Wow, I love Venice so much.
We got up super early this morning to make the bus drive, then train ride, to Venice.
It was my first time traveling by train, and it kind of felt like a modern Harry Potter, so I enjoyed it.
We packed so much into today and I am currently very exhausted.
We got off the train and a beautiful view greeted us after departing from the train station. It was like the entire city was a giant post card, it was such a stunning view.
We walked through the narrow pathways between buildings until we reached Rialto Square, where we broke off for some free time to grab a bite to eat and walk around a bit.
Josh and I stayed close to the square and looked at some small shops along the side for souvenirs.
When we met up again, we met our tour guide, Elena, who took us on a walking tour to see the important churches, hospitals, and government buildings of Venice.
She also gave us many fun facts about the city – for example, the Grand Canal is about 20 feet deep, but the smaller canals are only about 5 feet deep. Also, there are 233 licensed gondoliers in Venice, but only ONE is a woman. ONE.
After leaving my favorite tour of the trip, we met up with Matteo in St. Mark’s Square to head over to our gondola ride.
IT WAS SO MUCH FUN.
I have been wanting to ride a gondola for so long and it definitely lived up to my expectations. I was only a little disappointed that our gondolier didn’t sing, but I was not about to pay extra for that – it was still one of the best experiences of my life.
We then had more free time to explore, so Josh and I did what we do best and walked around the nooks and crannies of Venice some more to find unique shops and alleys.
We met back up at St. Mark’s Square then RAN to the train to catch it on time. Once we got back to the bus, it was off to dinner (pasta with bolognese sauce, pork and eggplant) then to the hotel for bed.
We have to be up at 6 am to make our trek to our last stop – Milan!
I’m excited to go, but I don’t know if anything could top today.
Off to bed for me – ciao!