Firenze a Venezia

Yet again I find myself writing about an experience that seems unreal. Last week I traveled to Italy. It was an experience I will always remember. Let me tell you all about it. We departed from Vienna Tuesday evening... on a night train from the depths of hell! I say that because it was the most uncomfortable ride of my life, not including the wretched night bus to Phoenix. Anyways, even with the discomfort, it still managed to be lots of fun. A group of about 11 of us crammed into one compartment. Picture a mess of twisted and contorted bodies and that was basically our night. We spent about 4 hours together talking. By midnight everyone wanted to go to sleep. I arrive back to my compartment to find my pillow was missing. That increased my level of discomfort, however I don't think the lack of a pillow caused me any unrest. There was no way I was going to sleep on that train! No pillow would have saved me from the countless other problems encountered when sleeping on a train. The light, the noise, the rock hard "bed" I laid on. The list continues on from there. I was very happy when we arrived in Florence. My body was as tense as it had ever been. We left the train station with very little idea of where we were going. It took us 35 minutes to reach our hotel... which was only about 10 minutes from the train station. The city was unwelcoming. The buildings, covered under the morning darkness, looked abused. The streets seemed filthy and there was an unmistakable odor lingering about. We arrived at our hotel. I couldn't help but feel disappointed. It seemed far less pleasant than hotels we had previously stayed in. We dropped off our bags and headed out into the streets to find breakfast... more dangerous than it sounds. Cars in Italy don't stop for pedestrians. In general, it seems as though Italians lack patience in many things. We got a bite to eat at a random local shop. I got a sandwich... I've come to accept sandwiches as breakfast items. We walked back to the Hotel to meet our tour guide for the day. By then it was 9am, and the city was fully awake. We walked with our guide through the city center and around the most famous locations. I was not very interested. When you have groups as large as ours, you'll find it impossible to hear any tour guide. After the tour we were given time to ourselves. I, along with Michelle, Emily, Tony, and Brittany went to a small Pizzeria for lunch. I ordered gnocchi. It was absolutely delicious, and not very expensive. What more could a person ask for? After lunch we purchased our first Italian gelato... not the best I've had, and far more expensive than it should have been. Vendors in Italy know that tourists want gelato, and so they charge whatever they want. Venice was a lot cheaper in terms of gelato prices. We ate our gelato as we walked through the never-ending street market. So many shops selling everything a tourist would want. We checked into our hotel around 2pm. We ended up staying in the hotel's 2nd building, which was basically a hostel. There were 4 of us to a room. It was comfortable, and it had a great few of the city. That afternoon our group went to the Uffizi. I was too tired to experience a museum like that. It was huge, and hot... and just not my taste in art. It was cool to see paintings I had studied in school, but I was too tired to have appreciation for them. After the museum a group of us ventured out for dinner. No one in the group could decide where to eat. Most wanted something cheap, however vendors aren't stupid and most of the prices are the same. We ended up in a non-authentic Italian restaurant run by non-Italians. The food sucked! Our director and her family walked by the window and wanted to come in. I quickly walked over to let them know not to waste there time. It didn't bother me that the owner was standing right next to me when I said it. Serves him right! Anyways, after dinner we walked around the City. The atmosphere was beautiful... Florence was slowly winning me over. We purchased our second gelato (wasn't too bad). We ended up in a square with live music playing. An oddly out of place carousel beckoned us for a ride... I however didn't answer the call. We ended up going back to the Hotel. I was tired, and had no desire to walk anymore. A group decided to go out again, and I decided to spend some much needed time alone. I finally showered, and I listened to music as I drifted asleep. The next morning was crunch time. After a disappointing breakfast, provided by our Hotel, a group of us walked to the Duomo (dome). We climbed 463 steps to find a breathtaking view of the city. From the dome we walked over to the Galleria dell'Accademia which houses Michelangelo's David. It was an hour and a half wait in line, and a 10 Euro admission fee, but it was well worth it!! That statue left me speechless. It was absolutely incredible... one of the highlights of my life. After the David we had about an hour for shopping. I purchased a few things. I'm not one to like souvenir shopping. I never know what people will want. We left Florance that afternoon and arrived in Venice 3 hours later. Venice captured me from the moment I saw it. The city screamed Italy, screamed beauty and romanticism. I was in love! We checked into our Hotel, and from our Hotel it was straight to dinner. My previous poor experience with food searching in a large group