Venice Done the Right Way!

Saturday had an interesting start! We woke up early to get our day started and when I checked my email, I had one from Bank of America with “insufficient funds” in the subject line. Not something you want to have to deal with while you’re abroad! I immediately called the bank and filed a claim. I’m pretty sure I did not withdraw over $900 in two transactions in Rome the day before. BofA was great in handling the situation so it’ll all be just fine! Crazy thing is, the same thing happened to Anne, but she had 6 transactions in Rome yesterday! We have only used our debit cards to withdraw money, so one of the ATM’s must have been rigged! So glad my daddy’s credit card still works (Love ya Dad)!

Now for the fun part… Today we did a wine tasting in the Veneto region of Italy just outside of Venice! It was amazing! It has the highest rate of consumption of wine in Italy, and now I see why! We learned so much about how wine is made and what makes certain wines taste the way they do! There was an adorable couple on our tour from California that knew a lot about wine and helped fill in the blanks about American wine versus Italian wine. They were so interesting to talk to and learn from. They had been married for over 45 years and have moved over 20 times including France and London. At one point he worked for American Airlines and lived in Dallas, but he said he preferred Fort Worth to the Big D… smart man!

There are a few points I think y’all might find interesting about the wine tour. In the small towns in Italy, people bring their own containers to wineries and fill them from a massive wine “keg” (for lack of a better word). It’s great because it’s cheaper than buying the same wine in the bottle from the store; it only costs 1,50 euro per liter. One liter is about two bottles with 4-5 glasses in each. No wonder Italians drink so much wine!

There’s an even better option than this, though. Because the wine is briefly exposed to air when it is dispensed from the “keg” it begins oxidizing and doesn’t last as long. Instead, you can buy the same wine in an airtight bag in a box. Yes, Italy does have boxed wine, but I’m pretty sure it tastes better than Franzia! This is better because it doesn’t begin oxidizing until it leaves the box. It’s amazing how what I’ve learned in college can be applied to my experiences in Italy!

After the wine tour we took a siesta of our own and regrouped! We tried to put a little culture in our weekend by walking through St. Mark’s Basilica, or Basilica di San Marco in Italian, but they literally closed the doors right when we finally got to the front of the line! I guess that was our sign that we’ve seen enough! I guess we’ll just have to Google what it looks like on the inside, or go back!

Instead, we grabbed some gelato (BEFORE dinner) and walked around some more. We had a long, leisurely dinner to get the most of our sitting fee at the restaurant and ended our night with Bellini’s from Harry’s Bar, where the Bellini was created! It was delicious and totally worth the ridiculous amount we bought it for!

Venice was a great experience! I’ve heard it’s either a hit or miss and it was definitely a hit for us! It's not a place to spend a week, but a couple nights is just right! We definitely did Venice the right way! Even the train back was air-conditioned (last week’s wasn’t… ask me about it and I’ll fill you in)!

It’s hard to believe this adventure is almost over. It seems likes I just got here. We have 3 more days of class, one free day, and then it’s back to America! I’m ready to leave Genova, but I’m not ready to leave Italy! It’s been so great and, as I’ve mentioned a million times already, I can’t wait to come back! Hopefully it’ll be sooner rather than later! One or two more blogs to come!