Day 1: My roommate embark on our spring break 2015 to Venice Friday afternoon. Before we can get to Venice we had a lay over in Paris. Wasn't too exciting until we arrived in Venice at 12:30am (wayyyyyyy past my bedtime). So the first exciting part of my trip...trying to get to my hostel. Luckily there was a transportation service lady selling tickets so she told us how to get to our hostel, Generator (very cool hostel might I add). Now, in Prague I take the metro, tram, and bus system which is super easy. Well in Venice there are water ways....so their transportation system included boats. Something new and exciting. Long, boring story short, we go to our hostel at like 1:30am and meet up with my other roommate Julie and went directly to bed.
Day 2: All day in Venice. I woke to the sun beaming in my eye at 6. Lets just do some math right now to start putting my big adventure in perspective for later. I went to bed at 1:30am and woke up at 6. That is 4 and a half hours. Keep note of that. Anyway, I get up and get ready for the day before any of my other comrades have even started t stir and venture outside to see Venice in the sunlight. It did not disappoint. Not in the slightest. (Note: you can't see in the picture but there are mountains in the background). I seriously forgot how much I love water. Prague has the Vlata but it is no Venice. Continuing onward, my roommates Julie and Katrina get their booty's out of bed and try to gather their lives so we can see Venice.
First stop on our Venice journey...gelato. Everyone always talks about Italian gelato and we all know I love ice cream. I didn't care that it was like 9 in the morning, gelato time all the time. I couldn't tell you what flavors I got...I think I tried almost every flavor in Italy. Whoops. Another weird thing to make note of...I'm traveling in Italy with 2 blondes. So many looks.
Next stop on the agenda was to walk around and find the Rialto bridge. Overall, Venice was a beautiful city but there are lots of Indian and African men trying to sell you things every where you go. It is very irritating and takes away from the authentic Italian experience. One way to avoid the foreigners and get my Italian rich experience is by taking a notoriously famous gondola ride.
My gondolier was a 4th generation gondolier. He told me that he loves Venice. It's the best and safest place to live and he would never leave. Katrina and I, mainly Katrina, learned the art of negotiation. Anywhere you go in Venice, a 30 minute gondola ride will cost 80 euro. Katrina got our price down to 60 euro (20 a person) and I negotiated him to add some singing. And of coarse he sang 'Amore'.
My gondolier was a 4th generation gondolier. He told me that he loves Venice. It's the best and safest place to live and he would never leave. Katrina and I, mainly Katrina, learned the art of negotiation. Anywhere you go in Venice, a 30 minute gondola ride will cost 80 euro. Katrina got our price down to 60 euro (20 a person) and I negotiated him to add some singing. And of coarse he sang 'Amore'.
As we head back to where we need to get on a boat to go back to our hostel, I saw someone feeding pigeons in their hands. Soooooo I, the animal lover, HAD to do it!!!! My roommates were disgusted by it but I enjoyed every second of it.
I also enjoyed every second of wine, pizza, more gelato, cannoli's, and more gelato that I consumed. Because when in Rome...welll when in Venice.
When in Rome became the motto of the week. If i wanted 4 gelatos in 1 day, all I had to say to myself was "hey, when in Rome!" and it was quickly justified.
Alright, so now, we all head back to our hostel to gather our things because we wanted to go to our next destination (and my favorite) Vernazza. We get our stuff, get on a boat, and go to the train station. Originally, we had thought we would take a 'night train' and arrive to our destination in the morning. It would be perfect! We would save money on a hostel, sleep on the train, and wake up in Vernazza. Well let me just tell you what I learned about 'night trains'......they do not exist. Not in Italy at least. Dream shattered.
Next Stop...Vernezza...Stay Tuned.
I also enjoyed every second of wine, pizza, more gelato, cannoli's, and more gelato that I consumed. Because when in Rome...welll when in Venice.
When in Rome became the motto of the week. If i wanted 4 gelatos in 1 day, all I had to say to myself was "hey, when in Rome!" and it was quickly justified.
Alright, so now, we all head back to our hostel to gather our things because we wanted to go to our next destination (and my favorite) Vernazza. We get our stuff, get on a boat, and go to the train station. Originally, we had thought we would take a 'night train' and arrive to our destination in the morning. It would be perfect! We would save money on a hostel, sleep on the train, and wake up in Vernazza. Well let me just tell you what I learned about 'night trains'......they do not exist. Not in Italy at least. Dream shattered.
Next Stop...Vernezza...Stay Tuned.