Woke up early this morning to have breakfast before heading out. Well that was a joke! Our breakfast from the hostel was corn flakes in mugs (no bowls), white bread (no toaster) and weird jelly flavors from plastic containers. Oh and orange juice from a machine that makes it from powder. It was terrible!! I had a couple of helpings to get slightly full. Oh well, not everything can be perfect.
We took the first train to Venice to spend the day in one of Italy's most romantic cities. The train ride was nice, we spent the whole time napping. Haha
As soon as you exit the train station in Venice you find a canal, gondolas, canal taxis and a hoard of tourists. The thing about Italy is, it never really has a down season. Its always full of tourists and most of them are really dim-witted.
We got a map from the tourist office. We paid €2 for it, but we needed it. To try and navigate Venice without a map...is like being Lewis and Clark when the navigated the Louisiana Purchase. Its really outrageous. All of the streets have about 3 different names and a street name will change sides of the street, even if you are walking straight. Not to mention if you try to "follow the water" you'll get all sorts of turned around. There are hundreds of canals in Venice and they are just as confusing as the streets.
Heather was Sacagewea and led our expedition to Piazza San Marco, which is where the good stuff is. Its mainly an open square surrounded by a giant cathedral, a bell tower, a huge museum, and a palace. Its truly a sight to see. Not to mention there are hundreds of pigeons more than willing to help you finish that biscotti.
We had lunch at Bierreria Pedavena, a small resteraunt behind the square. I had the 4 cheese pizza and Heather had lasagne. We're in Italy....you guess how the food was. ;P
After lunch we wandered along the harbor on a mission. We were looking for a particular shirt for a particular set of twins we know. But we couldn't find it in the color we needed! We stopped at EVERY souvenir stand to check...that's about 1 souvenir stand every 25 feet.
We gave up and decided to explore more of the city. We got a little confused but ended up finding a Gondolier who was looking for a fare. He even cut us a deal! We only paid €60 for 30 minutes, for our own gondola! Usually its like €80 for a gondola and they fill it up with whoever walks by and wants to split the bill. So we ended up taking a super romantic gondola around some quite canals, away from the tourist hubs. And Anthonio, our Gondolier, even pointed out historical buildings along the way. He was very sweet.
With a new lease on the day we went back the way we came to figure out where we were. With some luck we found the shirt we were looking for!! We also tried on many carnivale masks, which was really fun. They are hand made in Venice and are so beautiful.
When we were cutting back through Piazza San Marco I lost Heather in a throng of tour groups. I stood in one place and frantically looked in all directions til I found her. She came strolling up and handed me a beautiful red rose, which she had bought from a street vendor. It was such a spontaneous, romantic surprise!! :) I loved it.
We meandered through the city, window shopping as we went. Venice is simply beautiful. There are no cars (as far as we could tell there may not be any at all! They have a water bus system, and everyone else walks!) so its quit. The canals offer a serene atmosphere everywhere you turn. Everything about today was gorgeous.
We got to the train station early. We sat on the steps and watched the canal boats and gondolas. I made a vase for my rose out of an empty plastic bottle and some napkins. And we simply took in the city, as the sun set.
Now we're on our way back to the hostel. We are exploring Florence tomorrow, so we don't have to get up super early! Should be a nice, relaxing evening.
Safe Travels,
- Kit & Heather
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