After breakfast in our hotel we left Florence for our day in Venice. After our bus ride we headed into town for lunch before going on a guided tour.
Several thing stuck out about the tour- we learned a lot about Marco Polo and saw the area in which he used to live.
We also learned the sad origins of the game ‘Marco Polo’. Apparently, towards the end of his life Polo became blind-hence why you close your eyes while playing. Similarly to Ring Around the Posie, it’s a children’s game rooted in dark history.
Similar to Florence, there were lots of high-end shops such as Gucci, Prada, and Dolce & Gabbana, with beautiful displays of stunning dresses, suits, and hand bags. Unfortunately, I can afford none of that-but it’s always fun to window shop!
Not so fun? No public restrooms. While this has been a trend throughout our time in Italy, Venice had few cafes with restrooms meaning if you wanted access to a toilet you had to pay for something at a sit-down restaurant. We did this for lunch and enjoyed Matteo’s recommended drink: an Aperol spritz. The sweet and bitter orange drink was really refreshing. I also had a ham and cheese pizza. Its taste weirdly reminded me of Chef Boyardee?
After our tour we got to go on a gondola ride! I was really looking forward to this, and it was a really peaceful and scenic experience.
Not so peaceful and scenic? Jogging through the streets of Venice to catch our train. Luckily, we all made it aboard. Unluckily, we were stopped for about 30 minutes due to some protesters on the track. A missed opportunity for spot news as I was fast asleep while waiting for us to move again.
We ended our evening at a restaurant nearby our hotel in Paudua. I wish we had another day here, as I didn’t get to truly appreciate the unique vibe of Venice as much as I wanted to since were mostly rushing through the narrow streets. I also would’ve liked to shop for some Venican glass, which was beautiful. I also loved these little gondola knick-knacks I saw in the window. However the hotel we’re staying in is by far the worst yet. Very small and very hot. Luckily, Kristina found the air conditioner and flipped it on.
Tomorrow we leave bright and early for the fashion capital of the world-Milan!