Venetian Sol

Can anyone say heat stroke? It’s been over 30 (that’s >86 for all of you cute little Americans!) for all of my four days in the city that will soon be no more.

What’s that, you say? Yes, Venice is playing a tragic little role in geopolitical affairs – it’s sinking into the mud it was built on (dumbass 9th century engineers…) while also at the mercy of rising sea levels. Like most sad things, Venice has appeal. A little too much appeal, perhaps – there are tourists everywhere. It’s not as bad as Paris, though – one can still pretty easily escape the rush and get lost in this ancient, aging city.

There is much to be said for getting intentionally lost in a city: you can see new areas that you might not have planned on otherwise, follow locals around a little creepily, and find cute places to eat. Venice is the perfect city to get lost in. First of all, you get lost wheteher you want to or not – no map can have enough detail to display the nooks and crannies that are a result of poor poor poor Italian city planning that somehow made a charming city, like many things that the Italians fuck up only to see a cute result. When one is lost in Venice, as I was yesterday for about three hours, one can observe the decaying buildings, the rising water, and the happy Snooki-like party girl lying in wait around every corner.

It’s a really great time! One problem when it’s so hot, though: water, water, everywhere but not a drop to swim in. Because you do NOT want to touch the canal water. That’s twelve centuries of nasty, people.