Venice Day 6

I’m starting today on the train ride to Venice. We spent the morning in Florence, and managed to hit places we hadn’t been the day before. Saw some really cool little streets, went right into the Central Market. The market is like our farmers market where you find all sorts of things, all food related though. We have decided to make an effort to find more of these as the food is cheaper, and looks so much better. Also, just by the feel of the place it seemed more authentic. Lots of Italians eating there.

I had to use the bathroom on the train and wanted to relay some experiences about bathrooms in general. I never know what to expect when I go in. It is always an adventure. Sometimes there are toilet seats, sometimes not. Every toilet seems to have a different place to flush, and it always takes me a while to figure that out. Once I have managed to get myself out of the stall, the sink is another issue. I have yet to see a sink that operates the same, some you push, some you wave your hand under, some stop, some don’t.

On the train we are sitting by a couple on a 2 week trip in Italy….from…you guessed it Calgary, both from the NW. Small world. They were staying on the land side of Venice and will have to bus over for the day, while we were heading straight over to the island. We made a good choice. The rail station is the end of the line and as soon as you are off the train, there is a station on the Grand Canal to catch the bus–which are boats. We really couldn’t believe that we had arrived in Venice.

My first reaction was just awe. It is everything that I imagined, and so much more. It was very cool to ride the boat and look on each side and know that the only way to get around is on foot, or by boat. Lots of canal transportation from the bus, taxi, and gondolas.

Our hotel was to say the least, a little shocking for our senses. Once we checked in, we were shoved into an elevator that barely fit us, and we met our hostess up a floor. When we opened the door, we just stood in amazement. The whole room was covered in a blue jacquard print; on the walls, on the chairs, on the bed, the drapes, with the doors to the closet and bathroom cushioned and button tufted. It kind of was a little creepy to be honest, but once we settled in, we loved it. It was totally Venetian.

We walked around the rest of the afternoon, visiting different piazzas and managed to get to the most famous one which is the San Marco. It is absolutely massive, and has luxury hotels on either side. There a few restaurants, and they have bands playing on stands as you go by. The prices here are incredibly high. We have tried to be as frugal as we can, but it is very hard. There is a cover charge almost everywhere. We were lucky enough to have a place to sit outside our hotel and we did that with a bottle of wine. I love Venice, it is comfortable.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•