Venice

Saturday Night in Milan:
We walked around Milan after taking a metro to a tram to the outskirts of the city for about an hour to find Phil’s friend’s favorite pizza spot. We made it to the restaurant at about 11:10 PM just before they were going to close. It was worth the wait. The pizza was delicious and very filling. A great way to finish off Milan!

Sunday in Venice:
Our train was for 9:05. After pleading with the guys to leave at 7:30 AM the night before to be sure we didn’t miss our train, we left at 7:45 the next morning. Correction – we had no knowledge of the daylight savings and actually left our hostel at 845!! We realized this when entering the metro station and seeing it was 8:50. We booked it to the station, went four stops on the metro, and sprinted to the train carry all of our luggage including my big green bag that we check for flights up TONS of stairs. We made it to the train with about 10-15 seconds to spare. I was mad to be sure. Leaving early allows for unforeseen circumstances such as this one. But we made it and I’m writing this in Hotel Piave. All is well.

The hotel is really nice, we have our own bathroom and all four beds are slotted next to each other. This is an exact opposite of the last hostel. Although breakfast is not offered, it’s a really nice hotel. We are only paying about 15 euros a night, the cheapest hotel of all of our visits. We are not actually located in Venice, but a 10 minute train ride away. If we were actually in Venice we would probably be paying 2 to 3 times more. Ha so they gave us free wifi in the room, for 15 minutes. After that, it’s 5 Euros per hour. Thanks hotel Piave. I would post pictures but only have 15 minutes to be online.

The train was scheduled to arrive in Venice at 11:40 from Milan. I actually determined that we should see if there is a “Mestre” stop before Venice because that’s where our hostel was. What a time saver that was. We were able to get off the train one stop before Venice, walk 5 minutes to the hostel to check in! Otherwise we would have gotten off in Venice, found tickets back to Mestre, and waited for the next train.

Venice is beautiful!!! It is basically as I imagined it through, as silly as it sounds, Tomb Raider II and Shaun Murray Wakeboarding video games. They do a pretty good job showing the city haha. There are cafes and restaurants overlooking the beautiful blue-green calm water. The water runs everywhere through a maze of sidewalks and shops and ancient buildings. We went for a coffee to find two prices: 1.90 and 3 Euros (Venice is one of the most expensive cities anywhere). We asked if the price difference was for sizes and the waitress told us that no, its whether or not you want to sit outside by the water.

After checking in to the hostel and getting some groceries we got to Venice by about 2 PM via train. We got back to the hotel at about 9. We first took a water boat through the main canal to the St. Mark’s Basilica area. It was a beautiful ride through the canal. There are boatloads (pun) of gondola drivers in the water. It’s quite incredible because they actually only row on one side of the boat the entire time but are able to steer and go in all directions. We were able to see, from the outside, Doge’s Palace, Palazzio de St. Mark’s, and St. Mark’s Basilica. Tomorrow we will be entering all three along with Museo Correr. We didn’t really see too many specific sites on the first day, having plenty of entertainment simply wandering the streets from one corner of Venice back to the train station, which took hours.
Highlight of the day: Entering San Salvador church during a mass to watch a string quartet on Palm Sunday. I feel that Christianity is pretty cold and weak here in Europe but I really feel God’s presence and glory in these beautiful churches. We have noticed that most are in the shape of a cross, in terms of looking from a bird’s eye view. Does anyone know the significance of this?

To cap of a wonderful day Micah and Rob we able to bring back two huge Italian pizzas to the hotel for the four of us at 4.50 a person! We enjoyed it while watching Hangover before bed. Tomorrow we will try to grab some cheap pizza while in Venice and eat it by the water.

Grade for Day 1 in Venice: A-

Bathroom game: Finding a free bathroom to use is basically a game for travelers like myself. You are only technically able to use them as a customer in the restaurant, and even sometimes then they don’t have one or want you to pay. Making sure you’re hydrated is key when walking around all day, which leads one to needing to use a bathroom somewhat often. Keys to finding a bathroom:

1. Any worldwide chain is a safe bet. McDonald’s, Burger King and Starbucks are good plays.
2. Any bar or restaurant with outdoor seating. Give you backpack to a friend and act like you’re a customer from outside.
3. Never pay for a bathroom. There’s always a way. You just have to work hard to find a good place haha.

Side note that I remembered on Milan for Aaron and Ty: The Opera House. Level 4 of Tomb Raider II. The Opera House I visited was clearly the one the game was based off of. It was uncanny.

Monday in Venice:
A gorgeous day to be in Venice. We slept in a bit and left the hotel at about 11. After heading to the grocery store to pick up food for the day, we made it to Venice and enjoyed grocery store croissants and juice while overlooking the water with the sun beating down on us. We really didn’t have too many specific sites to visit for the day – we simply wanted to wander the streets and get lost in Venetian beauty. Palazzo Piscina (or something like that) is where the final scene to James Bond’s Casino Royale 2006 movie was shot. We were able to get some shots from across the canal. After a couple hours of wandering somewhat aimlessly we made it to the other side of the island in order to see Doge’s Palace, where hundreds of Dukes lived over the course of a thousand years. It was a fascinating place, costing 6.50 for students. From about 3-5 we toured the palace and the connected prison. There is a bridge connecting the palace and prison called the Bridge of Sighs. After getting sentenced to prison or death in Doge’s Palace in the courtroom, the final view that prisoners would see Venice from is a small window on the Bridge of Sighs. Hence the name, their freedom was gone.

Although we slept 9-10 hours the night before, I think we’re getting very tired from all of the walking. We strolled to a nearby park after Doge’s Palace to watch the sunset and then spent about two hours meandering back to the train station that could return us to Mestre. It actually was tiring and frustrating tonight trying to find the bridge back to the train station in the dark. Small alleys may lead to dead ends or huge plazas, how can we know? Our map came free from the hotel and is quite poor. It’s in black and white and is small. The key to navigating the streets is to follow the largest string of people to assume that they are heading to a popular or common location. I love Venice. I need to keep reminding myself where I am and enjoy every view I can get.

Future Austin if there is one place you need to revisit, it’s Venice. However, Future Austin you should go to cities you’ve never been to first, such as Lisbon, Florence, Prague, or Dublin. Tomorrow we are heading to St. Mark’s Basillica but really don’t have any other plans other than checking out in the morning. We are taking a train to Ljubljana at 9:40 PM tomorrow from Mestre and will arrive in Slovenia at about 1:45 AM. From there we’ll taxi to Micah’s friend’s apartment to stay for free for three nights.

Day 2 in Venice: B+