Wednesday, 3/12/03
I got some work done last night, but not a whole lot. This morning at breakfast several of us snagged food for lunch. I got a roll and made a ham and cheese sandwich. Then I took a croissant with peach filling. Right before we left I decided to go to the Vivaldi concert tonight. I hesitated because I didn't want to spend the money and because I needed to work, but I would kick myself if I missed Vivaldi in Venice. It was only €16, too.
Cady and I were the last girls out of the hotel due to buying our tickets, and we ran most of the way to the boat. When we got there I ran straight onto the boat, not knowing that it was the wrong one. I realized at the last minute and they let me off. That would not have been good if I'd been taken to the mainland or somewhere else scary.
So we got to the main island and were standing in a circle around Paolo to gather. He moved outside the circle leaving a cavity, and about a minute later a pigeon shot a poop that landed exactly in the middle of the circle. We all felt really lucky. Katie started ducking out of nervousness every time a pigeon flew overhead, but I told her that she was probably exposing more surface area that way than standing up straight!
To skip ahead, I am now in Love with Vivaldi in general and not just "Le Quattro Stagioni" (The four seasons). We're in the intermission of the concert and I can't believe I almost didn't come! The orchestra only has nine members but they are so good. The soloist for the last piece (it was actually Paganini, not Vivaldi) actually plucked his strings as well as playing chords for one of the variations.
At first the echo in the church bothered me but I got used to it. This was a beautiful church, with oil paintings on the walls, and two statues on either side of the altar. One has a veil over her face that looks so real that Edit didn't even think it was stone. After the Guggenheim today I am a genuine art lover. I can now sit through a concert enthralled instead of pretending not to be bored for culturation's sake. And I can stare at an abstract painting instead of grazing through a museum.
I am so happy! All I want to do is sing! No, no, none of that! The only thing that could make it better is if I was in love. When I meet someone, I'm going to tell him, "Sorry, I can't fall in love here. I'll meet you in Venice."
I'm in my hotel room and I feel like my bed is swaying with the waves.
What a perfect day! After the absolutely incredible concert we went back to St. Mark's square...but first I must finish about the concert. I'm glad I decided to become acquainted with more Vivaldi instead of going to "The Four Seasons". It makes the experience more meaningful, not just "I saw so-and-so live." And live is a completely different experience, just as a painting is from a print. The last piece, by Camille Saint-Saens (it was mostly Vivaldi) was really exciting and I know I've heard it before. I'll have to go hunting for it when I get home.
So we went to St Mark's. Venice is a completely different experience at night. The square was lined with golden lights, there were very few people, and there was a piano playing in a restaurant nearby.
Edit started twirling. Then I challenged her to a race across the square. I thought she would beat me easily, but we tied. Then we linked arms with Karin and skipped toward the boat docks. Then we both twirled some more. When we were waiting for the boat, the three of us, had balancing competitions on the floating dock. It was so much fun. On the boat we let our hair blow in the wind and imitated our guides (I'll describe Guido later). This is truly the most romantic city in the world.
To get back to the day, TAMU group went through the Doges Palace this morning. We actually had a hired guide (Paolo took us through St. Mark's). His name was Guido and he was really good, but funny because he repeated certain facts over and over, like how the ceiling was 24 carat gold in a thin foil, and how the fresco technique isn't good in Venice because of the humidity, and how the doors in the Palace weren't made for groups. We went through the dungeons and over the Bridge of Sighs, which people attribute the name of to lovers sighing as they pass under in a gondola, when in actuality it's named after the sighs of tortured prisoners. There's a novel written about a man who escaped those dungeons, by Casanova. In the Doges Palace also, was a huge room (40' high x 80 x 120) with a huge depiction of heaven. Unlike other depictions of heaven in various Last Judgment frescoes (which Marco says are very boring compared to the "hells"), this one was interesting and beautiful. A man sitting on a cloud reading a book just won my heart.
Another room that I thought was interesting had paintings of wise men (I don't remember who they were), but on each wall a different century. In the 16th century the concept of wisdom is having a long beard. The 17th century was a mustache and long hair, like The Three Musketeers, then 18th century was a long curly wig.
After the Palace, Valerie, Carmen and I took off to find San Barnabas, the church that, according to Ken, had the X marks the spot in Indiana Jones. On the way we went to the Peggy Guggenheim collection museum. It was all cubist, surrealist, and other modern art. I now really like modern art. If I wasn't studying architecture I wouldn't be so fascinated by Mondrian's proportions, or wanting to count every geometric combination in Picasso's "The Poet". But what I loved best were the brilliant colors.
After the Guggenheim we went back to San Barnabas (it was closed earlier) and it wasn't the right church! We were quite upset, but gave up our search [I found out since then that it was the right church, only the outside of the church that was used, not the interior]. Oh, I forgot to write that I finally got my Venetian mask! I had wanted a colored one, but the one I got is a little better quality. It's painted silver with rhinestones on it. Next Halloween I'm going to wear my renaissance dress, paint my face and neck, create some kind of drape or headdress, and wear my mask so I won't even look like myself. I'll be a Venetian Carnivale player.
After that adventurous afternoon I came back to Lido to work for a few hours before the concert. I turned on the news, saw Newt Gingrich make a fool of himself on a talk show, and found out that the Serbian Prime Minister was assassinated today. I don't know what to think about this war business.
Thursday, 4/13/03
I forgot to write yesterday that before we left San Marco's square we went to a little baroque instrument exhibit that had text about the life of Vivaldi. Before that I didn't even know Vivaldi was a Venetian. There were some really funky instruments, and they played Vivaldi, which really set the mood for the place.
Back on Lido I passed on the street a musician who was playing some kind of Middle Eastern bagpipe. I loved it. It was like the fast paced snake charming music. If I had enough money I would pay a street musician to follow me around everywhere.
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