Venice

Straight from Rome we caught a plane to Venice and then took a waterbus to the actual city. My mom had used all of her credit card points to get us this rather swanky hotel next to the Rialto Bridge. We even had a room overlooking the canal and there were robes! Ally and I got very excited over the robes. 

We did manage to tear ourselves away from the robes in order to see San Marco plaza at night. It was just a lovely open area with beautifully decorated buildings, and on the hour two giant statutes hammer a ginormous bell. It was much more entertaining than the hourly show given by the Astronomical Clock in Prague, but that clock is more interesting in general. 

Another plus about our super swanky hotel that we didn't belong in was that breakfast was included. There was coffee and hot chocolate and mimosas and blood orange juice and breads and fruit and yogurt and Nutella and cereal and meats and cheeses and tea. We were so overwhelmed that we only managed to "steal" a couple packets of Nutella and some teas.

My mom was really excited for today and so was I 'cause she had gotten us gondola lessons. When her and my Dad were in Venice ages ago they didn't have the money to take a gondola ride so she was super pumped to do this. And the we couldn't find the place. You can't even blame Venice's winding streets, because we found the street that it was supposed to be located on and it just wasn't there. No one we asked knew where it was either. Hopefully she didn't let it disappoint her too much 'cause things happen and we tried our hardest to get there. 

So instead we spent the day wandering around the city. I have come to the conclusion that I love Venice. I love the wandering streets and how easily lost you can get but at the same time you are never too far from anything. I love the canals and the narrow walkways and all the bridges. I just love it...unfortunately it is way too expensive for me to ever live there. 

We ended up walking into some churches, perusing a flea market, buying Ally some 10 euro boots, eating a pizza gondola, having some strawberry gelato, buying a compass to add to my collection, and getting my ear pierced. Yep, now I have another piercing despite the fact that the last time I got my ears pierced I was under general anesthesia and the time before that I almost fainted. It didn't even hurt that badly but my ear will be sore for about a week, which means I'll have to stop wearing my Dad's hat for a while. Bet my Dad didn't expect that to happen after we parted ways.

To top the day off we headed back to San Marco to enjoy the area during the day and then I had a fantastic seafood pasta dish. All and all not a bad day.

Our final day in Venice we really took advantage of breakfast. We made sandwiches, and took fruits, and these toastie things they had. Ally and I even managed to sneak a spoon so now we have Venetian spoons. Just a little mother daughter thieving to start the day.

And then we were off to Florence.

...Just kidding! I couldn't let my mom leave Venice again without riding in a gondola. That would just not be okay. So we hopped on one at San Marco and actually had an interesting history lesson to go with it. Fun Fact: The only person to escape from their jail was Casablanca. Also there is a Russian chapter of the Hell's Angels. I for one had no idea that they were international and they are quite intimidating in person. One of them made eye contact with me when I was trying to covertly take a picture of them and I got a bit flustered. 

So go to Venice, get lost (which won't be a problem), and just accept the fact that a map will not help you. Oh and I am officially looking for people to go there with me for Carnival.