After I left Andrea at the train station, I was on my own for the night to get to Venice. Yes, I was traveling by myself for the first time in a foreghn country that I didn't know the language in (sorry Mom and Dad). I luckily looked at my ticket not long after leaving Andrea and realized I was at the wrong train station. A nice man at the kiosk helped me figure out how to get to the other train station and I was there by 8:30. The new station I was at was very sketchy and small. I definitely would have felt more comfortable at the other station but there wasn't much I could do. I found a little cafe that stayed open until about 9:30 that I was able to sit in. It was raining out so I didn't want to walk around to much outside so I waited in the station after that. Of course the station closed down at 11 so I had to wait till my train which left at 1:45 in the underground passageway that got you to the different platforms. Luckily it wasn't to cold and there were other people, some my age, that were doing the same thing as me. There were also some homeless people sleeping down their trying to stay out of the rain. made me feel like I was doing a new version of cardboard village. I ended up getting a show while sitting down there. Two of the homeless men got into a fight. It was kind of funny to listen to them yell at each other in Italian. I wish I understood what they were saying. The cops ended up coming because on of the guys got beat up pretty badly. But don't worry I was far enough away from the action. I got on my train around 1:30. It was set up like the Hogwarts Express with little carts. So weird. I only got a few hours of sleep because I was nervous I would miss my stop but everything worked out well and I arrived in Venice around 5:45.
I had to find the airport so I could meet up with Kenny. I took a bus to airport and it was much easier than I expected it would be. It was definitely a confidence boost traveling on my own in a foreign country. Everyone in Italy was very nice and helpful. I slept in the airport for a few hours until Kenny's flight got in and then we were off to see Venice.
We had to take a boat taxi to St. Mark's Piazza. When we got there, we were surprised to see that the entire area was flooded in at least a foot of water. We found out later that it was the tide since it had recently rained so much. This happens a couple of times a year. We had to buy these weird boots to put over our shoes to keep our feet dry. They were building a make shift street with boards so that it was easier to get through the city. Businesses were shut down as they were emptying water out from the inside of the store. It really was a crazy site.
Thursday was an Italian national holiday so unfortunately the glass blowing museum was closed but most other business were open once you got out of the flood zone. Kenny and I walked around for a while playing the left right game. We took a Gondola ride through parts of Venice which was pretty cool. I was slightly expensive but we decided it was worth it because when else would we take a gondola ride. It is all part of the experience. We walked a lot all day looking at the little shops and everything. There were tons of glass and masks. They were so cool! I couldn't help but think of Jackie with all the masks because I know she would have loved seeing them all. They were all so different. We walked to Rialto Bridge which had a little market in it that had more glass and masks and all the touristy things you could want. We realized later on our way back to the train station how far we actually walked because the bridge was not close to St. Marks. We went into two different churches, Chiesa do San Rocco and Scvola Grande di San Rocco. By the time we made it back to St. Marks Square all the water was dried up and we were able to walk through the square and the all the shops were open. It was crazy that only a few hours earlier there was a foot of water their and we could not stand in it.
Venice was beautiful. There wasn't to much to do but the area was really nice. The flooding was definitely an experience and I am very happy I took a day in Venice. The water taxi went back to the train station at 6. The sun was setting as we headed back and it was beautiful. For some reason sunsets are way prettier in Europe then they are in the States. We hung out around the train station until our train at 11:30. This set me off to my final stop in Italy, Rome.
Chaio,
Allie
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