Venice

Turns out the Vaporetto IS a boat. Venice has public transportation by boat, and boat Taxis also. We both knew that Venice is the “floating city”, but still had imagined a city with lots of rivers running through it. False. Venice happens to be some buildings that make up whatever space here is NOT water. It’s really awesome! This has got to be one of my favorite cities that I have ever seen! It was really dark when we came in (our flight landed around 9:45pm) but we had no problems finding our hotel or anything. And the hotel is pretty nice! We had wondered because we got a room for 16.50 Euro a night (about $25), but it is just in an old building not right in the main stream of tourists. The hotel itself is great. We checked in and went upstairs to find our room... but couldn’t. We found EVERY OTHER number, minus rooms 40-44. We went up and down every hallway twice before going back down to reception looking sheepish and confused. Apparently, those few rooms (and a few in the 60s) are THROUGH the breakfast area and past the patio, upstairs at the very back. But we finally found our room. :) Small, but clean and warm! We even have our own shower and bathroom – something unheard-of when living in hostals. Unpacked, chilled out and went to sleep in the queen-sized bed we are sharing. Amelia joked that they are going to think we are a young lesbian couple, since gay marriage was recently made legal in Iowa (where she is from). ;)

Tues, Dec 29th: While Amelia was in the shower, I went downstairs to figure out the breakfast situation. We had been told the night before that we could elect to pay for breakfast, but it would be about 4 Euro a person. I wanted to see if it would be worth it – we both needed meat and something more substantial than those dang Maria crackers that just won’t seem to go away... turns out, we actually didn’t need to pay for breakfast (it was included because we’d booked online) AND there was a great spread of food, including a few kinds of meat!! It was such good news, it just made our opinion of the hotel that much better!! We got back downstairs and were told to grab whatever we wanted, because they were starting to clean up. So we filled a few plates worth of food and ate quickly – also snagged some yogurt and toast to bring back up and substitute for later meals. Thus began our first day in Venice. We walked up around the point of the old part of the city we were staying in and back around to one of the supermarkets the hotel receptionist had marked on the map he had given me. On the point, there is a white marble statue of a naked boy holding a frog out by one leg. I don’t know if it is supposed to mean anything, but it is a new statue, and is enclosed in a glass cage to keep it from the elements. At the supermarket we bought oranges, more apples, carrots, tuna and champagne for New Years. The walk back was enjoyable because with our grocery bags, we looked much less touristy than the other people in the streets. :)

We came a different way back, winding through the more touristy, shop and gallery packed alleyways of Venice (instead of along the water again). We dropped off the food and came right back out to them, window shopping and discovering nearby museums and shows. We got to one of the two footbridges crossing the main river over the Vaporetto service and wandered our way to the Piazza San Marco – the main and most well-known Square in Venice. It is here that we are planning on spending the countdown for the New Year, because they set off fireworks from there at midnight. We finally headed back to our hotel, and hung out: she napped while I blogged and tried to keep up on emails. Amelia finally asked if I wanted to eat, so we broke into the groceries from earlier and the yogurts from breakfast. :) After that we switched – she took the computer and I read “What White People Like” [from Alyssa] until she came back upstairs (we didn’t get a wifi connection in our room, so we went downstairs for it). That book, by the way, is one of the truest accounts of [Willamette Valley] young people that I have ever encountered... yet at the same time, it makes me feel kinda bad for being one of them... Everyone should read it, if they haven’t. When she was done, we played a game of 500 Rummy... but only to 200, because we were so tired. Then bed time, so we could get up with enough time to enjoy breakfast the next day. :)

Wed, Dec 30th: I was awake off and on all morning, but managed to miss the alarm that Amelia heard around 6am. She said it sounded kinda like a tornado alarm... which I have never really heard, but knew what she was talking about. We joked that because the city is sinking, must have been a water level alarm. Leisurely breakfast before going out again... directly into the river. Oh yes – it HAD been a water level alarm, and there was liquid proof right outside the hotel. I had to tiptoe through it because although Amelia had waterproof hiking boots, I only had my little black tennis shoes. Which work fine until the streets turn into shallow canals... we had to detour around the flooding a few times because it would have been up to our ankles!

The water recedes pretty fast after high tide though, so we had no issues after the initial 20 minutes. We were headed back to Piazza San Marco, because I wanted to purchase a leather purse I had seen the day before (and my mother told me to buy...). On the way there we encountered two very attractive Italian boys – whom we also ended up partially following to the plaza because they got ahead of us. ;) We also saw the boy from the bus at the airport – the one who looked mildly like Chris. I smiled, but we both kept walking. I got my bag, then a small Moleskin notebook (since I’ve been thinking about it for so long) before we joined the crowd to find some of the other touristy sights in Venice. We got to Ponte Viejo, which is the other footbridge across the main river. It is made of white stone and is an old Roman design. Very pretty. The main street off the bridge is also the big touristy shopping area... LOTS of people. So we took some back streets to an old basilica (Basilica dei Frari). On our way back towards the hotel we happened upon a Leonardo DaVinci exhibit that was set up inside an old church. So we went inside and played with each small wooden model and read every bit of literature in there. :) We had seen the leather bag I bought for a little cheaper at another shop, so I tried to return it to the boy running the shop while Amelia continued on (I said it was the wrong color, and didn’t match my boots... so he told me to buy different boots). Didn’t work.

