Venice

The last leg of our Italian journey brought us to Venice. We were in denial that our time would come to an end. Maybe if I just hide in a gondolla I can stay forrrreeeevvveeerrr. Not quite considering that a cost for a ride in one of those suckers cost an arm and a leg.

The hotel (yup, no hostels this time around thanks to the snazzy planning of Yours Truly) was a bit off the mainland (Lido). We arrived in Venice and after one ride on a long water bus plus a ride on a bumpy land bus plus some google map failure (damn you technology) we found our abode! We dropped off our bags and went in search of some serious grub because we were starving (obviously! considering that I devoured that massive calzone all by myself: see picture. Note that I still had room for gelato - stop judging me). Also it was on this lovely little evening that we ordered Spritz and basically had our lives turned upside down. Not quite but boy were those tasty (and for only 2 euro too! Less guilt assosciated when you order an undisclosed amount...)

The rest of our time in Venice (2 ish days) was spent walking the streets, taking in the ambiance and trying to figure out how we could find ourselves a Sugar Daddy to pay for a gondolla ride. We brainstormed but all our ideas were border line illegal slash morally questionable. So we settled on a traghetto ride! (Actually I didn't even have to pay for my traghetto ride - the other girls did - I still don't know how that worked out.) It was a very short ride: instead of traveling down the canal, they just take you across. The only catch was that you had to stand during the journey and let's just say that the other folks in the traghetto were lucky that we docked when we did because I was getting very uneasy standing and felt like I might fall and cause the thing to flip. That would have been embarassing - would almost rank up there with my 7th grade fiasco in band class....

Also in Venice was when I spent way too much money for my own good. I don't know if it was the combination of the Spritz and the cute canals, but every time I saw Murano glass jewelry I couldn't stop myself. I was like a bug drawn uncontrollably to those zapper lights. But I found lots of pretty earnings and necklaces and even a watch.

We also left our mark on the Venetian night life.

Julia proposed that because we had to get back to Rome to fly home (or in my case, Holland) that it would be worth it to take a night train from Venice to Rome. This would eliminate the need for us to pay for another night in a hotel ~ we could just sleep on the night train. Obvs.

At least in theory we could sleep.

I think planners of night trains never actually tried themselves to sleep in seats because I will tell you that it is virtually impossible to catch any ZZZ's in a 6 - person car; the seats do not "recline". I should have taken a picture (or maybe a double dose of Tylenol PM) because spooning with strangers on Italian night trains is comical to say the least.

7 hours later we were in Rome. 2 coffees later I was somewhat functioning. Lots of hugs later the girls and I parted ways. 1 train later I found myself stranded in Macaresa (I was in route to my hotel because I had one extra day on my own in Rome before I departed to Holland. And let me tell you, because I speak from experience, that the farther out you travel from the Termini train station the less likely it is that ANYONE will speak English. Trying to communicate with Italians and not knowing any Italian yourself is like one big game of charades.) 1 international phone call later I regained composure (sorry Dad about the 4 AM wake up call). And a short flight later the next day I was in Holland, the land of tulips, my motherland.

Best spring break evahhhh.