What You Make of It: Thoughts from Venice, Italy
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- In which John discusses tourism, art, life, meaning, and how we find it together on a jetlagged afternoon in Venice, Italy.
You can preorder a probably signed copy of my new book Turtles All the Way Down at probablysignedt...
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Preorder John's new book, Turtles All the Way Down, out October 10th 2017! You can find links to both the signed and unsigned editions here: bit.ly/turtlesp... and information on how to (probably) get a signed copy here: howtoprobablyge...
John, are you signing any more copies of "Turtles All The Way Down"? I really want one, but Amazon says they are currently unavaliable. Thanks! :)
Every account (amazon, barnes and noble, independent bookstores, target, et cetera) gets a certain allotment of signed copies. Amazon has sold out of their allotment, but there are many many many many probably signed copies still available at bookstores around the U.S. and Canada. You can find places to order at probablysignedturtles.com -John
Thanks John! I ordered my copy from Barnes&Noble, and I can't wait.
John has said that the Thoughts From Places videos are the least watched VlogBrothers videos but they're my favorite
Kaitlyn Carroll same :)
Same... They always put me in a good mood.
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This is exactly my feeling!
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"How you feel at your worst is not how you're always going to feel."
Love that reminder.
Woah, I didn't realize how much I missed these vloggy videos on this channel. Don't get me wrong, I love everything you guys do, but this has a special place in my mind. I know you (John) tend to believe that you have expired from good video making, but I feel only you could make a vlog like this and tie in a deeper meaning. Dftba!
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Olivia Geyer deep voiceover vlogs are the best! I think the fact that they are few and far between makes them better.
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As someone who vlogs in the Thoughts From Places style... I can guarantee you that they are few and far between because they are a special kind of hell to make.
You film what you can, come up with a theme, come up with a script, storyboard what scenes to put where, feel guilty when clips aren't chronological, rage because you wish you'd filmed more, cry because you had to cut so much out, then keep changing the script and the clips until you pass out from all of your conflicted emotions. Then you binge on ice cream to distract yourself from more viral videos that take far less effort to make.
22 year old living 10 miles away from Venice here, can confirm.
Venice is more of a theme park than a city. And all its quirks can either be fascinating and romantic or desperately decadent and depressing, according to your mood. Through all my life some times I found myself hating it profoundly, and loving it deeply in others. You did a great job of summarizing it in the end.
Thanks, Enrico. I grew up in a tourist town (although not one with a rich history), so can imagine how it would be challenging to have Venice in your backyard. You express it very well. -John
vlogbrothers How expensive was the coffee in Venice? I know in Dubrovnik a cup of coffee costs a bit more than 6 euros. They raised the prices in the last few years due to hordes of tourists coming to see where some scenes of Game of Thrones are filmed.
New orleans shares a similar vibe
Nightraven26 an espresso is around 1-2 euros depending on where you go. Probably more if you go to mega fancy places
This is how felt when I lived in the Haight-Ashbury part of San Francisco in the mid-1990's. But as much as I quietly sneered at the constant stream of wide-eyed tourists looking for a hippie experience 30 years out of date, it is the case that people on vacation are often kind of relaxed and fun to be around. They're excited by the simplest things!
I too was in Venice in 2011, but not ill, so it was a glorious five days. Even bad food was good there, the history was amazing, and the sheer texture of architecture and the place was entrancing. And, man, going during the Biennial (which we didn't realize was going on until later) is just embarrassingly enjoyable for someone who loves contemporary art like we do. You'd just be walking to some random place and stumble upon a free show, like, 100 new pieces of contemporary art from China.
Wear your seatbelt-o!
My bado! -John
Lieuwe Westra "allaccia la cintura" is more accurate...
+The Commentator you must be fun at parties
I am not absolutely sure, but I think that in Italy you can avoid wearing your seat belt when you are on a taxi. I'll have to check!
Is this a jojo refrence?
"How you feel at your worst is not how you always gonna feel."
I really needed to hear that today. Will try to hold on to it.
