It’s funny the things that become normal when you live in Venice for an extended period of time. I’m sure the students here at Carleton who did the Warwick Venice program understand what I mean. Using a boat as public transport to get around is an everyday occurrence and they are always packed with tourists. You get used to seeing amazing 14th and 15th century churches and palazzos and breathtaking canal views. You learn to deal with the limited grocery selection and adopt a carb heavy diet of pasta, pizza and risotto. You also learn that Italians eat meals much differently; barely any breakfast, not much of a lunch and a big dinner late in the evening. You become incredibly annoyed with the millions of tourists in the city that outnumber Venetians 33 to 1 and try to avoid walking around in popular touristic areas during the middle of the day to avoid them. But despite the fact that you start feeling like a Venetian after a while you’re still a tourist at heart; eating gelato daily, snapping photos and using Google Maps to get around when you’re lost.
Even after working at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection for a month and having lived in Venice for a month two years earlier I was still awestruck by the sites of Venice everyday. Taking the waterbus, or vaporetto as it’s known in Venice, down the Grand Canal to work every morning was one of my favourite parts of the day. I was still amazed by the end of the month that I had the opportunity to work at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and be surrounded by modern art masterpieces everyday. One of the special things about Venice is the relationship between Renaissance and modern art. The city feels almost frozen in time in the 15th century but there is also an important modern and contemporary art scene with the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, which is the biggest modern art museum in Italy and the Venice Biennale. Venice is really a unique city, unlike any other in the world. This city consisting of manmade groups of island connected by canals and bridges is by no means an easy city to live in but it is a fun city. Anyone who as the opportunity to visit Venice, even just for a day should to experience its beauty and uniqueness.
