Venice

Just as I had anticipated, I found Venice to be a very charming city. Friday afternoon we wandered through the city en route to the Rialto bridge and ending up in San Marco square. With so many twists and turns around the canals, I am amazed anyone is able to find their way anywhere! We relied largely on the signs directing people to and from San Marco square. I was searching for a specific kind of murano glass pendant that I had seen in Florence (it sparkled extra bright) and eventually found out that it was called Dicroico (or something like that) and was more expensive than the regular murano glass. Ended up just buying a regular glass pendant. Never knew I had an eye for expensive jewelry!

Friday night I went to Chabad for services and dinner and ran into a friend from undergrad (Raichel) there! Services were long but were followed by a free and delicious dinner along the canal. I met people from the US, the UK and Poland. Friendly group. Saturday morning I went to the Spanish synagogue for services and then back to Chabad for lunch by the canal. Hung out with Raichel while Jasmine and Winnie went on a boat ride around Venice, and stopped into San Marco Basilica to admire the mosaics. At night, there was a huge fireworks display, set to music, to mark the beginning of a festival (something to do with the end of the plague...). Among the best fireworks displays I have ever seen!

Don't think I could ever live in Venice but certainly wouldn't mind going back with a little bit more cash in my pocket one day... those gondola rides sure do look romantic!