The Venice post...and thats all for Italy

Starting from the last post...

That was actually just kind of a teaser because before we headed out to Venice we stopped through Florence to finish up a few more things. First thing to get done- get some lunch at a sandwich shop which had been recommended to us. Of course every time we went there it was closed: the first time we were in Florence it was closed since it was a weekend, and this place was closed on both Sat and Sun. So we headed over and what happened? YEP, that’s right, it was closed. We think it was a holiday that day since there were a lot of places closed (also it was a holiday in Spain). So we just grabbed some pizza- why would we eat anything else? Next headed to the Uffizi! This museum is BIG and had lines in off season…I don’t want to imagine it during the busy season. I didn’t take any pics in this museum so I just guess you guys will have to go see it for yourself. One thing I CAN tell you is that from the museum (at the end of hallway, 2^nd floor) you can get an AWESOME view of the Ponte Vecchio.
We did get some pics of that…along with the rest of the world since it was pretty much the only place you could take pics in the museum.  Oh yes- and I wouldn’t want to forget to tell you- I had some random group of Italian (I’m assuming) teenage boys ask me to take a pic with one of them. I thought what the heck and did it but I couldn’t stop cracking up even during the photo. 

We ended up having to leave the museum before seeing everything in order to catch our train. And OF COURSE got to the train station and ran into problems…why would it be anything different? We just hadn’t realized that we had to catch our train at the other station, which basically had the same name, so we had to opt for the fast train which was great (minus stress of paying more and having to go out of my budget- next time I will know better). 

Now to change up the scene a bit…we soon arrived in the sinking city of Venice around 11pm. It was pretty foggy and dark so difficult to see. After spending about 45min trying to figure out how the system worked for the Vaporetto (since all the kiosks were closed and not many people were around) and calling the hostel, we caught the correct boat to get to our hostel and went upstairs to pass out in our room.  The next morning I had to go downstairs to talk with the manager about a pricing issue and what happened? I ran into a friend I know! I had gone on a road trip with her less than a year ago- it was a graduation celebration trip. This girl got see all the good and bad about me on that trip haha Anyhow, I knew she was traveling around Europe and told her we would be in Italy when she was there but wasn’t able to give her more info so it was just a coincidence that we ran into her. I love when stuff like that happens- it just reminds me how small of a world we live in.

After running into my friend and negotiating with the assistant manager (I got us free breakfast! Too bad it wasn’t good hahaha), we headed out to explore Venice. First thing we did- got lost. Well we actually were just kind of wandering and it took me a few hours to get oriented so the first few hours were spend wandering, running into streets flooded with water, and wishing we had some rubber boots. Watch the video...

After asking a few people we eventually made it to Campo Santa Margherita (a large open area) and grabbed some lunch. Next stop? Well that was the question…we just ended up continuing to wander and hopefully making it to a few museums or something. We soon figured out where we were and found one of the most amazing churches I’ve ever seen, Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa Dei Frari. The place was just so different that any church I have visited so far in Spain and Italy- first of all, it was only lit by the light from outside through the stain glass windows. It was so cold it seemed abandoned yet so beautiful and comforting. The presence this place had was very unique and the artwork was gorgeous as well. We didn’t hear much of this church before coming but I recommend it to anyone who heads to Italy. 

After spending some serious time in the Frari church we explored more and stopped by the Gallerie dell’ Accademia di Venezia (museum). This wasn’t necessarily my favorite museum but it did have a few rooms with amazing paintings inside. One room was filled with 6 gigantic paintings each about 12x12 ft large and they were just beautiful. After we spent some time there we were exhausted and headed back to the room for some RnR. Before making it back to the room of course we were stopped…There was a gondola…and we were in Venice. My travel buddy couldn’t pass it up so she invited me along and we went for a GONDOLA ride. The ride was beautiful but I think that I’d recommend going on one in the Spring…after its warmed up a bit. We were able to get some amazing photos and see the town in a very different way AND we got a history lesson from the gondola man (not sure the proper name). We wanted to know more about the history of Venice and gondolas so he entertained us with all his knowledge as we sat back and admired the city on water. About a half hour later we managed to get off the gondola without falling into the water and headed back to the hostel for a much needed nap.

 After taking possibly the longest nap in history we got up and headed out for dinner…it was already around 10pm. We headed back to Campo Santa Margherita since that was where all the “night life” was. Of course Venice is a small town and in the off season there is no one there so the night life…well, it was minimal. We bar hopped between the 2 open bars in the square haha, had a bellini or two, ate some pizza (we had a daily required minimum), and order a bottle of wine…

