Venice

Arrived in Venice this morning after an easy 2hr train ride from Florence. My hostel is called the Venice Fish, for whatever reason, and is right next to one of the many small canals here in the heart of the city. It seems very much a place to mesh with other travelers, as the couple of girls working here introduced themselves, said dinner is at 9, and the drinks start right after. It's a cool place that has a communal living room with a central balcony over the canal, and rooms coming off of it in each direction. As far as the city goes, it could not be more interesting, although very crowded in the small walkways. Every place I have been to has been different and beautiful in their own way, but each has certainly had a feel of greatness and enduring, powerful history. I started today walking through the tiny streets to St. Mark's square, where I walked around for a few hours and toured St. Mark's Basilica. It rivaled St. Peter's with its staggering halls, the ceiling is lined in a kind of gold and the walls are painted in as much detail as I have seen. Unfortunately, no pictures inside were allowed, as well as at the Galleria Academia which I went to next. If you're into Renaissance art, both the Uffizi and Accademia are the places to go. Bellini and Lodi were two that really stuck out for me, along with every artist you have heard of from the period of course, but these two in particular painted like the images were made to be 3-d, with a curious emotion and vibrant color that made every picture project a surreal feeling. The scale on which every one of these artists painted is perhaps the most impressive thing, in which paintings of extreme detail and realism take up the entirety of a wall or ceiling, sometimes spanning some 50 feet or so across. I would have liked to stay in both Florence and Venice another night or two, but I do feel like I've seen all the things I set out to on paper in the planning stages, which has given me a good fill of Italy and its grand, historical, and unique city cultures. The guys here are starting to drink and rock out to some Coldplay of all music, so I think I'll wrap this up. I've got a ticket that takes me to Milan in the morning, then onto Interlaken where I should arrive around 2pm. Ready for the Alps...