ahhhh Venezia... what a weekend!

I have so many things to say about my many *many* adventures this weekend! We got there on Saturday around 11 in the morning. And, lucky us, we were there for a historical moment! There was aqua alta higher than it has been since 1979! Oh yes. Since Venice is venulated with channels of water instead of streets, this meant that much of the city was actually under water. Because the level of the water was 1.5meters. Oh yes. In San Marco, the main piazza with the gorgeous church and where (I couldn't believe) tourists were paying to feed the pigeons which resulted in the pigeons flying on the tourists in great hords (eew! I was so disgusted! ugh!), the city had put up these temporary walkways about 4 feet above the ground where everybody was shuttled from one side of the piazza to the other en masse, and even these pseudo bridges were under water! I was talking with an American student in Venice who said that he had to wade through water up to his thighs. Ha ha! It was such an adventure! To get to dinner, we put tied plastic trashbags over our legs and at one point I actually took my shoes off, rolled up my pants, and just had the bags over my feet. Hee hee! Luckily, the next day the water had gone down and so it was actually possible to walk around the city. How beautiful! I have never seen a city like Venice before. Oh my goodness, it was absolutely gorgeous! I was just walking all around the city and absorbing everything, which meant that I became in a very reflective mood and wrote in my journal in one of the churches. Oooh! I also stumbled across this incredible exhibit on Vivaldi which displayed the most beautiful violins and violas and cellos made in the 18th century, and also some very unusual instruments which I made quick sketches of in my journal so I could remember them. It totally made me nostalgic for my lil' bassoon. *sniffle* It also made me think of Bea and Tina and how much I miss you guys! I love you! Ah! And I also got to go to the Guggenheim exhibit! Yaaaay! It was so awesome! I love the Italian Futurist movement. Not to mention that there were actual Pollacks there too! Who'd have thought that IHUM would actually pay off? Hehe... Anyways, I should probably take off right now because I have so much work to do and I am getting stressed and I am tired because the train came in from Venezia after midnight. Ciao tutti, and write to me so that I have some love!