DFTBAO
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Lieuwe Westra i didn't get the joke at first so i started to think what the o might stand for and the first thing that popped into my head was Don't Forget To Be An Observer. idk why, but then again, what even are we if not mere observers of this weird universe that is made of everything that ever was and ever will be and also venice
this video is ridiculously beautiful and sad at the same time. I keep rewatching it over the years, again and again, often to remind myself and others that bad times will go away eventually and that it's the connections we have to other people that matter.
It feels like John condensed years of therapy and life experience into a 4 minute video and I am really grateful that he shared it with us.
Thoughts from places are second only to reunion videos in my mind. So happy to see you so much happier and healthier John!
Reunion videos are also my favorite! -John
"How you feel at your worst is not how you're always going to feel."
"The world is what it is. But the world is what you bring to it, and who you share it with."
I love Thoughts from Places.
I love these types of videos where you just stop and take in the beauty and it is enough.
"How you feel at your worst isn't how you're always going to feel." - Words I needed to hear so badly today. Thank you.
I really love the ending quote, I want to have that as my senior quote.
That's a good idea.
"Hank, I'll see you on Friday,"? Or the one before that?
"The world is what it is, but the world is also what you bring to it and who you share it with. " LOVE THIS!
Hahaha please have your senior quote as, "Hank, I'll see you on Friday."
Taylor Daley I will
yeti spotted
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There's nothing that warms my heart quite like a Thoughts from Places video
I think that's the most screen time The Yeti has had in a vlogbrother's episode. Its beautiful seeing how much you two love one another, and that last shot might be one of my favorite vlogbrother's shots ever. You two are beautiful
"How you feel at your worst is not how you will feel all the time." A much needed reminder, especially today. Thanks John 💜
I went to the same bookstore that John visited. I remember the shopkeeper had this enormous, fluffy, white cat that prowled around the haphazard stacks of books and I saw it climb the literal stair of dead books next to the pile of dead books that John was filming. Quite cool to see the bookshop I found on accident to be featured in a vlogbrother's video 😁
Aryen Shrestha Same here. I so wanted to buy a book there but we were really short on time and almost leaving and left empty handed :(
I paused at 03:17. Isn't it beautiful? The way they look at each other and the way they are smiling? It's so lovely.
seeing this five years in the future, knowing that between then and now was a lot of hardship and depression and a deeply mismanaged pandemic, it still rings true. how you feel at your worst will not become your permanent state. it may feel endless, but never is, to quote another of john's videos. so thanks for this, both then and now.
I remember being disilluisioned by Venice.....I went there dreaming of peaceful canals, gliding gondolas and marble and my main impression was of suffocation and heat and crowds and the awful awful smell coming from the water. I also had your exact same reaction to Piazza San Marco. A few years later I went to Amsterdam and stood over the beautiful canals there and thought to myself 'Ah, this is my Venice after all.' I've loved Amsterdam ever since (and hence was super excited when it was featured in TFIOS). I'm glad you got to rewrite your memories of Venice though. :) Hopefully someday I'll do the same!
Amsterdam is a great city--and a real city, because lots of people still live there. :) -John
There are parts of Venice that are fairly crowd-free at certain times of day, but as I understand it, they are mainly on the nearby islands, not the main island.
Funny you should say that. I hated Amsterdam the first time I saw it. Filthy, raining, dog shit on the streets, trash in the canals, I kept getting offered drugs by illegal street dealers. When I went back a few years later, it was a wonderful, magical place. Clean and friendly, and I've loved it since. It's weird how travel can be like that.
