Europe Trip Journals Day 16: Italy
Day 16, July 3
[10:30 am]
Incredibly early day. 5 am wake up, breakfast at 6, and on the road by 6:45. The rude has been gorgeous though. We've driven by these breathtaking mountain ranges on the way to Italy. Huge hills, forests, Rock Mountains, valleys, streams, lakes. I cannot express in words how utterly beautiful the scenery has been. I was kicking myself for not having my camera at hand passing these mountains, because they were really unlike any I've seen before. Utterly gorgeous.
Arriving in Venice was an even bigger treat. The whole city was exactly what I expected, and more. I loved everything about it! We arrived at a port and took a boat into Moreno, the home of glassware in Venice, where we got to tour a glass blowing factory, watch a demonstration, pick what we wanted the guy to make, and shop for amazing glass and gold jewelry that was handmade right in the shop. I found some beautiful necklaces that I bought (the first real treat vie given myself). After about an hour we headed from Moreno into actual Venice where we had four hours to do whatever we wanted. We started at the famous square (st m something), and a group of us walked along the canals, through touristy streets till we took a turn, got a little lost, and found exactly what we were looking for. We wanted to find a good pasta place that wasn't a tourist location, and as we wandered off the strip we saw fewer and fewer people. We quickly came to a small pasta and pizza place that only had one other small group of people there; not tourists. We got seated, ordered off of a huge menu that included over 100 pizzas, and ate the best, real Italian food I've ever had. I got spaghetti with tomato, ricotta and basil. Delicious. The best part was that our food was VERY cheap. My dish was only €6.50, plus €1 for water. When we told people where we went (after meeting back up) they were shocked. Or tour guide had paid €20 for his pasta lunch! Ridiculous. Thus our mission was a super success. I was totally worth walking for 45 minutes to find a place instead of going to the first one we saw on the strip.
At lunch we wandered for about an hour, letting the food settle, and shooing through the main touristy streets. There's some amazing jewelry and goods. I didn't buy anything else, but I did enjoy looking at everything. After shopping we got gelato, which was surprisingly disappointing. The gelato we had in Germany was actually much better (richer, smoother, less melty like plain ice cream).
At after is we had about 45 minutes till, when we were supposed to meet back up at the square for a gondola ride with the entire group. We ended up getting lost because we had wandered so far out. We got to the square with ten minutes to spare where we just chatted and hat shopped.
At six we went on a gondola ride that was a bit expensive, but totally worth it. It was incredible! It was a half hour ride through the canals of Venice. 6 people to a boat. We popped a bottle of sweet, delicious champagne, and the group I was with had a wonderful time. It was nice
T tae everything in from below, see the bridges, people, streets, buildings. There something about seeing Venice from the canal that can't be compared to the view from the streets. A once in a lifetime experience.
After the ride, we finally headed back to the ferry out of Venice, to the bus, to our hotel in wherever we are. We had an hour before a huge pizza dinner organized by our bus driver (who is from Italy). We went to a place owned by a good friend of his. We all ordered our food, and Sevario (bus driver) bought tons of wine for everyone. He also was given multiple free appetizers by his friend, which he shared with our table. At the end he bought everyone lemon cello shots to take together. It was overall a good night, though it was peppered with some agitation due to total drunkenness, money issues, and bill problems. But that's not what I want to take from the experience. Venice was definitely my favorite part of the trip so far, and something I will never forget. I never imagined I would be here in my life, yet here I am.
[10:30 am]
Incredibly early day. 5 am wake up, breakfast at 6, and on the road by 6:45. The rude has been gorgeous though. We've driven by these breathtaking mountain ranges on the way to Italy. Huge hills, forests, Rock Mountains, valleys, streams, lakes. I cannot express in words how utterly beautiful the scenery has been. I was kicking myself for not having my camera at hand passing these mountains, because they were really unlike any I've seen before. Utterly gorgeous.
Arriving in Venice was an even bigger treat. The whole city was exactly what I expected, and more. I loved everything about it! We arrived at a port and took a boat into Moreno, the home of glassware in Venice, where we got to tour a glass blowing factory, watch a demonstration, pick what we wanted the guy to make, and shop for amazing glass and gold jewelry that was handmade right in the shop. I found some beautiful necklaces that I bought (the first real treat vie given myself). After about an hour we headed from Moreno into actual Venice where we had four hours to do whatever we wanted. We started at the famous square (st m something), and a group of us walked along the canals, through touristy streets till we took a turn, got a little lost, and found exactly what we were looking for. We wanted to find a good pasta place that wasn't a tourist location, and as we wandered off the strip we saw fewer and fewer people. We quickly came to a small pasta and pizza place that only had one other small group of people there; not tourists. We got seated, ordered off of a huge menu that included over 100 pizzas, and ate the best, real Italian food I've ever had. I got spaghetti with tomato, ricotta and basil. Delicious. The best part was that our food was VERY cheap. My dish was only €6.50, plus €1 for water. When we told people where we went (after meeting back up) they were shocked. Or tour guide had paid €20 for his pasta lunch! Ridiculous. Thus our mission was a super success. I was totally worth walking for 45 minutes to find a place instead of going to the first one we saw on the strip.
At lunch we wandered for about an hour, letting the food settle, and shooing through the main touristy streets. There's some amazing jewelry and goods. I didn't buy anything else, but I did enjoy looking at everything. After shopping we got gelato, which was surprisingly disappointing. The gelato we had in Germany was actually much better (richer, smoother, less melty like plain ice cream).
At after is we had about 45 minutes till, when we were supposed to meet back up at the square for a gondola ride with the entire group. We ended up getting lost because we had wandered so far out. We got to the square with ten minutes to spare where we just chatted and hat shopped.
At six we went on a gondola ride that was a bit expensive, but totally worth it. It was incredible! It was a half hour ride through the canals of Venice. 6 people to a boat. We popped a bottle of sweet, delicious champagne, and the group I was with had a wonderful time. It was nice
T tae everything in from below, see the bridges, people, streets, buildings. There something about seeing Venice from the canal that can't be compared to the view from the streets. A once in a lifetime experience.
After the ride, we finally headed back to the ferry out of Venice, to the bus, to our hotel in wherever we are. We had an hour before a huge pizza dinner organized by our bus driver (who is from Italy). We went to a place owned by a good friend of his. We all ordered our food, and Sevario (bus driver) bought tons of wine for everyone. He also was given multiple free appetizers by his friend, which he shared with our table. At the end he bought everyone lemon cello shots to take together. It was overall a good night, though it was peppered with some agitation due to total drunkenness, money issues, and bill problems. But that's not what I want to take from the experience. Venice was definitely my favorite part of the trip so far, and something I will never forget. I never imagined I would be here in my life, yet here I am.