Last day in Venice and arrival in Perugia

During our last day in Venice Nicole and I started to get the hang of how to get around the city, which on the first day was really difficult because the street signs are not helpful at all since many of them are dead ends, are extremely short, very windy, and for all thes reasons you will probbaly never really know what street you are on in Venice and, even if you do, you probably wont ever find it again. Nicole and I went shopping and came across the Basilica di San Marco while we were trying to get back to the hostel. Both of us were really glad we stumbled upon it because it is really amazing, although the line was really long and neither of us went in it.

Nicole left this morning and I got very sad as I watched the train pull away. It was a lonely feeling to be by myself in Venice with 5 hours to kill before my train was supposed to leave. I found a completely new area that Nicole and I hadnt visited. There wasnt much in the area and I had to look hard for a museum, but I finally came across one. I went into the Scuola di San Rocco and the museum of Leonardo Da Vinci inventions. The first had beautiful and ornate artwork, including originals by Titian and Tintoretto that were beautiful, but would probably have been more interesting if the brochure had explained the stories behind the paintings a bit. The Leonardo museum was small but had a cool concept: people had taken the sketches in Da Vincis notebooks of inventions and actually made them so that you could see what they loooked like in real life. Two or 3 of the inventions wouldnt ever actually work, which I thought was interesting. But he really was a Renaissance man, and it was easier to understand his genius when it was in 3D.

I got to Perugia and an English speaking couple approached me and offered to help. They were really nice but they didnt realize that their reassurances that they heard tons of people speaking English in the city wasnt what I wanted to hear. I didnt want to be rude and tell them that I didnt want to speak English, so I let them show me to the center of the city, which was very nice of them since this city is very confusing. I managed to find my way to the University for foreigners and the hostel, but on my way back from the University I must have taken a wrong turn and now am lost. I spotted this internet cafe and decided to stop in, use the computers, and ask directions.

I have been taking a lot of photos and wil try to post some soon. Tomorrow I will take a placement exam, which I am really nervous about, and I will have to find an apartment because I only made hostel reservations for one night, but the hostel doesnt seem full so I can stay tomorrow if I have to. Perugia is beautiful and as soon as I have a home and learn to navigate my way around I think everything will go smoothly.

Me by the gondolas

On a bridge over the canale grande

Me in front of the Basilica di San Marco, which Nicole and I found by accident