Talilma you preferred Amsterdam over Venice? Mate can't relate, I'm shocked tbh Venice is 100000000000x times better
As an Italian who loves Venice, my suggestion is DO NOT visit it during the summer. The magical romantic feeling you were dreaming of can be experienced throughout any other time of the year in which the city isn't full of tourists and unbearably hot. Specifically, going there around March or April should change your opinion on it 😘 hope this can help someone
This video means a lot to me in a bizarrely specific way. About a year ago I was travelling around Europe, having just lived in England for a year. Venice was one of my destinations, as was Amsterdam. In fact, exactly one year ago I may have been in Amsterdam, or possibly made it to Berlin by then. Travelling Europe has always been a huge dream of mine, and in many ways I had an amazing time, an opportunity of a lifetime. But I was also in a really bad state with my mental health. My anxiety was at a point where showering was hard for me, and I struggled so much with interacting with other people that I was skipping a lot of meals because I couldn't bring myself to enter restaurants. I was travelling alone, and having just lived in a foreign country for a year where I worked a stressful job and struggled to make friends, I was extremely lonely. When I try to look back at this holiday, or when I hear or see things about the places I've been, I get this weird feeling of shame and guilt, that I didn't have a better time. That I wasted my chance and it basically spirals into how I'm a terrible person. It's encouraging to hear of you going back, of doing over, of enjoying it afresh. I hope I'm in a better enough place five years from now that I can simply enjoy the good parts, or maybe I'll be able to go back, and enjoy these places anew.
Having just returned home from 6 weeks of solo travel across Europe, this video really hit home. It is so easy to see the crowds and the impending doom of our world and it is so easy to get lost in the depths of the darkness my own consciousness. But there is beauty in everything on good days, and it is important to cherish them when they come. Thank you, John, for a beautiful video and for articulating the experience of visiting Europe so eloquently.
"How you feel at your worst is not how you're always going to feel"..I really needed to hear that.
I needed to hear this today. Thank you, John.
Glad it found you at the right time! -John
Hey John - thanks for replying to so many comments! I see you really make an effort, especially being out of Cheyenne, Wyoming. It really makes one quite happy to see (no pressurero thougho).
same
Sarah is so pretty.
Also, "how you feel at your worst is not always how you are going to feel"
That's very good advice
I love it when you look back on previous videos and note your progress! It makes me feel warm and happy because it's a reminder of how things get better and the world is beautiful
Love the thougts from places videos, they somehow always contain something I need to hear or be reminded of.
Even though it is a mess sometimes, I'm glad to share this world with all of you.
One of the things I'm afraid of most is not getting to venice before it sinks. I hope you really enjoyed your holiday John, I'm glad you were feeling better this time around. Thank you for what you said, it gave me the courage and drive to get out of bed (after I make this comment.)
Jo Stewart Don't. It's not like it will sink at once like the new Atlantis! The sand on which it's built very slowly gives way, as it's been doing since its beginning; it is in that sense that 'Venice is sinking'
I'll try not to then! It's always been my dream to go and see it. I'm glad I will have the chance to see it.
The city has actually gone through a really expensive project of levies called MOSE to make sure that the rising sea levels due to climate change can be kept away from Venice! It's one city that isn't going anywhere just yet.
If that's one of things you're most afraid of, then your life is awesome.
I love thoughts from places. Always brightens my day :)
I love coming back to these videos. Its calming and right now...I need that.
Videos like these are so important for people growing up, whether they're 17 or 45. It inspires a love of geography and a lust for adventuring, but also an appreciation of just adventuring your own life. It makes me want to travel the world, even if that world is my own backyard. So so so much love.
I freakin' LOVE thoughts from places videos. I'm glad you're in a better mental state than you were last time you were in Venice, John.
It's weird without school I haven't watched John or Hank for a while
sd
I was there literally two weeks ago. This video really made me miss it but in a good kind of reminiscent way.
I went to Venice by water taxi, which made my anxiety skyrocket and my stomach boil. As soon as I stepped off, I realised the beauty that surrounded me. My visit to Venice will forever stick out in my mind as an incredible day. I sat in San Marco square later in the afternoon sweating and sunburnt, but I was perfectly happy for the first time since Christmas.
True happiness appeared in the middle of the lowest mental point I have ever experienced, thanks to the people I travelled with and a beautiful floating city. That day is something I am unlikely to forget.
I love these vlogs because, in essence, they're essays set to video. It's the evolution of the essay into a new medium and nobody creates them with such quality as John and Hank. I'm so thankful for all of the videos they have made throughout the years because they consistently inspire me. "The world is who you share it with." Thank you for creating videos for the past ten years which share your lives with us viewers.
This is incredibly kind. Thanks, Jeff! -John
I can tell you had a Venice time.
