Venice, Italy
Me Scuzie! We made it to Italy!
I woke up this morning and we were in Italy and only and hour from Venice (or as the Italians know it Venezia). We were served a cup of coffee and a small piece of bread. It was good but it was not filling.
When we got off the Train in Venezia we had no idea what to do. We tried to pick up some wireless Internet and book a hostel but were unable to find a network. Instead, we had to stand in a long line only to be told the cheapest available lodging would run 160 Euro! Knowing from past experience that this was probably not true, we headed out of the station to find a place to use the internet. However, the internet confirmed that all the hostels in town were totally booked!
We decided to walk around and pop in each hotel we passed to ask if they had any openings. Eventually we found a nice place for about 30 Euro a night (per person), expensive but much cheaper than anything else we thought we might find.
After dropping off our backpacks we went out to grab some food and see the sights. We snacked on some sandwiches as we aimlessly wandered. It was a very cool experience as the entire city scenic and we got to cross some very cool canal bridges. Eventually, we hopped on a waterbus and made our way to Plaza San Marco (where all the famous stuff is).
While the architecture around the square was spectacular, the area was unbelievably crowded. To make matters worse, it seemed as if half of the people were feeding pigeons. Some even decided to sit on the ground and cover themselves with bird food. Disgusting!
Next, we jumped on another waterbus and took a tour through the Canal Grande (which runs through the center of the city and is much larger than all of the other canals (of which there are 100’s). Once we got off of the boat it was time for a snack: real Italian pizza!
After eating B went back to the room to take a nap. Peter and I decided to check out one more sight before calling it a day. We headed for what looked to be a cool building on the map. We got lost many times on the way but still had a good time. Once we reached the building we took some pictures and then headed inside. Upon entering, we were slightly disappointed (and a little confused) to find that it was actually a hospital.
We are now back in the room and exhausted. For the rest of the evening we will take it easy and plan out the rest of our stay in Venice. I think that tomorrow we are going to go San Polo Plaza and then to a beach on an island close by.
NOTE: Venice is not that big (only about 300,000 residents) and is really cool because there are no cars! People get everywhere boating the canals and walking the super narrow streets. I like the city but the crowds here are worse than anywhere I have ever been (except Disneyland of course).
PS – at some point during the day we sat down at a café and ordered some sodas. We forgot the first rule when ordering from a foreign restaurant: ask how much! We each paid 6.50 Euro ($8.50) for a Coca-Cola!
1 comment:
Sleeping through your travel again huh Sean? I would say that the train ride to Italy is one of the prettiest in all of Europe, you missed out big time!
Just kidding, I have never been there and I don't know what I am talking about.
Do people there ride bikes at all? I don't think I would like to live there if the only way to get around was canals (which I would imagine are not the most efficient forms of transport) and walking (I have abnormally short legs).
I can't believe you payed almost 10 bucks for a coke! That hurts right where it counts.
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