Second morning in Venice, we woke up and ate our free breakfast at the hostel…bread, bread and more bread (not much substance there so I was quickly exhausted within a few hours). We headed out to Piazza San Marco BUT on our way there headed to the big market that they have in Venice. It’s said to be a famous market filled with all types of fresh fish and sea food as well as fresh fruits and veggies. The market wasn’t too big, but then again we were there in the off season, but the food sure was beautiful. I saw some seafood that I’d never seen before- and I’ve lived next to the ocean all my life!
The fruits and veggies were also so beautiful with amazingly rich colors and varieties of crops that don’t exist in the states (at least not in WA). We explored a little more away from the market and stopped by some shops…all set up in the name of tourism. We headed back towards Piazza San Marco and crossed over the famous bridge in Venice (we had to cross it coming over too). We were told it was the first bridge built in Venice, because originally Venice was made up of many different “islands” which were later connected with bridges- SO every time you cross a bridge you’re basically crossing onto a different island (I’m hoping the gondola man didn’t make all that up but that’s what he told us…). The bridge is filled with shops where every tourist can find some overpriced souvenir haha- they did have some pretty cool things though. Also when we were crossing the bridge there was a wedding photo shoot going on (I also snuck in my camera for a pic) and I’m sure their photos just came out ridiculously beautiful. I do have to say though, the bride’s dress was definitely more…modern. It was like a normal wedding dress MINUS about 4ft of fabric at the bottom. So it was a miniskirt wedding dress with which she wore white ankle boots…oh the Japanese are so trendy.

We finally made it to the Piazza where we then tried to figure out where we needed to go. We were searching for the museum but got side tracked by some other attractions. We first ended up going on up into this tall, tall tower which overlooked ALL of Venice. It was pricey to go up but well worth it. You could literally see EVERYTHING…the different islands, the whole Piazza, the mountains (in the distance of course)…everything. I took a bunch of pics up there but wish I would have taken a video because the pics don’t do it justice. Matter of fact, I have a better idea, just fly to Italy to see if for yourself.

After the tower we went to the church next door and explored it and all its beauty. I mean every church we walked into was just beyond amazing. You couldn’t even begin to image how much time and effort was poured into these buildings of worship. Every time I was speechless. This particular church didn’t have too much to explore but we managed to spend about an hour walking around, just in awe of the place. 

Our next goal was to find the museum! That took us a whole couple minutes to find…I ended up not going inside because I was really low on funds and didn’t want to starve to death while in Italy, so I just hung out outside while the other girl explored the museum. While waiting I started to hear some music and it kept getting louder. I finally stood up to see what it was- a group of, what looked like, new found Buddhists dancing around and chanting/singing to the music that one of them was playing. The all looked SO happy and it was really fun to watch. From what it looked like, they were handing out info about the religion to anyone who walked by or had interest. I enjoyed having the music there because I was just waiting found myself a bit bored after they left…maybe I should have joined them.

After my travel buddy joined back with me we headed back to the hostel for what? Pizza? No, not pizza…A NAP!

Once again we got up and it was dinner time, this time earlier than 10pm though. We wanted to head to a “nice” restaurant to get some dinner this time and so we went back to Campo Santa Margherita for some…pasta! At this point I couldn’t keep up with the 1 pizza slice daily minimum so I traded that in for the next best thing (pasta). That night we didn’t stay out late because the next day would be our last morning in Venice and we would have to check out of the hostel. So, we headed back, got our bags slightly organized and went to bed. 

Next day we got ready, packed up, ate the yucky hostel breakfast, checked out and then went out to explore some more of Venice. We, of course, found ourselves at another church…this time it was the Santa Maria della Salute. Again- we stood there in awe. After being humbled again we kept walking until, well, we walked to the end of the island. You literally can stand on the edge of Venice…of course there’s a security guard who speaks minimal English and stands there to make sure stupid tourists don’t fall in…and of course who did he have to talk to? Me. Not because I fell in or anything but because was kneeling to take a picture and fell over a bit…so apparently that signaled to him that I would fall in? Still not sure what happened…maybe he thought I was drunk. Yep, that’s probably it. 

Well we soaked in some sun next to the water, still wearing 5 layers of clothes because it was freezing, and just breathed in Venice. And an instant later we had to head out, well it was more like a few hours but same difference. We lugged our bags to the train station (it was only about a 20min walk) and waited…next stop Milan.

When we go to Milan it was late. We basically had time to drop our bags off at the hostel, grab a bite to eat and go to bed, all to wake up at 5am and head back home…we’ll we were going back to Spain so can’t complain too much there. So that’s exactly what we did, kind of. We got on the bus, after about 10min we figured out we were on the wrong bus. SOOO got off that bus and caught one in the right direction, found the hostel and dropped our bags off. We headed to a restaurant called “Bar Tender” for some food and drinks. Now many bars, at least in Milan and Florence, have it set up where you buy a drink and get unlimited access to the food bar- great deal. If you go to Italy- do that! The food is good, you eat for cheap and the environment is GREAT! I think we were the only none Italians in that place, at least the only non-Italian speaking people. I LOVE places like that- they’re always the best. After getting full off 3 plates of food (they were small plates!) and some drinks we headed back to get a few hours of rest before we had to ship out.

The next morning was the last in Italy, we woke up groggily, taxi-ed it to the train station where we caught a bus to the airport. We got on the plane and were destined back to Spain! From there we said our goodbyes and I headed to catch my bus to my small town of Lucena… But the story’s not over yet! While waiting for the bus to leave, at the last minute, a girl that I know got on. Funny thing- she’s actually from Oregon and doing the same program in a town close to mine, so we spent the rest of the hour+ bus ride talking about our trips, since she had also been traveling. We finally got to Lucena, where I hung out with her and we ate some food while she waited for her bus. After that I went home and…PASSED OUT! Hope you enjoyed hearing about my adventure in Italy…now go check out the pics!

Italy Picture Album