The Centalist *time-o
Ayyyyyyy
That is sooo beautiful! I only dream of seeing the art and architecture there!
Okay I was FINE THE WHOLE VIDEO and then Sarah and John clinked their tiny little cups together and John fluffing said that last line and THERE WAS ONE SINGLE TEAR ON MY CHEEK. damn it.
Sometimes I'll forget John is also an author then he'll make a video like this and I'll remember that only he can make something so achingly beautiful with only words.
You can't fool me, this is Thoughts from Places.
Also, Yeti sighting!
Great videazo !
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Thank youo! -John
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vlogbrothers hahahahah
Your reminders of perspective and enjoying the place you are at (both literally and figuratively) are always wonderful, and always seem to speak to me at the right moments. Thank you, John.
This is so masterfully crafted. Tying in personal story, with holiday experience, existential crisis, and contemplative musing. Really well done. Thank you for sharing
Wow okay. New bucket list vacation destination.
I just got back from Venice, and I got to go to the Biennale. It's every odd year. If you even like art a little bit you should go. The architecture of Venice and art from all over the world made the trip absolutely unforgettable. If you can, GO.
I agree with Kelly that it's great to go when the art biennale is up. (On the opposite years, there's an architecture biennale which is supposed to be amazing, but I've never been.) The only downside of August is that it is HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT, like make you fear hell hot. -John
I've always said I prefer hot over cold, I may just have to eat my words some day. Haha. Thanks for the advice guys!
It's great, but if you've never been in Italy I would advise you to visit literally any other famous city (Rome and Florence on top)
sonny19931 Why any other famous city over Venice? I feel like the famous cities of Italy all have very different vibes due to their past as separate kingdoms/city states/provinces/etc. Florence and Rome are great (I especially love Rome) and should definitely also be visited as possible. But it's in no way the same as Venice, which could be better or worse depending on what you're looking to experience.
Just was in Venice last month, it was great! :)
I visited Venice a couple years ago in November. It was cold, rainy, foggy, and wonderful. I was with my best friend and on our way to Venice we missed our train, got lost several times, froze on the water taxi, and were exhausted. But we laughed at our situation, ate gelato twice in our one day there, and roamed alleys and museums. It's one of my most memorable travels because of that entire experience. The world is indeed what you bring to it, and also who you share it with.
"Thoughts from places" videos are my favourite type of vlogbrothers videos.
The idea of 'people taking selfies with history' really appeals to me 😊
I'm not well traveled but want to see the world. Is Venice a good first place to visit? You know, to get my... feet wet?
Master Therion Maybe get your metaphorical feet wet but DO NOT get your literal feet wet in those canals, they are gross
Tip for traveling to Italy: Go in October if you can.
Or March. Usually March is acceptable.
I think Rome or Florence are better choices if you want to explore Italy
Not really. If you want to see Venice I recommend going to Milan first. Hang out in Milan(o) and also don't miss Bergamo not far from there (amazing views and cool place). Then just grab a train for a day over to Venice (I think it's like 4 hours), hang there and maybe check into a hostel and spend the night. Then the next day take the train back to Milan (or don't depending on what you want to do). You can see everything meaningful in Venice in a day, or so my Italian cousins say.
I went to Milan and loved it so much I just stayed for my full 4 days I had in Italy.
Having just graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1982 I spent six weeks in Europe with my parents. We spent several days in Venice and it was one of the nicest places we visited that summer. It was beautiful and photogenic. The Art Degree was a great asset when going to all those museums. One of my favorite memories was seeing a painting from the 1500's in a museum which showed the window of the hotel room we were staying in.
Thoughts from places are my favourite videos. Something about John narrating about life that always puts me at ease.
All I see is Assassin's Creed 2... which I guess is good because it makes me feel nostalgic for this city, and for the people/culture from the renaissance period many centuries ago. I used to play that game and walk around Venice in awe of the city, sailing my own gondolas and walking through the busy market places and alley ways. So watching this video, I feel like I have a strange personal connection with the city...
"But there's no need to despair about such instabilities, because there's GELATO!"
