Again, apologies for the wait. I had planned on writing this earlier but it all went downhill when I decided to whip out my DS again. Anyways, here it is, the third and final day of my pilgrimage at Venice, one which will not be forgotten.

Day three: Gratzi

After packing my things I headed over to the hotel reception, which was located another building. It was check out time. Of course I still had until the evening before my departure so I decided to leave the luggage behind at the reception. Even though it wasn’t that heavy, it would have been inconvenient to carry a suitcase around for the whole day.

Since it was close by, I headed over to the Bovolo Palace once more with the hope of it being opened. On the way there something caught my sight, it was an umbrella labeled Amano. I wonder what it meant, perhaps Amano-sensei doesn’t only draw manga but also make umbrellas?

Once again I was at the base of the tower, still the entrance was sealed off. I didn’t even see any reconstruction being done, so I was beginning to wonder if some else was going on. After all I had no clue what it said on the notice pinned up at the door.

Just like the previous two days, the sun was blazing and it was hot. it was time to pay the supermarket another visit for some cheap water and snacks. Water alleys left and right, even though it was my third day in Venice I couldn’t help but stop and enjoy the view every time I walked past one. Pretty much the first thing I saw when I entered the store was Nippon Choco, tempting but no.

The breakfast provided at the hotel was really basic and I really needed something more. Nocciola ice-cream! I didn’t even know what Nocciola was at the time, but hey! Isn’t Aria all about discovering new things?

Time to visit Anno Namihei! At first it was a little difficult locating the entrance since the streets were so narrow and they split in many directions but as I studied the map I realised the building behind me was the one that I had been looking for.

Anno Namihei is the postman of Neo Venizia, so it was only natural that I went to a post office. Of course being an Aria fan, you readers already knew right? RIGHT? Here, I sent a post card to some friends, relatives and of course, myself. The building itself was very spacious, in fact it felt somewhat like I was outdoors perhaps this is due to how tall the ceiling was. The front entrance lead straight to the Grand Canal where the water sparkled under the sunny sky. Unfortunately it was blocked off and only staff members could go further.

The streets were packed with people, there were locals trying to commute, tourist shopping around for a good bargain and traders trying to sell their goods, just like a certain scene in Aria. It was indeed a vibrant city and it really made me feel apart of it. Having lost the general sense of direction, I followed the flow of the crowd.

Eventually arriving at a local market. At least it felt like it was pretty local since there was an obvious absence of tourists. Under the sheltered stalls were people offering a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Although I can’t remember off the top of my head if there were an episode of Aria about a market like this, but in episode 4 of Origination Akari goes and work on a Traghetto which happens to be just by a fruit and veggie market.

Shifting further along I saw yet another market, this time it was one that sold seafood. I love seafood, the flavour is always so rich and unique especially served raw, like sashimi. However, I wasn’t prepared to carry an octopus back to the UK.

Right outside the market were Traghettos transporting customers across the grand canal. Perfect! Gondolas were too expensive for me, I had been quoted about 80 Euros for 40mins. Whereas riding a Traghetto is only a fraction of that price, of course the riding time is significantly shorter and I wouldn’t be hearing any singing or tour guiding but at least it was a chance for me to experience being rowed across the Grand Canal.

As I waited for the Traghetto, I felt a bit uneasy. The thought of me falling into the water was quite nerve racking but what was worse was the thought of dropping my camera into the canal.

On I went. At that moment, I realised it wasn’t rocking nearly as much as I had imagined. So I thought I would be brave and stand for the ride. Being the only one standing was a bit awkward but it was better for taking a few photos at the centre of the canal. Before I knew it I was already on the other side. Ca’D'Oro, the golden house of Venice was just near by so I decided to take a look. However, the entrance was sealed off again… just what was going on?

Ops.. wrong anime reference. Anyways, getting off at a random vapouretto station, I decided to do some exploring and hunt down some food at the same time. For a short moment I thought I had found Cait Sith dressed up as Casanova, however it was just a costume. While taking photos of this, it came to me that it was actually quite creepy, a figure dressed in black with a mask standing in the middle of an empty alley. Really like that freaky episode where a ghost kidnapped Akari…

Giant slice of Pizza! Not as cheesy as I would have liked it to be but still, it was good. Fresh out the oven, nice and hot with a crispy crust.

By the time I had finished eating I only had a few hours left before I had to leave for the airport. But there were two more places I wanted to go before departing. One of which is the Academia Bridge, one of the three famous bridges in Venice. I am sure there are some coverage of this in Aria but I will find reference photos later. After crossing the bridge I decided to travel to San Marco Square on foot since I thought it would be nice to get as much of Venice as I could.

On the way to San Marco Square I encountered some sort of Lava Wheel. Even now, I have no idea what it is but it looked cool. It was basically as you see it, a big black circle with a whole in the middle where red liquid would move about. Perhaps it’s a piece of rock … from Mars… and they are doing research on it with the hope of unlocking the key to terraforming…

It wasn’t long before I was at the heart of Venice again, streets were buzzling with life and I, once more, was part of the ocean of people..

Turning a few corners and advancing a few steps, San Marco Square came into sight. An arch stood in front of me, one which was awfully familiar. This angle was particularly good to look out and around the buildings in the Square since you can really feel the contrast between what you are looking at and what is in your immediate surroundings. Not to mention that it provided great shelter from the scorching sun.

My final chance to hunt down some Aria places. Again, really regret not doing enough preparations for the trip.

While taking photos it was quite frustrating to have other tourists walking in front all the time. One group even stood in front of me and wouldn’t move, I suspect they were waiting for someone or something..

Cafe Florian, the place where Akari goes for a cup of coffee. After seeing the price at the entrance I came to the conclusion that Undines must have been paid incredibly well. The smell of coffee and cakes were very tempting at the time, but no matter however much I wanted to go in I wouldn’t have had enough in my wallet to pay for it anyways.

The suspicious looking revolving door, something was up. I had to go and investigate.

As I entered the door I was stunned at what I saw. Everything was made out of precious stones, gems and whatnots. It was a really posh hotel, a very familiar looking one too. Reception seems to be the same as drawn in Aria, the ceiling also has the same design. I could only conclude that this is the origin of the building in Neo-Venezia. So… what is this building? To solve the mystery I took a few steps back from the building…

Turns out I was in the building which Himeya Company was based on, the Danieli Hotel. If I had known I would have stayed there for the trip, again I guess this is the result of no preparation. But then again, that place didn’t exactly look cheap…

At this point I had already run out of memory for any more photos, which is really unfortunate. However, by the time I finished with the Himeya investigation it was almost time for me to leave anyways. I headed over to Lido, a neighboring island, and back. Then I went to pick up my luggage at the hotel.

On the vapouretto, as I squeezed one last photo out of my camera, I said good bye to Venice.

Gratzi

END

Thoughts on the whole trip will come later, because it’s nearly one o’clock in the morning and I am really tired.