When I got back to the hotel, Amelia was on my computer, and there was a GIANT orange cat in her lap. Think small lion. She was so excited – she loves cats. ;) She went upstairs and took a nap while I used the computer. We ate, then she declared that we needed to go to the store for beer and potato chips. Apparently I am hopelessly uncultured for not appreciating the combination, but off we went to the supermarket (which we were kicked out of by the evil Italian woman driving around on a floor-cleaning machine...). Played cards some more with the beer and chips, before going to bed.

Thurs, Dec 31st: NEW YEARS EVE. Got down for breakfast to fill up as much as possible – it would be a long day. We then packed everything up and moved our backpacks to the baggage room downstairs. We had no room for tonight... the cheapest we could find was over 50 Euro a night for a hostal... Hostals are cool and all – but not THAT cool. So we figured that since it was New Years, we would just stay up for the party, then catch a really early train to Florence and sleep there. So we checked out of the hotel, but couldn’t leave until the water receded. It was LITERALLY about a cm below the top entrance step into the lobby. From there we went back to Piazza San Marco (which was still full of water) and actually saw the Basilica (which is beautiful... from the outside. Too cheap to go in) and went into the Museum on the far side. We managed to be in the museum for hours, and saw every room. When there was nothing else to see, we walked along the shore we hadn’t seen yet, along the park there. We also bought a cheap pair of the temporary plastic boots for the party in San Marco that evening... which was going to coincide with high tide. And San Marco is the lowest part in all of Venice... so of COURSE, that is where the party would be. ;)

We walked back to the store on the far side of the hotel, and bought necessities for the evening (including grapes for the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes with the 12 dongs of the midnight bell). We then stopped by the hotel one last time to check email and leave some things before heading out for the rest of the evening. We sat down at a small cafe and split a bruccetta and some spiced wine, then talked to the two older women from Cork, Ireland at the next table over. They were very nice, and we exchanged some travel advice. From there, we began to wander the shopping streets near San Marcs Square window shopping... we were given some champagne, and kept the cups for later. :) We wandered through so many streets that we got turned around... we were lost for probably 45 minutes before finding a kebab shop owner who told us how to get back. When we found Piazza San Marco again, then visited the public bathrooms to put on our boots... there was already water in the Square. We parked ourselves on the outside of the plaza, under cover but in view of the giant screen/stage that had been constructed in the middle of the square. Some program called “LOve 2010” started with a live DJ with white face paint and a golden outfit around 10pm, so we decided to stay there. His ‘backup dancers’ were, as quoted by Amelia, to be “androgynous creatures” in white and read full body suits that danced and made out with each other on screen behind him. Partway through a boy and his friends walked by and liked Amelia... and decided he wanted to try and kiss her. She said no and gently pushed him away (repeatedly), but he wouldn’t leave. So we leaned over and started talking to the older Spanish couple next to us, and Amelia asked if they would pretend to be our parents so they would leave us alone. The guys left after a particular harsh look from our “father”. Another time the crowd got so dense that nobody could move, and some drunk college-aged kids in front of us started shoving good-naturedly to start a mosh-pit effect... which was not supported by ANYONE else in the crowd. Overall, it was a very interesting evening – climaxing in the countdown where Amelia and I systematically shoved 12 fully seeded grapes into our mouths and beso-ing before having time to chew any of them. :) The couple next to us did the same, being Spanish and all, and then shared some of their champagne with us.

Fri, Jan 1st: NEW YEARS DAY. After the final firework show, (which was inconveniently located directly over our heads – so we saw most of it from the reflections in the far windows of buildings across the square) we walked back to our hotel and got our bags. From there we began the walk to the train station – trying to avoid most of the [now receding] water in the streets. On our way, we bumped into a family that was also headed to the station... without a map. So we joined forces and all followed Amelia. This family was amazing – the mother and father were Brazilian, the Grandmother was Portuguese, the son was studying in France, the daughter in The Netherlands. They each spoke every language (except the grandmother, who only spoke Portuguese – but spoke to us emphatically anyways. Turns out the son will be traveling in Amsterdam the same time we will be, so we exchanged emails and hopefully are going to meet up. :) The grandmother really liked me though, and grabbed my arm to walk with me on one side, and her grandson on the other. :) We picked up many other stragglers along the way, until Amelia felt like Moses leading the people in her oversized wool bag-lady jacket. :D

Got to the train station and bought our tickets to Florence (after fighting with the machine – we were on a regional machine, and needed something... bigger). We parked ourselves against a wall, like many of the other travelers there at 2am, and waited for our train at 5:57am. Amelia got accosted by another strange gentleman... this one very drunk. We successfully pretended that we spoke only Spanish, and after numerous high-fives, finally left us alone. I got into the bathroom free (you are supposed to pay...) while Amelia had to pay full price. I found this very satisfying... ;)

We finally got to Florence after a long train ride. Tried to check into our hostal in Florence, but our rooms weren’t ready yet. So we made food (since we hadn’t eaten since that small, early dinner the night before) and lay on the benches/small seating area in the common space we were told to leave our stuff in. We were too tired. We waited there with another group of three students who didn’t have a room yet either, but we finally were all given our keys at 12:30pm, where Amelia and I went straight to our room and fell asleep for the next 4 hours.