A realist, in Venice, would become a romantic by mere faithfulness to what he saw before him. Arthur Symons
Wisps of salty breezes and beauty unsurpassed describe Venice. It is almost too good to be true how can an ancient city could have been built in the middle of a body of water, maybe that is the romance in itself, the imagined becoming one of the wonders of the world. Stepping out of the train station was a view from a post card, gondolas floating along the Grand Canal under ancient bridges that Casanova would have waltzed along. Upon our arrival, the 4 o’clock sun was reflecting off of the water making it sparkle; the enchantment of the Venice really became apparent.
This past week, my parents came to see me and to travel around Europe. This was their first time ever coming to Europe and I had the pleasure of showing them around the Palazzo and Sansepolcro (both of which they thought to be amazing). I felt like a proud parent showing everyone where I lived and the beautiful town that I have had the privilege of calling home in the past 
month. I took them to many of the local restaurants around Sansepolcro and showed them where the good shopping was( wherein my mom and Corey took advantage of this opportunity). Watching my brother try to order entrées that only exist at Olive Garden really made me laugh! I was able to teach my family about life in Italy and how the cultures were different. My family was able to join our art history class on an excursion to Assisi with the Bankers as our personal “tour guides.” My parents were able to see how interactive the program really is and The Bankers assured that my family wasn’t left out of the academic discussion! In Assisi we saw the Basilica of St. Francis (whose sainthood celebration was on my birthday October 4th.) Assisi resembled the small charming town in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, complete with a Fortress on a hill that looked like a castle. The limestone walls had ivy running down the side and there were flowers of colors in every window seal. The best pictures were the alley ways with winding cobble stone paths. We all sat on the elevated wall outside the Basilica, while the Bankers gave a short lecture on the history and significance of the much loved St. Francis. He was founder of the Franciscan Order of monks and was born in Assisi, in 1181. St. Francis was really the first hippie; he was one with nature, he lived like a peasant, and his most used aphorisms were peace and love. Francis was best known for his commitment to helping the poor and living a simple life himself. I think the world has a lesson to learn from St. Francis and his example of generosity and lack of any materialistic desire.
month. I took them to many of the local restaurants around Sansepolcro and showed them where the good shopping was( wherein my mom and Corey took advantage of this opportunity). Watching my brother try to order entrées that only exist at Olive Garden really made me laugh! I was able to teach my family about life in Italy and how the cultures were different. My family was able to join our art history class on an excursion to Assisi with the Bankers as our personal “tour guides.” My parents were able to see how interactive the program really is and The Bankers assured that my family wasn’t left out of the academic discussion! In Assisi we saw the Basilica of St. Francis (whose sainthood celebration was on my birthday October 4th.) Assisi resembled the small charming town in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, complete with a Fortress on a hill that looked like a castle. The limestone walls had ivy running down the side and there were flowers of colors in every window seal. The best pictures were the alley ways with winding cobble stone paths. We all sat on the elevated wall outside the Basilica, while the Bankers gave a short lecture on the history and significance of the much loved St. Francis. He was founder of the Franciscan Order of monks and was born in Assisi, in 1181. St. Francis was really the first hippie; he was one with nature, he lived like a peasant, and his most used aphorisms were peace and love. Francis was best known for his commitment to helping the poor and living a simple life himself. I think the world has a lesson to learn from St. Francis and his example of generosity and lack of any materialistic desire. After returning from Assisi on Wednesday, the next excursion to look forward to was Venezia! My family, Patsy, and I all left early on Friday morning for Venice. Many modes of transportation later we arrived in the world’s only floating city. Our first full view of the city was from a water taxi winding through the Grand Canal. The concept of having to take a boat to get where we were going was quite amusing. Our final destination was the Grand Hotel Jolanda di Savoia. The term “princess for a weekend” was rather fitting considering the experience we were blessed to have during our stay in Venice. Our room looked like a guest room that would have belonged in Versailles. Patsy and I explored the Square around our hotel, browsing the tacky tourist stands with random assortments of masks and I love Venezia t-shirts. On Friday night we ate at the restaurant in the hotel which won the award for the best desert I have had so far in Venice: A fabulous banana split with real ice cream! We walked on the street-lamp-lit boardwalk towards Piazza San Marco. The best surprise of the trip started with a melodious sound from a string quartet that was playing music from the Titanic. They were situated under the barrel vaulted ceiling of the open-air Gran Caffè Quadri across from the Ducale Palace. I used to play the violin so I have a special fondness for strings. Drawn into the café like a moth to a flame, we sat down and became entranced by the sheer display of emotion and talent combined to create fine art for the ears. This level of performance and ability is normal found in the Trans-Siberian ocrastra and here we were listening to it for free. A small crowd gathered around the café and eventually many people were out of their seats dancing to the Italian classic “Volare!” It was one of those perfect scenes from a movie complete with a soundtrack of a “Lovely Bella Notte!”
The sun was coming up over the water, and the view from our window called us into the streets of Venezia. The hotel arrange a “free” excursion to tour a glass factory, or more likely “we will give you a free tour so you can come look at stuff only celebrities can afford!” The factory no doubt was amazing! We saw an artisan create a glass sculpture of a horse with ease, faster than an Olympic runner can finish a mile! We were taken to a showroom where glass was on display some to be shipped to Tiffany’s and other wealthy clients. I looked at the price of a beautiful horse statue and it was about the same price as Meredith’s tuition! After the escape from the relentless salesman we continued on to the San Marco Square and took our picture with all the pigeons. The San Marco Square houses the oddly leaning clock tower and the Basilica San Marco, the most beautiful and ornate church I have seen so far in Italy! Next was the Guggenheim Collection where Picasso’s works were held. Wake Forest has a palazzo right beside the Guggenheim; those students seem to have such a hard life! To be perfectly honest getting lost was my favorite part of my Venezia experience. Only then did I take time to stop and observe the people around me and how different life is in Sansepolcro compared to Venice. This was the largest variety of people I have seen yet in Italy because most of the people in Venice are tourists. I observed the clashing of some cultural ideals while waiting in line to enter a popular restaurant near the Rialto Bridge called The Trattoria alla Madonna. Americans and British are very aware of the social “cue” to wait your turn when in a line, but some of the Italians were oblivious to the meaning of a line and just walked right into the restaurant and asked to be seated. The humorous melt-down reaction of one British lady made the longer wait worth the while!
I will always remember the weekend I spent with my parents in Venice. My birthday was so much fun being celebrated in Italy with the people I love! My parents surprised me on Saturday night by having the whole entire restaurant sing to me in their best broken English! After turning purple from embarrassment, I enjoyed my chocolate cake! Everyone here in the palazzo made my birthday special as well! Fellow birthday girl Margarita cooked a beautiful lunch as usual and John Rose made a birthday toast! On Monday night going to the Compass Rose with everyone for my favorite cheese burger was one of the best birthdays ever! The trend of having the restaurant sing to me continued! All the presents I received were lovely and I felt so appreciative to have spent my birthday with such wonderful people!
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