Venezia

After our adventures in Pisa and Malenchini, we caught the train to Venice. The train left at 8:37 and we got to the train station about 8 so we decided to indulge into a local Italian favorite, the BIG MAC. Yes the golden arches do exist in Italy and surprisingly, it tastes exactly the same. We each got a Big Mac, fries, and a coke and man was it good. After the quick bite to eat, we hopped on the 2 hour and 40 minute train ride to Venice. It went by a lot faster than other trains because it was one of the big boys, a Eurostar train. Where as the smaller ones go about 60-70 mph, this one goes closer to 120 so you really feel like you are getting somewhere. We filled the time with important things such as playing snake on our old school Nokia phones and discussing how we missed Mexican food and BBQ. (However, apparently there is a good Mexican place here that some people went to last night. We will definitely be trying that out)

We arrived in Venice about 10:15 and Jordan was waiting for us in the train station to meet us. He had been there working for the week and extended his stay to the weekend to explore the city with us. The plan was for the three of us to stay in his room with him but, as is often the case, it didn't go according to plan. I ended up having to get another single room and Jordan and Tripp stayed in Jordan's. When I say single room, I mean small. The bathroom (shower, toilet, sink) was probably the size of most of showers in the US. Also, for those who have been to the small room in Fayetteville, formerly mine, formerly Zach's, and currently belonging to the Ropeman, the actual hotel room could have fit in that room a good 2-3 times. It was tiny. Other than that, it was great! Small twin bed, 13" tv, the works. But it was ok because we only slept in our rooms and thats about it. The picture below shows our hotel right on the water on the left side, facing the bridge.

About 11, we headed out to walk the streets, or should I say canals, of Venice. The front desk guy for some reason kept telling us to go to Margherita square because thats where the young people and many girls hang out so we swung by. Afterwards, we walked along several side streets and made our way to San Marco square, the location of the San Marco cathedral. Mark is buried under the church. Apparently he was originally buried in the Holy Land but his body was smuggled out in a cart of dead pigs and brought to Venice. I guess a good way to keep and claim his body is to build a huge church on top of it. After that, we went to the Rialto bridge which is similar to the Ponte Vecchio in Florence because it has a lot of shops on it. Naturally, every time we saw a little side canal or a fast boat we wondered if thats where the Italian Job was shot. We will have to go back and watch. After walking around for what seemed like forever, and getting lost several times, we made it back to our hotel in one of the most confusing cities I have ever been on. It seems like every street leads somewhere new and its really tough to get your bearings because there are so many bridges and different canals.

Saturday morning we got up about 9 and went downstairs for the breakfast. It wasn't the best but it was free. First we went and bought our boat pass. It was 18 euro for a 24 hour pass and we made it worth it. We went to Murano which is famous for its glass making. They had a free demonstration where a guy would explain how its made in about 4 languages for everyone to understand and another guy was making a little vase out of glass. Pretty cool stuff. After that we just went and walked along the main street and saw probably 100 glass stores.

Next we got on the wrong boat so we skipped our next stop and just went straight to Lido Island. It's right in between the main city of Venice and the Adriatic Sea. The far side of the island has a really long beach. We went to it and walked along the beach for about 30 minute while we worked on our tans. Needless to say, the Italians really take the phrase, "less is more", to the extreme. Guys wore speedos and women wore two pieces, no matter their weight. And of course there are the few women who still prefer the one piece, so they decide to take off the top piece. The beach wasn't really white sand but it was still pretty and we worked on our tans. We also saw one of the coolest sno cone stands ever. It rolled down the beach on tracks.

We came back to the mainland and went to the San Marco cathedral and went in for a look. It was covered in what looked like mosaics made of tiny tile and a lot of gold. It was really pretty. There was even a service going on in one part. It was funny though because I think they were speaking Spanish, either that or I suddenly got the gift to understand Italian perfectly.

While walking around we found where we had left our boat.

We didn't get on one but I had to get a picture of the gondola. And that's the Rialto bridge in the back packed with people.

For dinner we went to a little place and we sat outside right beside the building. We were right on the edge of the covered part which was unfortunate because right after we sat down, a bird decided to drop down a little gift right on Tripp's hand. Other than that, the meal was good. Below is a good view of the Rialto bridge at night the lights reflecting off the water. The lady in the bottom right seems interested.

We wanted to find a good place to relax after dinner so we started walking around. Harry's Bar had been suggested so we walked in wearing shorts and t-shirts and quickly walked back out when we saw everyone was wearing nice shirts and ties...next option. Hard Rock Cafe would have been fun but it was full...next option. We stumbled upon a band playing in a plaza that was comparable to the worst wedding band you have ever heard. As we walked up they were playing SHOUT and all the Italians were dancing. It wasn't the best performance or best dancing but people looked like they were having fun so we decided to join in. The hits just kept coming until 11 when they shut it down and we sadly walked back to catch a boat to our hotel. It was a great ending to a wonderful day in Venice.

Don't know if you can tell but the lead singer has on a superman undershirt, an open black shirt with flames on it, pink sunglasses, and a bush for hair...classic.