Venice, Italy

08/10/2011 Day 10 – Amelia and Emilio
After yet another (and thankfully the last) overnight train ride, I arrived in Venice and was relieved to see my very friendly and very Italian host Emilio waiting for me at the end of the platform. He insisted on carrying my bag and right away got me a map of Venice, circling all the “must-sees” over cappuccinos down the street. He had planned to host me at his home, but due to a last minute project (he's completing his master's in architecture) that would require the bulk of his attention for the weekend, he had graciously booked a hostel for me, right in the heart of Venice near the Rialto bridge.



He took me to the hostel, made sure my things were all settled, then gave me a fantastic tour all over the city (which isn't as big as it seems). We walked around St. Mark's Square, across Rialto Bridge, saw the Palazzo Ducale, enjoyed “spritzes”(white wine and orange), and indulged in the best pasta I have ever tasted. I was in love; what in the world am I doing in Thailand eating fried rice when I could be stuffing my face with scrumptious pasta in Italy?! Sigh..Emilio laughed at me when I took a picture of my food, but I plan to spend hours drooling over it later, lol.



Emilio was a wonderful guide, and I have urged him to make sure and visit Thailand next year so I can return the favor. Unfortunately he had to catch a train at 2pm to get back to his project, so with the hopes of catching up and grabbing dinner the following evening, I was left to my own devices, and spent the next hour and a half wandering back to my hostel. Freshened up, grabbed my notepad and my scarf, and found myself a nice spot in the sun on the stone steps along the Canal Grande. Plopped down, snapped a few pictures, then just took it all in. Listened to the water lapping against the steps; watched the gondolas pass by in both directions, some with mushy couples and accordion players, others with groups of 3-5 people taking pictures of themselves, each other, and everything around them.



When the sun went down behind the buildings the temperature dropped (it had been sunny and beautiful all day) so I packed up my things and wandered off in search of food. Got my dinner to-go and found my way back to the hostel to test out the internet. Success! Chatted with my darling Flo for a few hours before calling it a night. A very cold night.

09/10/2011 Day 11 – The Palace, Biennale, and Pizza with Emilio!
Apparently every church bell in Venice rings for a good 5 minutes every day at 9:30am and 6:30pm. Good thing I wasn't planning on sleeping in. I woke up around 8, and was out the door around 9:30. Caught a bit of Sunday morning mass at St. Marco's Basilica; the inside was spectacular, like Notre Dame in Paris, only different. Sorry, “no photos allowed;” you'll just have to go visit it yourself. ;)




Next door is the Ducale Palace, and when the guy at the ticket counter said “€16, please,” I raised an eyebrow, pulled out a 20, and muttered, “hmph, it better be worth it.” He smiled. Was it worth it? I suppose so, though I think it should've been closer to 10.



When I finished there it was nearing lunchtime, but I wanted to go to the Biennale, so I walked along the water out to the entrance of the art exhibition at Biennale, and had lunch in the cafe outside the third exhibit.



There was art from all over the world, and each country had their own building/pavilion to display their art. Each building had their own theme, but I don't think I understood any of them (except Denmark's and France's).








Switzerland's was the most disturbing by far, and after that one I decided I'd seen enough.





Sat on a stone bench by one of the docks for a while, soaking in the sunshine and the pigeons. On the way back to my hostel I treated myself to a scoop of chocolate chip gelato, and savored every last spoonful.

When I returned to my hostel and checked my email, I had a message from Emilio inviting me to join him for pizza near his home, a short train ride away. He gave me the train info, and told me he'd meet me when I arrived, so I grabbed my map and hurried off to catch the train. I was worried that it would take at least 45 minutes to walk to the station the “easy” route through the tourist streets, so I chose to navigate my way through the back streets (a shorter but more confusing route) to the station. Only made one mistake (crossed a bridge I shouldn't have and realized it immediately). Reached the station after only 15 minutes, met a guy in line in front of me from NY, got my ticket and headed to my platform. I was 30 min early, but there was a train already there. I wasn't sure if it was the right one, so I got on and asked this sweet older Italian couple if I was on the train I wanted. They didn't speak any English, but the woman told me to wait while she dug for her glasses in her purse (while her husband rolled his eyes at her), and then looked at my ticket. She didn't recognize my particular stop, but, bless her heart, she got up and took me all the way to the information desk, cut in front of the long line to speak to the woman at the window, and confirmed it for me. She was so sweet. Italians are definitely nicer than Austrians. :)
The train pulled up to Susegana right on time, and Emilio was waiting down the steps from the platform. We drove off to have some real Italian pizza (because, as he insisted, pizza in any other country just isn't good pizza). He was right at least in that the pizza I did have was absolutely wonderful, and it was all mine! Emilio couldn't believe that in the States they slice the pizza for you, and that you have to share with everyone at the table. In Italy (and most European countries, it seems) everyone orders their own pizza. We went out to Treviso city center for a drink, then he drove me all over the hillside; even at night the panoramic view of the valleys surrounding was gorgeous. By then it was too late to catch a train back into Venice, so we drove, and then spent an hour walking through the well-lit but completely empty streets of the city. It was lovely. He walked me most of the way back to my hostel, wished me luck on the rest of my journey, and we said our goodbyes. I will miss him, he was a wonderful start to my week in Italy.


Fun Facts
-Many cafes and restaurants have menus, and then they have tourist menus with much higher prices. Luckily I had a charming Italian man with me, and he made sure that they knew I was “with him” and I didn't have to pay any tourist prices, at least for food.
-I didn't take a single water taxi..I didn't need to. And neither do you, my friend! Just grab yourself a city map and go get lost; it's the only way to really see Venice.
-The gondola drivers remind me a lot of the motorbike taxi drivers in Bangkok; the same laid-back demeanor, the same good-humoured attitudes and helpfulness, the same quirky, wise-cracking personalities, and they're everywhere.
-Quoi means here in Italian (the country I'm in)
Quoi means what in French (the language I'm trying to learn)
Kwah means right (/left) in Thai (the language that I'm used to hearing on a daily basis)
SUPER annoying haha