Sorry I haven't written in the past few days. It was hard to get computer time. It is now 7 AM, and we just arrived in Florence a little while ago. Long story that I will eventually get to later. Now time to share Venice, a city that is not for the weak.
We landed in Venice on Tuesday morning at around 12 pm. When we had our bags, we needed to figure out how to get to the island of Venice. Turns out you have to take a boat to get there. This boat is not like the ferry. It is not a high speed boat. It went a little too slow for my liking, and kept stopping at way too many places. It took over an hour to get from the airport to San Marco's Square. It's pretty crazy to think about a whole city being built on water. There are men that wheel the trash somewhere to dispose of it. Boats come into the town filled with products, like a truck, and deliver them. The ambulance has to use the water to get anywhere and everywhere. It's definitely relaxing to be on the water constantly, but I am sure it is hard to live there.
Anyway, we got to the island, checked into our hostel, and then walked around the city. We did not really have a plan. We wanted to find the Rialto bridge before night, but otherwise, there was nothing else we wanted to do for the night. It was perfect. Venice has all these narrow little streets that just keep connecting with each other. We got lost about every five minutes, but didn't mind. Once we found the Rialto, we kept walking. I also found a beautiful mask for myself!! The whole day we kept stopping into stores to look at the different masks, and I finally found one that I loved. I am so excited to hang it up in my room. I just hope it doesn't freak me out. I have yet to try it on, and I can't really stare at it for a long time without getting creeped out.
We found a gondola and decided to take a ride for 30 minutes. Our Gondolier was hilarious. He told us about some of the sites, but then he also kept asking about what we were doing later, and if we are all going to hang out.
Robin had also been having cell phone issues, and our Gondolier helped us out. He spent about 10 minutes after the ride calling the phone company, and talking to them in Italian. He also whipped it out his Iphone 4, and tried googling the issue. After we got all the answers we needed, he took us part of the way back to our hostel. We were hoping to have hung out with him afterwards because he was so nice, but we ended up loosing him. The people here are so nice and memorable. They make the trip a lot more exciting.
We enjoyed a very good dinner at a jazz bar. We both got pasta since we hadn't had any yet. The pasta here is so yummy!!! It is al dente, and their sauces are made perfectly. I am not going to be able to eat pasta when I go back home.
That was our day number one in Venice. It was so peaceful. I can totally get used to not having a car for a few days. It was so relaxing to walk everywhere. However, if you are not a big walker, and get tired very easily, I would not recommend Venice. There are areas you can sit in, but it usually takes awhile to find them. Also, the only way to where you have to go is either walking, or finding a large area of water and hiring a water taxi.
Day two started off pretty early. We wanted to make a tour for 9:30 AM. When we got to the ticket place, I couldn't find the paper with the reservation. We decided that we will go to an internet cafe and reprint it, and then take the 2:30 ferry. Surprisingly we did not get too lost looking for the internet place, but when we did find it, it was closed. A lot of the stores in Venice don't actually open on time. I guess it is part of their relaxed lifestyle that I am not accustomed too. So while we waited for the place to open, I went to go get my very first cappuccino. It had more of a coffee taste than I expected, but it wasn't too bad. Now I have to taste espresso.
With the tickets printed, we headed over to San Marco Basilica. We had seen a long line outside of it, but it turned out people were only waiting about fifteen minutes. We used our line time to take pictures of the square, and the church that is huge. I need to learn how long it took them to build the church, and how they built it. It's crazy the things they were able to do with no cars, electricity, cell phones, etc. The inside of the church was just as beautiful as the outside. I highly suggest looking it up on line. I was not allowed to take pictures inside.
Across from the church is a tall bell tower, Campanile Bell Tower. It is 60 meters high. On top, you can see the whole island. It is a breath-taking view. While we were up there, the hour changed and we got to see the bells chime, very loudly. It was really cool.
We grabbed a yummy lunch and then headed back towards the main water for the tour. The tour took us to three islands. Murano, Burano and Torcello. Murano is where they make the glass blowing objects. We were able to watch a demonstration. It was pretty awesome how they work with the melted glass. I was able to record it, and cannot wait to show it with everyone. We did not have time to really visit the island, but it seemed like a nice small place. Hopefully they are not over run by tourists.
The second island was Burano. This is the island where they make lace umbrellas. Robin was able to buy one while we were there. This island is gorgeous. the houses are all bright colors. I wonder who was the first person to decide to paint their house a bright blue, or green, or pink or purple. They are a genius. My only issue would be deciding what color I want my house to be. Again, we did not get much time to explore the island, but from what I saw, I loved. I could picture myself retiring there. Living right on the water reading my books. Sounds like perfection to me!
Last was Torcello. Apparently only 15 or 20 people live on this island. When we got off the boat, we had to walk a ways down to see the church on the island. It was cool, but there is really nothing else on the island. Our tour did not get back to the city until after 6:30 and we wanted to catch a 7:27 train. We still had to get our bags and then travel to the other side of the city. We missed the train by a few minutes. The next train was not until 3 AM. So to kill time we got some dinner, and bought a bottle of wine. We were able to sit outside right by the water drinking and talking. It turned out to be a great night. I loved Venice, and hope to get back there in the next few years. I would like to explore the non-touristy parts of the island.
Now off to the Uffizi Gallery!!
Ciao
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