prompted me to branch out with only a few people. We found a great place, with reasonable prices. There is no reason to be cheap when it comes to food!! After dinner we walked around the city. Tony, without using his map, led us to Piazza San Marco. It was beautiful. The square was lit up and there was live music playing. First "New York, New York" then "Nessun Dorma." It was perfect. We continued walking... the walkways lined with rose-colored lamps. We stopped to admire the view of the Island of San Giorgo. It was about 9pm at this point, and a member of our group wanted to go back to the Hotel. We all complied, although the rest of us would have gladly continued exploring. Tony led the way, but after a short time we noticed we had gone in a rather large circle. The cranky Hotel-driven member of our group took the map from Tony and was determined to lead us in the right direction. Even shorter still she realized she had no clue where we needed to go. We were lost in the streets of Venice... it was very cool, and very fun, and it would have been more enjoyable if it hadn't been for this cranky girl's attitude. Anyways, I became very tired of the lack of direction our group had. I took a look at the map and got a sense of dircection. I then walked in the direction I thought was right, leaving the group to forcibly follow me. My instincts turned out to be right, and we ended up finding our Hotel again. Michelle started calling me Toucan Sam... haha. We ended up arriving at our Hotel around midnight... so that's quite a long time to be lost. The next morning we walked, as a group, back to Piazza San Marco. From there we took a tour through the city. Yet again I found myself unable to hear our tour guide... I'm sure he had many cool things to say. I was content, however, just being in Venice. It was beautiful. The rest of the day was free time. A group of us (Me, Michelle, Emily, Tony, and Mirinda) made our way back to St. Mark's Cathedral. On the way, we purchased cups of fresh fruit from a market vendor... only 1 Euro, and so delicious! We walked through the Church. It was jaw dropping to see the entire ceiling covered in tile mosaics. From the church we walked to a Ship, which I could only guess was perminately docked. It wasn't opened to the public when we arrived, so we decided to go back later. We walked from there to St. Maria bascilica. On the way we stopped for lunch. I ate a wrap, sitting on the shore overlooking the Island of La Guidecca. I was so happy at that moment. I love taking time to enjoy even the smallest of experiences... even meals have taken on greater importance. The church wasn't opened when we arrived, but there were enough tourists waiting that they eventually opened the doors. It was a very beautiful church. From the Church we walked back to the Ship we saw earlier. I, Tony, Emily, and Trevor went to go see it, while Mirinda and Michelle went shopping. We met up again about 2 hours later... Michelle with a beautiful new ring, and a huge smile on her face. From Piazza San Marco, we walked, yet again, to our Hotel. (if you'd like to keep track, its about 1.3 miles each time). We quickly freshened up. From our Hotel we (Me, Tony, Emily, Michelle, and Mirinda) walked straight to the nearest Gondola... what else are you supposed to do in Venice? It was pricey, but well worth it. It was dusk... by the time we finished it was dark... perfect. I commented that we were riding on a Gondola underneath the star... as there was only a few stars visible:) After our ride we went out to dinner, and found another great place. It was a bit more expensive, but the food was worth the price. After dinner we purchased gelato (this was my 4th on the trip). The two female workers at the gelato shop were jamming to techno music. I joined in with a bit of dancing... or stupid tourist making an *** of himself frolicking. You can call it what you want. I was loving every moment:) We decided to walk back to our Hotel to watch a movie. Tony had brought "The Sting" with him. Despite being very long, I thought it was pretty entertaining. The next morning a large number of us got up super early to see the sunrise at Piazza San Marco. The atmosphere was incredible! I want to someday live by an Ocean. After breakfast we purchased a 12 hour transit pass. We took a boat to the island of Murano, which is the glass blowing Island. We watched a short demonstration (it was free!!), and then we walked a bit through the Island. From Murano we went to Piazza San Marco and from there we went to the Island of San Giorgio. We went up the Bell tower of the Church and had a breathtaking view of Venice and the surrounding Islands. We went back to Piazza San Marco and walked back to our hotel. On the way we purchased Cannoli and snacks for the Train ride back. I also managed to find, with the help of Michelle, the perfect Venetian mask. I am determined to use it, rather than just hanging it on my wall. We picked up our bags from the Hotel, walked to the train station, and boarded our train for home. I was very sad to see Venice slowly disappear from sight. I hope to go back many times. 7 hours later we were back in Vienna. I really missed it! I feel at home here now, and when I leave I find myself wanting to go back. This Wednesday we have a day trip to Kreuzenstein and next week we are traveling to Prague. This pace is insane!... but I love it!