Venice isn't like the rest of Italy at all. First of all, there are no roads, so therefore no cars. This means you are now safe from someone trying to kill you. Traffic laws in Italy seem to only apply to boats, and Venice runs on boats.
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After our experiences in Salzburg, we headed off to Italy. I had never been anywhere near Italy so I had no idea at all what to expect. I knew that my German would be pretty much useless there. I was hoping my English wouldn't too. Of course I was being ridiculous, everyone speaks English. I have had no problems expressing myself to the Italians. I just talk with my hands and I can fit right in, they understand what I am saying too. The train ride from Salzburg to Venice was just as pretty as it sounds like it would be. From the prettiest place I have seen to the prettiest place people tell me to see. Over the ocean, under mountains, through vast valleys we went! It was a great ride. My welcome into Italy was a giant snowstorm. The stone giants in the mountains were fighting with snow and it looked to be fierce. Then again we were going around 150 miles per hour so it could have been a gentle serene falling of snow that one thinks of when they hear Swan Lake. But at 150mph everything seems more like the 1812 Overture mixed with a little Bonanza theme.
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Thankfully it wasn't snowing when we got to Venice. I say this only because I was not dressed for the cold and we had a ways to go to get to our hostel. That night Michael and I explored our little lagoon called Lido (like Toledo but without the "Ta") and found the ocean. It had been a while since I had genuinely been to a warm ocean so I was happy. It was dark and the stars were out. The Milky Way was out and I could see it streak across the sky in its typical awesomeness. We stood there for a while until the threat of our feet getting wet by the incoming waves moved us off the beach. We walked around until we got tired and then went to bed. The next morning was going to be a long day so we wanted to make sure we got enough sleep.
Our day began with a trip to the main island of Venice. Just being off shore we were technically not in Venice but we were really right there. In a normal city, the distance we had to go from our hostel to the city center would have only taken five to ten minutes, but because there are no cars let alone busses on the island, we had to take boats. All the boat traffic goes in one way. We ended up nearly circumnavigating the entire city before getting to where we wanted, taking about 45 minutes. This wasn't bad though, we were seeing the city from the water and it looked awesome.
We got onto land and realized that it was going to be really confusing to get anywhere. There aren't really streets and so not really technical street names. There are a few but that's about it. We did see some strangely helpful graffiti pointing us in the right direction once. I was happy that a reprobate had guided his moral compass enough to lend a helping hand. Other than the one surprisingly helpful graffiti, there wasn't much to go on as far as navigation. More than once we found ourselves almost stepping into the street, which is a big deal when it is water. I decided a Postal worker's first week on the job has got to be one of the worst things ever.
The city of Venice is pretty. I was actually more in awe of the fact that it was a city on the water and that it was structurally sound. Besides, it's not like its the most modern city ever. But really, who's idea was it to build a city in the water anyways? I could come up with simpler things. But really, the city was super. After covering pretty much everything in that city, we split off and Michael and I found something to eat on the island while the others went back to Lido. We got lost trying to find the toilets that were always just around the next corner but were really a long ways off. Whoever designed the city must have been on some really heavy drugs, because there is no rhyme or reason to the placement of the buildings. The city makes no navigational sense at all, at least if you are walking. We finally returned to the area where we wanted to eat. Even cheap Italian food is really yummy so naturally I was pleased with life.
I took so many pictures that day that my camera was probably just as grateful for the rest that night as I was. So when I finally hit the hay for the night, I slept wonderfully. A side note about sleeping in Italy, the beds are back to normal here. It has been a long time since I saw a non German style bed. I almost didn't know what to do. For those of you who don't know, there isn't a regular sheet on a German bed, it is instead a fancy covering on the bedspread that you pull off and wash, I don't remember the name, something French naturally. The point is, they are a little different, so seeing a normal bed threw me off guard. It's okay, I am adaptable. Nonetheless, I sleep beautifully just about wherever I am. Venice was no exception. We could hear the ocean from our hostel. It was nice.
The next day we moved on to Florence. I once again had no idea what to expect. As it turns out, the difference between Venice and Florence is about as much as going into a whole new country. Yes everyone still spoke a language that I only understand because they speak also with their hands, but other than that, they are different. (Just for clarification, I don't understand Italian by any stretch of the imagination) Check out my next blog, Florence: The Introduction to the real Italy, to hear about part 2 of our Trip through Italy.
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