but unfortunately they don't sell food on Sundays. Got a call from Nat (guy from my Italian class last semester, who has been studying in Bologna) to meet up, so I hung out in the area (with a gelato to occupy myself). We met up, got more gelato, then wandered back through town to the Rialto, then down to San Marco. From there we took a vaporetto the the Giardino (garden) for the Biennale, and I have to say, if you are looking at art, and art history major is a good companion. We saw some really interesting exhibits, and I got a call from Dad, which was nice. We headed to dinner at Da Silvio (a restaurant that Danny and Maggie recommended for the drink called a slurpino, which they no longer have) and we randomly ran into a girl from Nat's hostel in Rome. We had a really nice dinner; good food, fun conversation, nice wine. Ended up hanging out there for quite a while, so it was just back to the buses after wards. But a really nice night: I like travelling alone, but it is also really fun to have someone to interact with in a strange place.