John Green, 2017
I could watch hours and hours of thoughts from places. There's something so relaxing about it. Side note - the yeti is beautiful!!
John, there's something therapeutic about your videos
"Sure, the world is going to end and Venice will sink into the sea. But not yet."
This line reduced me to tears.
i hope you like your tripo. it looks soo niceo
"The world is about who you share it with" is by far one of the most beautiful sentences and truths I've heard from John. After travelling for some time and spending time alone, watching the movie "Into the wild", this idea has sort of solidified in my mind and seeing it expressed so wonderfully by John is just great.
I know they don't tend to get as many views, but Thoughts From Places videos are my favorite kind of videos that you guys do.
John what was your favorite piece of art you saw in Venice?
Sarah, probably.
When this beautiful video ended, UA-cam recommended John's "slobber carrots" catastrophe for my next viewing. I don't know how UA-cam's algorithm is supposed to work, but I don't think that's what they were going for!
"How you feel at your worst is not always how you're gonna feel" As someone who lives with depression, this. So much this. So many of John's videos have quotes like this, that just perfectly sum up how life with mental health issues, can be that: LIFE (with mental health issues). Not life controlled by them, or under them, but sometimes, and hopefully rarely, life alongside them. I don't know if I've said this right, but I just want to say thank you John, thank you so, so much for you and sharing you with us.
"I was reminded that how you feel at your worst isn't how you're always going to feel." Thanks, John. I needed this reminder.
For some reason this video made me cry.
Julianna Helms omg yes but idk why
It's a weird melancholy I think. Like- yes, Venice will one day sink... and yet.
And yet look at all these people and this ice cream and these books.
"the world is what it is, but it is also what YOU bring to it"
It's a weird melancholy I think. Like- yes, Venice will one day sink... and yet.
And yet look at all these people and this ice cream and these books.
"the world is what it is, but it is also what YOU bring to it"
(if that makes sense??)
What strikes me is how good that old video still is despite him going through all that at the time.
I started crying, I'm in such a bad place right now physically + mentally but this just put it all in perspective.
I'm in Venice right now and I'm a huge fan... is there any chance I can meet you?
@vlogbrothersOh goodness I was in Venice today and I just can't believe I did not see you TwT I've been a nerdfighter and a huge John Green fans for years but was never able to afford to see you live. I just can't believe I had the chance to see you in real life and just did not see you -.-I hope you had an amazing time in Venice♡ ( I can't watch the video at the moment because of my bad internet connection) have a wonderful time in Italy. Does someoneone know if there is any event John Green will attend here in Italy or is it just a vacation? :) greetings♡
If you live in the U.S., hopefully you'll be near us on tour? Where do you live? -John
Wow♡ thank you so much for answering!! Sadly I am not from the US. I live in Germany and always spend my summer vacation in Italy close to Venice. I will move to South Korea for a half year soon so the chances to meet you or Hank live in the near future are sadly not so great. But that you answered already made my day😊🦄
hi john! can i politely ask if you could stop in honolulu for your book tour? hawaii gets left out of so many tours very very often bc we're not one of the 48 contiguous states, even though we're still a state, and it would be really really cool to see you in person!
Julie Capulet oo
Julie Capulet I was in Venice a week ago... probably the closest in time and space to seeing John like... ever :(
These "Thoughts from....." videos always make me feel better. They are my favorite.
Hey John! I was in Venice just last week! Did you see the mosaic of the saint in Pork?
"I mean, sure, the world is going to end, and Venice will sink into the sea, but not yet."
So lovely to see you and Sarah enjoying yourself! Makes me smile!
"How you feel at your worst is not how you're always going to feel" - YES! Another fantastic message, John. Thank you 😊
How bout them Dons, John! ;)
I don't want to alarm you but I think we're losing :( -John
***** Maybe we need a former Disney CEO to buy us
***** probably, but in this context its a third tier English football team
Why is The Yeti called The Yeti?
