VENEZIA!

The following morning we were up early again packing up the apartment. We caught two separate cabs to Termini with all our luggage (made for a bit of a confusing situation at first). After waiting quite a bit and trying to figure out the logistics, we finally boarded our train to Venice. We were all so excited for this second portion of our travels. Although we weren’t sitting together at first, it was a fun way to travel to Venice and definitely less hassle than flying. Our tickets were only booked to the stop right before Venice so we had to take a local bus to Piazza Roma where everyone catches the waterbus to ake you throughout Venice on the Gran Canal.Once we got ourselves on the waterbus we were jittery with excitement. The weather was perfect again and it was around 6. I remember not being able to say anything because I couldn’t actually believe that I was in Venice. Our htoel was an adorable bed and breakfast right along a small canal. It wasn’t luxurious but perfect for our stay. We went and got dinner in a random square close by and had a low-key evening. I was excited because Venice wouldn’t be a fast-ace sitght-seeing type of trip. It was all about wandering, getting lost, finding small hidden treasures and then finding your way again. Unfortunately, there are tons and tons of shops in Venice – especially jewelry which is incredibly unique. They certainly know how to attract tourists’ attention. The main thing that we had to do while in Venice was get to St. Mark’s square and go on a gondola ride. Both of which were accomplished. St. Mark’s cathedral was really enjoyable for me because it hadn’t been restored. SO it was in the same condition it had been however may years ago. It was dark and dusty probably from all the candles and smoke and ash collected over the years. The entire ceiling was gold mosaic making for an indescribable design. On our walk back we got our gondola ride with a cute and charming Italian. He let a couple of the girls stand with him on the top and help row. I felt like I was in a dream the entire time in Venice. It was a very romantic city. That night we all got dressed up to go out to dinner. We sat outside by the Grand Canal under an umbrella and it began to storm viciously. At first we were a bit bummed but then realized how cool it was to watch the thunderstorm. We sat and enjoyed our last dinner as a group waiting for the storm to pass. The following day we walked around for a bit, through the streets and went to the market furtheer up the Gran Canal. We sadly said our goodbye as the other four had an earlier flight and were headed to Paris for the third leg of their trip. I had several hours to myself to enjoy Venice before I said goodbye to the most beautiful city I have ever been to. I walked to the main port area we found the day before and sat on a set of steps by the water reading my book for two straight hours. Nothing could have been better, the weather was perfect and I had time to myself to do anything I wanted. I left with a solid amount of time to get myself to the airport because the last thing I wanted was to be stressed getting to the airport in a foreign country on my own. As I sat on the waterbus and then the bus to the airport, I was so sad that the end of my travels were nearing. I have truly had the time of my life and absolutely nothing has compared to traveling throughout Europe independently. I know I will always look back appreciating the memories I’ve made.