La mia storia…

Three weeks ago, I got a phone call from my friend. She is a student of law in a university in Bandung, but she called me from Germany during her holidays in Europe. She called me because she and her sister wanted to visit Venice and they asked me to accompany them during their visit in Venice. And I agreed to their request.

They came to Venice last Friday night for two days in Venice.

We started our tour in Venice on Saturday morning by taking a vaporetto (boat) from Tronchetto and got off in Zattere for taking some gelati (ice cream) from one of the well known gelateria (ice cream shop) in Venice. We ate our gelati during our walk to the Accademia bridge and we took some photos on the bridge with the view of Canal Grande (Grand Canal) and chiesa Madonna della Salute (church of Virgin Mary of health).

After taking a ride on a traghetto (big gondola) for crossing Canal Grande, we went to Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square). In the area of Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square) we took a look and took some pictures in front of Basilica San Marco, Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace), Torre dell’Orologio (Clock Tower), Campanile di San Marco (St. Mark’s Bell Tower), Ponte di Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs), and via Garibaldi. Then, we walked from Piazza San Marco to Ponte Rialto (Rialto Bridge). After taking some pictures and lunch in Rialto area, we walked to Fondamente Nove for taking a vaporetto to Murano.

Murano is an island close to Venice. It is famous for their artistic glass production. In Murano, we walked along the main street of Murano searching for some souvenirs. My friend found an ornamented watch for her mother and her sister bought a wonderful necklace for herself. After we spent two hours in Murano, we went to Mestre for having dinner and taking some rest.

After dinner, we went again to Venice, for seeing Venice during night. We arrived in Venice at about 10pm and we walked to Campo San Polo (St. Paolo’s Square), Ponte Rialto and Piazza San Marco. Venice during the night is as beautiful as it is during the day…

On the second day, we didn’t visit a lot of places. Actually, we wanted to visit Burano, an island that is known for its lace handmade and colorful houses, but we couldn’t go there, because my friend and her sister must catch a flight in the late afternoon. So, we started the second day by having lunch in Campo Santa Margherita and then we went to Rialto Mercato (Rialto market) for buying some souvenirs.

Before they went back to Germany, I didn’t forget to offer them a cup of Italian coffee. And then, I accompanied them to the bus station for taking a bus to Treviso Airport where they took a flight to Germany. Then, I finished my first job as Venice Tour Guide…

So, will Venice be your next visit?

-joe-
Venice, August 15, 2007 (Ferragosto 2007)

This will be my first posting in this blog. I just want to give some introduction about myself, objectives about this blog, and something that will be related to this blog. But, in any case, sometimes I couldn’t think as systematically as it is written below.

OK. Let me introduce myself. My name is Jauhary Arifin. I am Indonesian, 24 years old. I was a student of a master program in economics and finance in Venice, Italy. Now, I am doing my internship in a research centre for economics, finance, and econometrics in Venice. Some of my interests are, making new friends, having conversations, traveling, and knowing new things.

Why do I want to write in this blog?
In this blog, I want to try to express and organize my way of delivering ideas, opinions and feelings. I realize that I can have a conversation for hours talking about many things, but I couldn’t organize it in writing. Another reason is, by writing in this blog, I hope I can reduce my feeling of loneliness in this lonelyplanet. Although I live in one of the most beautiful city in the world, I am alone deep in my heart…

What will I write in this blog?
On my early writings, I will write such a report of my journeys, observations, or my experience without a lot of opinions, because I got used to this kind of report. Maybe, on some of my early writings, I won’t write many details on my writings, but I will always try to write more details and give some of my opinions.

About language, there is no specific reason why I write this in English (although my English is not good). Sometimes I will also write in Bahasa Indonesia (because it is my native language) or in Italian (because I live in Italy and I am learning Italian now).

Finally, what’s the meaning of writings without any reader?
So, I thank you for your time reading my writings and also I will be very happy if you can give me some feedback about my writing.

Thank you.

-joe-
Venice, August 15, 2007 (Ferragosto 2007)