First days in Venice!

Arriving in Venice on Friday afternoon was an adventure in itself. Getting up at 6am, I found that although Viterbo is only 1 hour at the most from Rome, to get to the train station in the city, because of the insane amount of traffic, would take almost three times that. After the 4 hour ride to Venice, and as I exit the train, the sky opens up. Within minutes I was drenched. After getting the waterbus to the academia, the closest stop, I hiked across the city. Now, wheeling these three bags wouldn't have been a big deal, if it were not for the distinct features of Venetian city planning that made wheeling very difficult. My luggage almost didn't fit though some of the alleys I had to walk though to get to the house. Canals entail bridges, 7 of which I needed to cross to get to the house. Also, because it is sinking into the sea, the city is under constant reconstruction, so my route included a lot of backtracking and dead ends. But now I'm here- safe and sound.

House really isn't the proper word to use when describing Casa Artom. More accurately, it should be called a palace. My triple room, which is at least five times as large as my double at wake, has direct access to the Grand Canal. That means that when police boats come speeding by, we can hear the waves crash right up against our door. Our library is HUGE and the house is decked in bookshelves, overflowing. The kitchen even has a pasta roller! I'm all set.
Casa Artom also has a fantastic location. If we talk a right out our door, we immediately run into the Guggenheim and the Academica. If left, we hit La Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute. It takes 10 minutes to walk to the supermarket, and less than 2 to get to a fishmarket that is open every morning with the catch of the day.
On Saturday I visited the Academia museum and wandered through the San Marco district.

I am learning to appreciate all the things my parents did for me so much more now that all the planning, preparation, and performance of all activities essential to life, I must now do myself. To cook, clean, do laundry, while doing everything else you want to do during the day was a feat I successfully accomplished today- hopefully by the end of this semester I'll be a well-oiled machine ready for the real world. My first dinner- cooked for myself: mashed potatoes with green peas and pancetta. Adding that fatty Italian bacon makes everything taste better.

I received a text being invited to a theater house party- Thanks for the invitation Nathan, but I won't be able to make it.

Tomorrow is our first day of planned activities: intense touring around the city. Wish me luck!

Love and miss all of you, and you are certainly in my prayers,
yours truly
Alé