I am tired. Holy cow I have never been this tired.
Combined with having the worst cold I’ve had in years, I am barely maintaining the stamina needed for this whirlwind trip.
Anyway, we left Florence early this morning and made our way by bus and train to Venice. We wandered around and I got a nice cup of fresh cantaloupe, pineapple, watermelon, and kiwi for lunch since I wasn’t feeling my best. Then our group departed on a walking tour of the city and we learned a lot about the history of the city. Carrie and I also didn’t realize that Marco Polo was from Venice, we thought he was from Spain this whole time.
Also, did you know Marco Polo went blind when he was older and that’s how the game Marco Polo came to be? I didn’t.
It’s a truly unique city. No cars, no bikes, only mazes of narrow streets and bridges that weave throughout tiny islands. The Grand Canal is everything you’ve seen in pictures and more. Despite the thousand other people that are trying to cross each tiny bridge, Venice is an extremely walkable city (it has to be.) Their dialect is also much closer to Spanish than other places so it was nice to use that part of my brain for a little bit again.
After the walking tour, we wandered around and I ate a donut from an “American Snack Bar” that was subpar before journeying for an hour and a half by train and bus to our hotel in Padua. We had a nice dinner of pasta and pork at a local restaurant but it was clear that 90% of us are either ill or exhausted. Then our guide Matteo dropped the news that we are getting a six a.m. wake up call to leave for Milan tomorrow.
I’m sad that this trip is almost over and I’m nervous to be this tired going into this last leg of the trip. Milan will be a whirlwind of media visits, all of which I’m looking forward to. But I also can’t wait to hop in my full-size bed, use a real shower, and eat a vegetable when I get home.
Til tomorrow.