Niharika Krishna
I think there's a more humorous and correct quote, but basically she's like the mythic creature that is never actually spotted, despite the evidence of their existence (if you want to believe in that stuff). So you can hear John talk with his wife, but she never actually appears. (Except now. It's a miracle)
Niharika Krishna john stated in his first video that she would never be seen on vlogbrothers, like the yeti
"She will feature heavily in our folklore and mythology, but sightings will be rare if any."
"Sarah is like the Yeti. She'll appear prominently in our folklore. You'll hear many stories about her, but sightings will be exceedingly rare."
"How you feel at your worst is not always how you will feel." is going in my recovery journal. Thanks John and Sarah. Have a safe trip.
Watching this in Nov of 2020, this is a really helpful reminder. It's been hard not to sink in to the sea, so to speak. This reminder that, no matter what happens, it isn't always going to be like this...
I needed that, today.
Hi, notification squad! 👋
Ima big fan of scruffy john facial hair
Man, I missed these Thoughts from Places videos. What John said really hit home for me and it's a good reminder for all of us, I think, "How you feel at your worst is not how you're always going to feel." Thanks, John.
Aw man, a giant metaphorical hug, and possibly a virtual one as well, to you John. I love when you make these types of videos, because you can see how happy and grateful you are for the life, friends, and family that you have. I wish you much happiness and many more blessings in the future.
Sara looks like a model and you're dressed like a farmer.
First
Liz J yes
Indeed, well done.
"How you feel at your worse is not how you're always gonna feel." Thank you so much for saying that, I really needed the reminder.
I swear to God, John could film 4 minutes of trash on the street, record himself waxing lyrical about garbage, and bring me to tears with his beautiful prose that reaches deeper than an ocean. He wields his words like a sword and my mind is about as well protected from them as my fleshy meat body is from a blade.
I just went to Ireland last year, and Killarney is Ireland's Venice, in that it's mostly tourists but is a lovely town
These videos are my favorite. John Green's voice + the deep words that make us ponder so deep we fear the abyss + the feel of a wanderer writing in a notebook while seeing what the world has to offer= such an underrated and pure video of extraordinary power to change lives
Every Thoughts from Places video offers some profound statment or concept or perspective that you can carry with you
They're so satisfying for me when i start to over think things. The thoughts that he offers give me one big idea to focus of instead of trying to focus on everything in my head at once.
"How you feel at your worst is not how your always going to feel" is something I really needed to be reminded of in this moment. Thank you John. DFTBA
I love Venice I love how romantic and picturesque it is- I love how you feel like you have gone back 100 years but in the best way possible and I love that even with how busy it is you can still always find a quiet place to reflect- oh how I want to go back. Thank you John for letting me experience Venice again even if just for a few minutes
I'm crying, John. Thank you for this. A beautiful and eloquent reminder that the world is fantastic even if you can see it right now. It always gets better. It's something for me to hold onto.
I always appreciate John's videos in which he talks about perspective, and seeing how his life has improved (primarily from crappy mental health) because of time and comparison to where he once was. I do not yet have that perspective as, when I look back to 2 years ago when I first got diagnosed, I am remarkably more ill than I was then, and that had just been a sequence of unlucky events that I have greatly struggled with. So for the moment, I am very grateful for John's perspective and hope, especially when I have so little myself x
thoughts from places is seriously the most underrated kind of vlogbrothers video. This is beautiful. thank you thank you thank you
How you feel at your worst is not how you are always going to feel. This line really resonated with me. Thank you
John, Venice is one of my most favorite places. I'm more then just a little bit jealous. Enjoy your trip!
John, I've been going through an incredibly hard time right now. I'm 20, struggling to get through college, and I feel like my life has been consumed by poorly, desperately trying to manage my finances.
People always tell me that it will get better, but that's hard to see with so little perspective on life. This video stuck to me Now I realise that, even if it's on some grand scale of as many as 6 years before it may get better, it will.
Thank you.
What a sweet reminder of our trip to Venice in 2002. Many thanks.
This has to be one of the sweetest videos you've ever posted. Thank you for sharing Venice with us.
I'm really happy you're able to share your life lessons with those who might need to hear them - thank you for your honesty and self-awareness and voice. Enjoy Venice thoroughly.