Fog in Venice

“Maybe my song isn’t happy enough, but I

I see it take flight in the foggy mist above me

My coffee gets cold as I’m staring enthralled

At the fog that keeps gathering outside”

Those aren’t the actual lyrics, of course, but the song still felt appropriate. It really seemed to capture how lonely, though still beautiful, Venice felt in the winter. 

("Snow in Venice" by Elizaveta)

Venice was foggy. I mean, *really* foggy (and I’ve been living in Northern England for the past few months). As I flew into Venice, the sun was still shining since it was only 4:30 pm. As the plane descended into what seemed to be another layer of clouds, the world suddenly became night, and the captain said, yes, those weren’t clouds, that is actually fog. Thick, dense, light-swallowing fog. It was kind of insane. 

My entire arrival and first night in Venice was a bit of a blur, actually. Somehow I managed to procure a waterbus ticket from the airport to the island, and after what seemed like an endless walk, I found the dock, waited another hour before actually making it onto the bus, then waited another hour and half (while listening to some exceptionally annoying Texans whine) for the water bus to reach my stop, and then spent a good 40 minutes wandering around in the dark trying to figure out how the hell to get to my hotel. Never before had I realized just how much I had taken airport cabs for granted, particularly when you’re somewhere unfamiliar. Luckily a tourist shop owner took pity on me and pointed me in the right direction, or else I might have had to roost with the pigeons in Piazza San Marco that night. 

My hotel in Venice was teeny tiny and had no internet (*gasp!*), it was called the Hotel Noemi, and though the amenities weren’t spectacular, the decor was fabulous. Also, the little old Italian man who sat at the reception desk was very sweet and called me Signorina and seemed very impressed that I was traveling all by myself. 

View from my hotel room window

The first night, I went out to one of those snack bars and got a little sandwich for dinner, since I didn’t have a reservation for anywhere else, and then I sort of just wandered around Piazza San Marco. It was only 8 pm, but the place was empty (probably because it was so cold). The lack of crowds, with the heavy fog blurring all the lights made for a pretty spooky scene. It was nice to get a good look without being bumped into by hoards of other tourists and harassed by the kiosk vendors. 

Piazza San Marco by night

The next day I didn’t really have a plan, and the lines for any sort of attraction were insanely long, so I just wandered. I actually got quite lost. Twice. I set off fairly early and got breakfast at a little cafe right in Piazza San Marco, and then I sort of just picked a street and walked. On my first walk, I ended up in what seemed to be a fairly residential area, and it took me about an hour and a half to find myself back in an area with signs clearly pointing me back to San Marco. Before getting lost, however, I took some touristy pictures of the canals and gondolas, and I also stumbled upon a little pen and paper shop, where I purchased myself my very own Venetian glass pen! 

It’s really easy to get lost in Venice—all the buildings look the same (old and charming), all the streets are the same (rambling and twisty and cobblestoned), and all the signs are in Italian, and you’re constantly crossing bridges, so it’s pretty easy to get yourself turned around until you bump into a landmark that happens to be marked on your map (and even then, you’d have be able to orient yourself on a map in a medieval city set up, good luck).

Smiling because I'm not utterly lost yet

That afternoon, after finding my way back to Piazza San Marco, I got a quick lunch, dropped off my purchase, and had a cat nap in my hotel before setting off again. This time, I headed in the opposite direction, and once again, became quite lost. This time, I started to get a little nervous, as it was getting darker. But once I found the Ponte di Rialto, I knew where I was. I ended up finding an authentic Venetian mask shop, where I spent quite a bit of time trying on masks to find the perfect one (which I did), much to the amusement of the shop owner and his family. 

Ethan, you’ll be proud of this next part. I then ate an entire pizza for dinner. It was delicious. And I still had room for dessert. It wasn’t a small pizza either, it was like a foot and a half in diameter. 

After dinner I got gelato (even though it was freezing) and went back to Piazza San Marco to hang out in the mist. I don’t know, but for some reason, I really like the empty, foggy piazza. It was so big and open, it was just nice, somehow. 

Lights in Piazza San Marco

Venice in general was lovely (though difficult to navigate). And the fog in Venice made it feel lonely and romantic, hanging over the water, making everything look vague and blurry and sad. It was perfect. 

The Grand Canal