(Photos by © Brandon Elijah Scott / Eye & Pen)
For a few weeks I knew a job interview was a possibility in Venice and that I had to be there by the end of the month, just after the Biennale festival. After making my way across southern France and northern Italy for my Cesenatico blog tour, I needed to spend about a week somewhere in between. I spent a day in San Marino and then five days in Verona before making it to Venice on Sunday afternoon, and my interview was the following day.
I had been to Venice once before with an ex-girlfriend in 2010; we only spent two days on the islands and I fell in love with it. We walked around lost at night and the following day before heading off to Florence, but part of me stayed in Venice and I felt thoroughly glad to be back the moment I exited the train station this time around, smelled the sea air and saw the first fleeting boat in the Great Canal. I had a hotel booked near the San Marco square, so I knew I had about a 20-30 minute walk ahead of me, which I decided to go at slowly, with my favorite past-time of whimsical wandering in mind. I wandered, got lost, asked for directions, and repeated the ritual several times – and over and again. I was perhaps a bit less taken with the city than I remember, but that’s how things go – but one thing I knew was that I still loved the character of the town, and my fascination had never really left. There’s nothing like Venice in the United States, and for that, the uniqueness of the place left me feeling a strong adoration toward it.
After walking through a few large squares, over the Rialto bridge, and through the San Marco square, I asked around for directions to find my hotel. I was pointed down a path that crossed over a canal from the famous square, where I was able to find my hotel. My hotel was the Hotel Astoria, owned by the man who owns the company I was to interview with. It was basic, with simple rooms, and no amenities – a means to sleep, shower, then leave to explore, and nothing else. I crashed on the bed, tired and feeling like I never wanted to leave its soft sheets. Instead, I rested a bit, and went back out for an evening on the town. I made it back a few hours later with pizza and beer in hand, and I finished off the night in a predictable, yet extremely enjoyable way.
After walking through a few large squares, over the Rialto bridge, and through the San Marco square, I asked around for directions to find my hotel. I was pointed down a path that crossed over a canal from the famous square, where I was able to find my hotel. My hotel was the Hotel Astoria, owned by the man who owns the company I was to interview with. It was basic, with simple rooms, and no amenities – a means to sleep, shower, then leave to explore, and nothing else. I crashed on the bed, tired and feeling like I never wanted to leave its soft sheets. Instead, I rested a bit, and went back out for an evening on the town. I made it back a few hours later with pizza and beer in hand, and I finished off the night in a predictable, yet extremely enjoyable way.
The next day, I showed up at the office and I met the whole crew, and the owner, and was hired on the spot – so for now (as I explain here), I will be based in Venice for the foreseeable future. Currently, I’m hired in as a freelancer, and am still working on finalizing the details of my Visa extension. But even if this opportunity is short-lived, I’m glad I made it back to Venice – plus, I can now mark off my bucket list ‘Live somewhere internationally.’
The crew in the office are a fun bunch, all a bit different than the each other – and very few of the people share the same origin. I’m the only English speaking native and there are others from Croatia, Chile, Bulgaria, Poland, Portugal, Japan, etc. It’s a mixed group, but tight-knit from what I could tell. There’s of course, the inevitable and silly office drama from time to time, but all-in-all, I’ve been welcomed in as if I’ve been there for ages, and only a few small things could have made my transition from backpacker to office worker better. While I always talk about hating the 9-5 corporate life, this little change will be good for me. Because it’s not like those soulless jobs that I remember, there’s some wonderful things about the job and the freedoms that have been presented to me – plus, I’m working and living in another country, far away from home – what’s wrong with that, eh?! Plus, it's Venezia – of all places!
That night was a Monday, so to welcome me in, a crowd from the office threw that fact out of the window and decided to take me out to their favorite bar. It was near the Rialto bridge, but sandwiched in-between two buildings in a small alleyway that all of the tourists seemed to walk right by and never notice – just like the Leaky Cauldron in Harry Potter’s world. The bar was small, but had a mix of classy decor with a grungy dive look about it – needless to say, it was perfect for me. The beer didn’t stop flowing until after midnight, but the good times went on – it was the perfect ending of a perfect day in Venice, and I was joined with a great group of people from all around the world who were brought together by one company that worked for travelers, like me, worldwide.
The next day rolled around and I was hungover, of course – and so were some of the others. I was asked to come to the office to start a day later, so I had a day off to recover and become acquainted with my new and strange routine.
For now, I am here in Venice, but my traveling and my work does not stop here. More updates from random weekends and other trips are on their way.
More travel updates coming soon! Next update from Luxembourg, Brussels & Brugge, Belgium.
Travel update I – Barcelona, Spain
Travel update II – Madrid, Spain
Travel update III – Granada, Spain
Travel update IV – Ronda & Sevilla, Spain
Travel update V – Marrakech, Morocco
Travel update VI – Marseille & Nice, France
Travel update VII – Monaco & Florence, Italy
Travel update VIII – Rimini & Cesenatico, Italy
Travel update IX – San Marino & Verona, Italy
The crew in the office are a fun bunch, all a bit different than the each other – and very few of the people share the same origin. I’m the only English speaking native and there are others from Croatia, Chile, Bulgaria, Poland, Portugal, Japan, etc. It’s a mixed group, but tight-knit from what I could tell. There’s of course, the inevitable and silly office drama from time to time, but all-in-all, I’ve been welcomed in as if I’ve been there for ages, and only a few small things could have made my transition from backpacker to office worker better. While I always talk about hating the 9-5 corporate life, this little change will be good for me. Because it’s not like those soulless jobs that I remember, there’s some wonderful things about the job and the freedoms that have been presented to me – plus, I’m working and living in another country, far away from home – what’s wrong with that, eh?! Plus, it's Venezia – of all places!
That night was a Monday, so to welcome me in, a crowd from the office threw that fact out of the window and decided to take me out to their favorite bar. It was near the Rialto bridge, but sandwiched in-between two buildings in a small alleyway that all of the tourists seemed to walk right by and never notice – just like the Leaky Cauldron in Harry Potter’s world. The bar was small, but had a mix of classy decor with a grungy dive look about it – needless to say, it was perfect for me. The beer didn’t stop flowing until after midnight, but the good times went on – it was the perfect ending of a perfect day in Venice, and I was joined with a great group of people from all around the world who were brought together by one company that worked for travelers, like me, worldwide.
The next day rolled around and I was hungover, of course – and so were some of the others. I was asked to come to the office to start a day later, so I had a day off to recover and become acquainted with my new and strange routine.
For now, I am here in Venice, but my traveling and my work does not stop here. More updates from random weekends and other trips are on their way.
More travel updates coming soon! Next update from Luxembourg, Brussels & Brugge, Belgium.
Travel update I – Barcelona, Spain
Travel update II – Madrid, Spain
Travel update III – Granada, Spain
Travel update IV – Ronda & Sevilla, Spain
Travel update V – Marrakech, Morocco
Travel update VI – Marseille & Nice, France
Travel update VII – Monaco & Florence, Italy
Travel update VIII – Rimini & Cesenatico, Italy
Travel update IX – San Marino & Verona, Italy
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