Well, I am back after a busy, exhausting and amazing 10 days. Venice did not fall short of expectations. It was beautiful and relaxing, which was appreciated after hectic Rome. There were a lot of cool shops. Murano blown glass is really popular in Venice, and there were many stores full of beautiful hand-made glassware. There is so much I would of bought, but it was so expensive. Some of the vases and sculptures I saw were over 600 euros. Venetian masks were also very popular, and very cool.
Our hotel in Venice was cool but not very hotel-y. People looking for a continental breakfast and a concierge may have been disappointed, but I loved it. It was basically an apartment, but very clean and very cute. We had a key to the outside door so we came and went with no interaction with hotel staff.
After Venice we went to Seville. This also is not a touristy town, but it was fun to visit. It felt at times like a smaller, Spanish Paris. It was also very very hot, somewhere between 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit every day. To make the streets more walkable in the heat, any kind of shade was a must. Since the streets are relatively narrow and the buildings usually 4-5 stories high, the most common solution was to stretch strips of fabric from one building to another across the street, which created a very nice, unique atmosphere. This was done the most on shopping streets, and in courtyards. Another neat way they created shade was to grow vines on metal frames, they grew thickly enough that they created a solid green roof that was really pretty. Usually they completely hid the frames, so it looked like the trees and vines just grew that way.
The only really touristy thing we did in Seville was go see the Cathedral. I was told it was the 3rd largest cathedral in Europe, but I'm not 100% sure that is true. It was very very big though. It used to me a mosque, and was converted into a cathedral in the 1500s. The only part of the mosque that it retained was an orange tree courtyard, which was really cool. The courtyard was paved, with the trees placed in a grid and a big fountain in the middle. The trees were watered by an irrigation system sunk into the courtyard, which brought rainwater straight to the trees, and created a cool pattern in the stone pavers. The Cathedral itself was really impressive. It didn't have statues like Notre Dame or Chartres, but it had lots of intricate, curly ornamentation. The organ was particularly cool: the pipes stretched almost floor to ceiling, and they were encased in intricately carved wood. It was all incredibly beautiful. Another neat thing about the Cathedral: Christopher Colombus's tomb was there. It was very big, a 4-high rectangular base with four larger-than-life statues carrying what was either a chest or a coffin.
One cool thing I forgot to mention about Rome: Raphael is buried at the Pantheon. I had no idea until I went there, so that was a cool surprise. Also, the engraving on this tomb translates to "here lies Raphael, by whom the mother of all things (Nature) feared to be overcome while he was living, and while he was dying, feared herself to die."I wonder if he chose those words himself...
Anyhow, back to Seville. We only had one full day there, but by that point in our travels we were getting pretty burned out. Aside from the stress of travel itself, it was kind of exhausting to switch languages every few days. I went from France, where I spoke a little French, to Italy where I only know a handful of Italian words, to Spain, where I know a little Spanish but mostly got it confused with Italian, which is very similar. Today I was relieved to return to Paris, where I can at least say and understand a little.
All the places I traveled to had their own claim to fame, and a unique appeal, but I didn't in fall in love with any of them the way I fell in love with Paris. I was happy to return, and I still think Paris is my favorite city.
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