The Venice Hookup

 A memorial to the victims of the holocaust from Venice, and all of Europe at large.
 The apartment/tenements in the ghetto. Look how the windows are placed right on top of each other. Imagine how low the ceilings are in those buildings.
 Within the door that's in the next picture. You can see where the gates were bolted into the wall, to prevent people from leaving. When Napoleon came and took over, he had the gates ripped off and the Jewish people were allowed to travel whenever and wherever they pleased. Interestingly, most of them stayed within the ghetto, and kept that mentality because they had been previously conditioned to accept it as a permanent and acceptable lifestyle.
 The entrance to the ghetto; this tiny doorway was the only way in, and out.
 She doesn't want to go back to Florence. Oh well.
 Inside the Jewish ghetto of Venice. A bakery.

 an alleyway, pretty empty on Shabbat.
 Look how CLOSELY these buildings are placed together!
 Barbed wire, to prevent exit?
 A sign.
 On the way to San Marco, one of the biggest squares in Venice (probably the biggest). This was taken from the mainland, and that is one of the Venetian archipelago small islands.
 In front of Duomo di San Marco
 In Piazza San Marco - PIGEONS everywhere and these people put crumbs on themselves. WHY ?
 Taken from a main bridge, somewhere in Venice. Chissa! (who knows)

 The first Hebrew I've seen in Italy - No I did not see any, even at the synagogue in Florence.
 Kirsten and our gondoliere. She had a crush, especially when he whistled.
 On the gondola, more touring.
 The sides of the buildings. Note the dark area near the bottom; Venice, being based within canals that are filled by the sea is susceptible to the rising and falling tides that occur naturally.

 Going under a bridge in our gondola.
 The Rialto bridge, taken from the Canale Grande in our gondola.
 The Canale Grande
 On the top of the Rialto Bridge
 A lone gondoliere - from the Rialto Bridge top.
 The Rialto Bridge - Pretty much tourist central, and where you get a gondola for 3x the price.
 Venice is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaantastic
 First pictures in Venice; right near the entrance to the city, near a small random canal. Near Tolentino Church.
 On the way to the city center; a narrow canal. There are probably 6000 such scenes.
In a mask store! Carnevale is the Venetian tradition started in the medieval times and continues to this day in February.
 Like I told you! You take one step out of your house too far, POOF, you fall into the water!
 The directions in Venice are a little hard to understand, especially with vandals :-D

Venice...I kinda don't know where to begin. Got there on Friday, left Sunday morning. I also left roughly $1200 poorer, thanks to my fine taste :-D

We stayed 15 minutes out of Venice proper (the hotels were cheaper, and from the looks of it a lot nicer also). Went right away to the city, and shopped. Like a lot. Saw the Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal. I just can't really describe it, the pictures do a better job. In my opinion, the most beautiful city in the world. No, really. It is. VERY humid (more than Florence) but that didn't bother me really. Apparently Murano glass is a big deal? I had never heard of it before coming here, and before my mom told me from Las Vegas that the Venetian there sells it and maybe it's cheaper here (nope, it's not). I bought basically everyone souvenirs here, because in Florence there really is nothing besides "ITALIA" T-shirts, which I did buy 1 or 2 of for people, but that gets old real fast. Lots of beautiful paintings (oils, acrylics) in Venice and also beautiful people. I'd have to say, it's the best looking population in Italy, def. better than Florence which for the most part has not impressed me looks-wise. 

We took a Gondola ride! Of course, how can you go to Venice and not take a gondola ride? It lasted about 30 minutes and cost 100 euro - that's roughly 175 dollars. Totally worth it though; the views were amazing, and we were in the water in VENICE, haha. So crazy and such a good time. The city is, as you know, within the water. Literally, you walk out the front door and BAM water. People said the water was green and dirty; I personally thought it was really pretty looking, and was so hot that I wanted to dive in it. OH they are BIG on seafood there (you think?!). Like lobsters-still-alive-in-the-window-of-the-restaurant style. It was freaky when the antennas and eyeballs were moving...and thinking people like 45 min later might be eating it. Ew. I'm happy to be Jewish sometimes, no offense to anyone. Well I will not reveal the gifts I bought you fine ladies and gents, but as for myself I got sneakers, 2 football jerseys, a MAP (I finally found a nice, antique-style map for my room), a Ferrari T shirt. Yes there was a Ferrari store; everything was red, and really cool (why didn't I take a picture of this?). 

Later in the day, my friend and I went looking for the Jewish ghetto - the first ghetto ever created in history. When we got to the area (after crossing about 5 bridges and hearing Hebrew/Israelis everywhere, seriously, they all come here) we walked into a tiny door (pic below) into the ghetto. We later learned this was the only way into and out of the ghetto, so the Jewish people were really locked up from 12AM-6AM. The only way out was if you were a doctor or someone else needed by the aristocracy. Hey, if I lived in Venice then I'd have been allowed out! We walked further and a guy with a beard and black hat comes up to me (sweaty and with 4 shopping bags) and my friend (blond haired WASP in a jean miniskirt): "ARE YOU JEWISH?!" I said "I AM!" and they like, carried us into this room where a shabbat meal was set up (oh, this was on Saturday, btw). It was cool to see that there; none of them were Italian (they're chabad) but we got a short history ont he ghetto and some much needed water, challah. Then we walked out, walked around and saw stuff. The buildings were really close together, the windows right on top of each other; in other words, low ceilings and cramped, shitty conditions. We later walked into a broad piazza where 5 synagogues are, still functioning. Greek, Spanish, Italian, Ashkenaz, and one other. We couldn't get in because it was shabbat and I was a little disappointed; but I will go inside the one in Rome next Friday night when I'm there alone, to pray a little. That will be amazing, I'm sure. The ghetto was a really emotional experience for me. Everything was dark (except that one piazza) in the middle of the day when the sun was shining everywhere else around the ghetto area. There were numerous plaques for the 200 Venetian Jews who were deported to Concentration camps in the holocaust. The population in the ghetto was completely decimated in the war; after it ended, only 8 Jews returned there. After this, we ate somethign then went back to the hotel where I read, did some paper work, and went to bed early to catch my 8am train this morning. It was a great way to end a busy, hot hot hot day in a beautiful city.

David