We had planned to get up on Sunday morning at 6 and go out and look at the sun come up across the lagoon on St. Mark’s Square. However, faintly I remember turning my alarm off when the 6 o’ clock alarm went off and so I woke up again about 630 and realized it and Mom told me to set it again for 7. I think she ended up getting up about 730 and it was closer to 8 when I rolled out of bed. I skipped the shower and just wet my hair and with gel I looked just as good ;) We headed down to the lobby of the hotel where they gave us a small breakfast which consisted of rolls with butter and jelly along with a cappuccino. After this, we left the hotel and headed to St. Mark’s Square where we were led to believe that tourists had not made it out by 9. We were dreadfully surprised. The cruise tour groups were out in full force with nationalities ranging from Korean to German. We went to go buy our tickets for the train ride to Florence which will be leaving tonight at 630. We need to get there about 20 minutes beforehand.
We had some time before we needed to check out of our room so we decided to stop at one of the cafés in St. Mark’s Square and sit and have a cappuccino and listen to the orchestra that plays for that particular café. I say orchestra but it is really just an accordion, piano, and bass (possibly a violin). There are 4 or 5 cafés on the Square that each have an orchestra so it is nice to go and listen to them when you walk by. Let’s just say that this was the most expensive cup of coffee I have ever had and it puts a $5 venti cappuccino to shame. But then again, like most places in Venice that I have found, you end up paying something just to sit down at a table. If you choose to sit down in a very touristy part of Venice like St. Mark’s Square or near the Rialto Bridge you better be ready to pay about 5 or 6 Euros for each person just to sit down.
Venice has also been known to flood in the months of November and December due to increasing tides. Well November came early today. We had noticed that water was beginning to come up through some of the drains this morning but we didn’t think much of it. By the time we sat down for our coffee in St. Mark’s Square, the water was about 20 feet from us on both sides and at the end of the coffee (about 30 minutes later) the back of my chair was beginning to get bombarded by the flood. By the time we were flooded out, it was time to go back and clear our stuff out of the room so we got our bags and looked out the window at the great view one more time and headed out. We left our bags there and checked with the workers there to find out what was the best way to get to the train station and when we should leave. We need to take another boat near where we were dropped off yesterday and then take it for about 40 minutes before it stops at the train station. We will have to plan on leaving between 4 and 5 to make sure that we get there in plenty of time.
I really wanted to find a place that I could just sit down and have a drink and write some on this blog and try and do some Bible study so we headed off to the area of the Rialto Bridge because I knew there were some cafés there where I could sit and work. The Rialto Bridge crosses over the Great Canal and all of the canals water levels had increased. It was crazy how much the water had risen in the past day. Yesterday, when we were riding in the Gondola you could see that there was a green patch of wall that was algae and barnacles wherever we rode around that was about two feet from the water line. But today, the water had clearly passed that. One of the cafés that I wanted to sit at was all the way under water and they had cleared the tables out. Some of the cafés did not want to seat us though because we were only going to buy drinks and they wanted people to sit down and have lunch.
I ended up going into a more central part of Venice where there wasn’t as much of a service charge to sit down and I had another cappuccino and had a glass of Proseco (white sparkling wine) which was very good. I wrote some on here and listened to music while Mom read in one of the travel books. It was obvious that the people who were working there were antsy about us being there for so long so we decided to pack up and head off somewhere else. We walked back to St. Mark’s because Mom wanted to check and see how the flooding was holding up. Most of the flood had receded and I found a Gelato shop to get some ice cream. I got three scoops of tiramisu, chocolate, and coffee (not three of each) in a waffle cone. I enjoyed myself thoroughly just following Mom listening to my music in one earbud and eating my ice cream while mildly dancing up and down in front of the stores.
I needed to go for a bathroom break so we headed back to the hotel where they had a bathroom for us to use. Then we decided to find some place to get something to eat and we had seen a small shop that people often frequented that was near St. Mark’s Basilica. We stopped there and got a Rustico sandwich and a Calzone to go. I wasn’t crazy hungry and I wasn’t thoroughly impressed by the sandwiches but I am glad I had them. We walked back through St. Mark’s Square again and we found a place near the lagoon that I could sit down and write some. They can’t eyeball me and tell me to get off the ground like they would at other restaurants.
I think one thing that I have been really amazed by today is how many people there are here. People of every nationality and every age. God has formed and fitted them with a one-of-a-kind face, a unique personality, and a specific set of skills. Even more humbling and shocking about it all is that some people will never talk, better yet, think, about their Creator. It is not a skill or a talent that I have trained myself in, to be able to talk to my Father in heaven. It is a gift. It is mercy. I am thankful that I can look beyond what I see and know there is something more. And even to be able to look past the beauty of Venice. I love to travel and see other places of the world. But it doesn’t get me THAT excited. These places are beautiful, but the awe I feel when I see these things is only a sample of what I will feel one day. And I am not saying that these things are not to be enjoyed and the world not experienced just as long as we know that there is a purpose behind it and a meaning for it. I see beauty because I know there is something more beautiful. I love and I experience love from others because I am loved by someone bigger and it flows from Him. I give thanks today for this gift that I have not earned and to know that the future is bright no matter the situations I encounter. And this is not to say that I am perfect and that I am able to view every situation in light of the future. I get frustrated and become more concerned with my present difficulties. I get angry and frustrated when someone wrongs me. But hopefully Jesus can put my eyes back on track and I can find myself again. Can’t wait to see the beauty of Florence next!
No comments:
Post a Comment