Last stop: Italy

The final trip of my travels abroad ended in the gorgeous city of Venice, Italy.  After a brief stop in Rome for a night, I took a train the following morning to visit the city on water.  The weather was gorgeous, the sites were impeccable, and I couldn't have been happier with the place I had chosen to end it all.

Coming to Venice from the 5 day party I had had in Dublin made for the perfect relaxing vacation that I needed.  I checked into a hotel where I had my own room, bathroom, and private balcony and reveled in the luxury I had given up before by traveling through hostels.  I took a bus to the city center every day, checking different sites on the island each time, and spent my breaks eating italian food every meal time.  It took me a day and a half to order something other than pizza but after I had finally had my fill I expanded my cuisine to lasagna, spaghetti, ravioli, risotto, and gnocchi.  I had had it all and then some, and by the time I left venice I'm pretty sure I had eaten enough food to feed all the starving children in Africa.  Not something I'm looking forward to working off when I get back to the states.

The first day in Venice I spent roaming around the city, climbing over various bridges that hung over the canals and meandering around aimlessly.  I walked without a plan admiring the luminous canals and the old ruble homes that had been so eloquently put together.  The whole city was out, and as I ventured deeper into the neighborhoods I ran into several children out kicking the soccer ball around or balling around on the basketball hoops.  The whole friendly neighborhood scene engulfed me right from the start and I felt like I was in a movie.

View Over the Grand Canal

I went back to the main land the second day with more of schedule, and took time to see the Rialto bridge and St. Marks square.  It was close to impossible to get lost as there were sides around every street corner pointing me in the right direction and I moseyed along slowly taking my time to stop at the different shops and admire the different masks and trinkets they had to offer.  As I got closer to the Rialto bridge more and more people started to crowd the small alley ways .  There were shops stacked along the bridge and as I perched myself over the edge I admired the view of the grand canal.  There were as many gondolas as there were seagulls in the water and I watched wishing I had an extra 80 euro to splurge on a gondola ride.

Rialto Bridge

When I got to St. Marks square I learned where all the people had come from. There was an entire concert of tourists in front of me and I couldn't spot one who didn't have a camera, myself included.  The plaza was huge and St. Marks Basilica stood tall over everyone.  The architecture was extravagantly decorated with different religious scenes and the floors on the inside were pieced together by a rainbow array of tiles.  I marveled at it all.

St. Marks' Basilica

St. Marks' Square

My last day in Venice I took a 4 hour excursion to the three Islands off of Venice: Murano, Burano, and Torcello, but not before my wallet was taken by surprise by a local market that had planted itself right outside my hotel.  I spent a good amount of money on Italian clothes and fruit, which were just a few of the things it had to offer.  I made it to the excursion an hour later with three new outfits  and 30 euro less in my wallet.

Street Market

While on the excursion  I met a girl from Algeria who had also been traveling by herself and we became excursion buddies.  Our first stop was the island of Murano where we had the privilege of watching the glass blowing process.  Murano dapples in its glory of glass blowing and after being blown away by all the colors we wandered around the canals admiring the various glass shops. The Island of Burano came next, which is famous for its lace.  We visited a local lace shop and then toured around the main square where all kinds of scarves lay out tauntingly for tourists.  I was a magnet for these sales and I ended up buying three.  The designs were so unique and the material unlike anything I had see before, I couldn't stop myself.

Burano

Murano

I hid my wallet after that as we approached the final Island of Torcello where its population count was 11.  People had been driven off of it by malaria and it was now an island filled with grassy walk ways and broken down churches/museums.  I spent time with Aria, my friend from Algeria, sitting along the water and admiring nature.  It was the perfect end to the excursion.  The sun set as we headed home and I left Venice the next morning.

Torcello

Along the Canal in Torcello

I more than enjoyed my time in Venice and was glad I had the opportunity to visit such a unique city.  I found it interesting how the public transportation was made up of water taxis and water busses and loved how every time I lingered outside a restaurant a waiter would pop his head out and ask me, "Pi-zah?" or "Spa-ge-tti?"  It was a great experience that I'll always remember.

With all my travels out of the way it's time to slowly start heading home.  And when I say slowly, I mean slowly.  I've got an overnighter in the airport, 11 hour flight to Texas, a 4 hour layover, and then another 4 hour flight before I'm home again. ¡Mama mia!  This life is a crazy one, but I love it.