Venice

Tuesday, 9/11/07

The overnight train was pretty painless this time. We were on a Couchette instead of an actual bed and instead of having 3 people to a room, it had 6. The beds were so close together, you could not sit up in them. I was on the second tier and had a window at my feet. I left the curtain open so I could see out until I feel asleep, which wasn't very long. I slept very well and did not awaken until our "wakeup call" from the train car worker. He was, yet again, an Italian. He was older and we could hardly understand a word he said. His English was "notta so good-uh." He asked us if we wanted coffee or tea and we both opted for coffee. He brought us our coffee and left, only to return a few moments later to ask for the payment for the coffee. On our last train, the coffee was included...but apparently not on this one. It was 2.90€...each. The coffee was not THAT good! Nevertheless, he was a nice guy. He was joking with us as we waited for the train to stop. I still am not sure what he was joking with us about...but we laughed.

We didn't know what to expect in Venice. Germany and Austria were so cold! We both dressed a little warmer, but the moment we stepped of the train, we could tell it would be beautiful here! We walked first to our hotel, which was only a few Venice blocks away from the train station. We dropped off our luggage and used the restroom to change into shorts. We meandered through the streets of Venice just loving it! It was so warm that we were FINALLY able to thaw out from Germany's cold, wet weather. It was just as I thought it should be; Beautiful. You could very easily get lost in the winding passages, many of which dead ended. I laughed at people asking for directions to certain shops...there is no good way to give directions! You almost need a compass to get around there. Most of the streets are not labeled and they wind around until you don't know which way is North. We found our way to the Rialto bridge, then headed back to the hotel. We were able to check into our room at 11.

The room was so adorable! It was on the second floor (which, in the US is really the third floor). It had a double bed with side tables on either side, a small desk and chair, a sink, an armoire, and double doors that led out to a balcony overlooking an alleyway. It was beautiful! And it was so nice to have a room to ourselves for the one and only time on this trip.

We continued walking Venice and made our way to Saint Marks Square. A huge stage was being set up in the middle and we overheard someone say they were having an orchestra concert and would block of the square at 6 pm. It definitely took away from the ambiance of the place but it was still beautiful. We walked for hours and then made our way again back to the hotel. We decided that we would love to see the city at night so we napped for a few hours, and headed out again. I believe during the course of the day, we had about 3 gilatos. We couldn't help ourselves.

Our last walk was to St. Mark's Square again. We listened in on the beautiful orchestra for a bit, and then wondered our way slowly back. It was so beautiful that we didn't want to go back to the hotel!

The gondola rides were everywhere. It looked like so much fun, but the cost was not so much fun. Most of them were at least $150 US. The gondolas themselves were very pimped out, with leather seats, fringe, faux fur, and the works. The gondola drivers themselves were flirty little things. They would blow kisses at you and wave and say "Ciao, very beautiful!" We just laughed and kept on walking. We knew they really just wanted us to pay them the big bucks for a ride.

As I sit here, two Italians are amazed at my PDA and keyboard. They are talking very quickly in Italian and pointing. I just look at them and smile. We are on the train to Rome. We were able to get reservations for the Vatican tour, but they are at noon today. We had to catch the 6:38 am train to be in Rome in time for the tour. It was so sad to say goodbye to Venice...our stay was so short lived!

We overslept a bit this morning and barely got to the station in time for the train. I think we are sitting in the coach area instead of second class...I guess we will move if they tell us too. Wendy has already fallen asleep while I've been typing, and I hope to follow suit.

Ciao for now!