Cose da non fare a Venezia

"Venezia da e Venezia toglie", this is the heading of this morning article, because whenever you end up being in this beautiful Venetian city, which is in the process of launching its third year outside the headquarter, it is important to follow some cautions, especially if you are a tourist and so you are not used to this location.

We don't want to shoot native Venetians resident in Venice, but it is obvious that Venetians give priority to occasional visitors so that they can rub them, rather than to those poor students who are available to return, but the service offered is worthless. This argument does not conern public transport, as a few weeks ago, I did a literary monument about it, just to enrich the beauty of my writing. The aim of this long post is to warn people not to hurt the Serenissima feelings, as well as giving advices on how to make the most of it as a clever student. Let's give go ahead to this hypothetic classification.

Eating in these restaurants:

I am talking about "fondamenta del Pagan" and "fondamenta de la Cazziola"

(if you don't know, in Venice, a street opposite a canal is called 'fondamenta'), which is basically a route that I pass every day when travelling from Mestre to Piazzale Roba. It's an area full of people going to work or university, but particularly, of tourists with many luggages and they all head to the first restaurant they see, and in most cases, it refers to what you can see in the picture. For me, the plastic plates on the restaurants' windows are more pleasing and delicious than what they serve on the table. For sure, strangers who have never tried the proper Italian cuisine would be speechless because of the smell, wheareas Italians would not realise it. Prices are so high and the food is worthless. Moreover, I appreciate the fact that the manager always greets customers with a big smile on his face, this might turn a boring and negative day into a pleasant one. This happens in different parts of this city as well as elsewhere, but if someone begs you to enter in their restaurant, then it's a place that you should avoid.

Feeding the pigeons:

This argument is for anyone in an Italian city or in other countries where there are these beautiful species. Don't feed them because if you admire these animals go to the open space under the bridge Calatrava to observe some Goliardic numbers with many acrobatics. To be honest, I find pigeons terrifying as I feel like they would poo on me. The problem in Venice is that in the past decade, there has been an overpopulation of pigeons, everywhere in the city, even where you would not expect them to be, like in the lecture rooms, libraries and coffee shops. They are the kings of the world, but their main meeting up point is St Mark's Square. They are not scared, even if you chase them to scare them, but there is a simple reason. They know that there is someone who would feed them punctually and they don't just pick up crumbs from the floor. It's very common for them to be under the tables of coffee shops and they walk around the streets. Whoever enjoys this horrible habit, should be arrested immediately and should stay in prison for years. Honestly, I don't understand how a human being gets the idea of feeding a predator that can carry numerous pathogens. I just want you to think about those who have phobia of pigeons or those who would not want to have these annoying species in a city which is already full of people.

Avoid going past Lele:

Lele, or better known as "Bacareto de Lele", does not refer to one of my classmates, but to one of the historical restaurants existing since 1968, which serves wine to different customers including native Venetians and beggers like me as well as ignorant people that just want to get people's attention. It's a must-have place to end a day with some delicious alcohol at an affordable price, or you could go there for your lunch break, or you could go there before or after exams to relax with some music, so it's perfect for any moment. The name comes from the founder Gabriele, but now it is managed by his son Fabio who serves very rapidly hundreds of customers every day, he pleases them with mastery and kindness, and sometimes he drinks while working. The restaurant is very small, it's like a hole, but those who go there don't have any problems queuing up and they don't elbow people to see the atmosphere. On top of the wine, you could also order a spritz or some food: sandwiches for lunchtime and cured meats and cheese for dinner. People usually stand up while eating and they lean on the table or they stand outside, alternatively, they sit on the steps of the fondaments or on the stairs at the entrance of the Tolentini church. This place gives priority to quality, so even if a wine is only 60 cents, it's served with a wine glass which is then collected by any member of staff who walks around the open space. This place is also very popular for aperitifs after graduation ceremonies and public humiliations with papyrus and word search, a typical tradition of the Venetian region. So, go past this amazing corner and don't betray the homeland. I would give a positive score to this please, 10 out of 10 as it does not follow the cruel politics and it makes a huge profit as well as enriching their customers and being loyal to them.

Visiting St Mark's square and its surroundings during Ca'Foscari graduations:

A few times a year, luxorious cerimonies take place and although it might seem something phantasmagorical, it is not if you are not the graduate because there are on average a thousand graduates in the square and each one has the right to bring two guests along (family members or not). Family members, friends, students and children all come along, so imagine how many people there would be, including the unlucky tourists (and do not forget about our beloved pigeons who are the owners of St Mark's square). You have to elbow people to move and you can lose someone even if you are only 50 centimetres apart. It's a problem taking public transport and then walking in the surroundings because there is a crowd of people during the ceremony and you would get very frustrated when people will start moving. There is a high risk of being hit. If you normally commute from St Mark's square to Campo Santa Margherita in only 25 minutes, get ready to extend your journey by an extra hour in these conditions. Of course, as a Ca'Foscari student, I cannot complain about our celebration ceremony as it is not like that in other Italian universities, but trust me, if you can avoid this area during this time, do so and you will not regret it. For your information, this occasion takes place on Friday, but I have no idea about Master's graduations, I think there is not a specific day as the presentation of the dissertation cannot happen in one day.

Having said that, I am going to stop here and hopefully, I will give you more advice about visiting other locations and not!