Venice, the impossible city

Having returned from my travels around Europe (Italy, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands) I suppose I can now say that I am a world traveler, one with great memories, some filthy clothes and a broken camera. As I spent two weeks traveling I'm going to post an entry for each city that I visited so that each place can have the proper amount of attention. I brought along a moleskin journal to write in so that I wouldn't forget little details and also not have to write a novel all at once.

That said, here is Venice (Venise in French, Venezia in Italian):

Our trip began with an overnight train from Dijon to Venice. On our trip to Nice we tried our best to sleep in train seats that reclined but for our night train to Venice we were blessed with a sleeper cabin. I should probably amend the usage of 'blessed' mostly because the compartment itself was a little hot and uncomfortable (I could not sit up while sitting in bed) but it was great to have a place to sleep and when we woke up I felt quite rested. The only strange part of the train ride was that when our tickets were checked, the conductor took our passports telling us that he would return them when he woke us up the next morning. We did get our passports back the next morning as promised but I found myself anxiously awaiting the return of my passport which is the one essential object that should never leave your sight while traveling. 

The remnants of our last meal in Venice.

Our ticket brought us to the station right before Venice so we had to buy a 1 euro ticket just to get to the actual station. Once we arrived in Venice itself we bought our tickets to Florence so that we wouldn't have to worry about it and then set about figuring out how to get to our guest house. When the only transportation possible ended up being a water bus I knew we were really in Venice, a truly impossible city.

I had another moment or realization at lunch when as we began to eat our pizza (so delicious!) an accordionist began playing a few feet from our restaurant beginning with "That's Amore". It wasn't exactly a stereotypical moment but it was certainly the image - or the moving picture - of a meal in a beautiful Italian city. All of our jaws dropped and we were split in finding the situation hilarious and also incredibly appropriate.

A street view, or rather canal view, in Venice.

As for our guest house, we dropped our bags and paid after our arrival, got lunch (as described above) and then gelatto and then finally checked in. The guest house in question ended up having more than any of us had pictured. It was new and so there weren't any reviews but we were happy to find a bathroom, five beds and then the real treat: a small kitchen.

We did a little shopping (in Venetian masks and glass) and walking around and then bought pasta (incredibly phallic and bought from a regular grocery store), a pepper, garlic, olive oil and some Parmesan cheese which we brought back to the guest house to make pasta that night. Dinner as a whole was delicious but also incredibly hilarious due to the phallic pasta which still makes us laugh two weeks later.

Sean, Kendra and Michelle, taken from our guest house.

When dinner was over we headed out in search of a gondola ride. At first we were nervous that we might not find a gondolier because most boats were covered but we were able to find one and went on an incredibly peaceful and lovely ride. The next morning when we saw gondolas that were caught up in a water-way equivalent of a traffic-jam we were all glad we had gone at night not only because it was more picturesque and also because it was more private. The only complaint of it, although also a point of amusement, was that the gondolier briefly talked on his cell-phone while steering us around the canals.

From our gondola ride.

The next day we were supposed to check out and then get breakfast but no one was there to check out so we left our bags in the room/suite and went in search of breakfast. I had an omelette and tea but Sean, Kendra and Michelle all enjoyed their various forms of Italian coffee. Afterwards we checked out without any difficulties and then spent the beginning of the afternoon wandering around the city. Our first day we enjoyed a quieter, almost more artisan side of the city but Sunday we walked past many designer stores and enjoyed the many bridges and the weather. 

Looking towards the Grand Canal with gondolas in the foreground and
Santa Maria della Salute behind it.

We also stumbled on a sort of antique market by a church that was exhibiting old string instruments in memoriam of Vivaldi who spent the majority of his life in Venice, contributing to its rich musical history.  Afterwards we headed back one last time to the hostel where we picked up our bags and made our way by water-bus to the train station. Near there we found a park, made PB sandwiches and played card games until it was time to catch the train.

Overall our stay in Venice was lovely and by staying out of the high traffic areas it was quiet and very enjoyable, a perfect start to our trip.

Michelle and Kendra at the open-air market in Venice. The market was a
mix of antiques and jewelry and was a real treat.