10 minutes later, as I approached the metro station, my global phone started to ring. It was Elisabetta calling to say that I left my iPhone. Cue heart attack. But she rushed to the dtstion to bring it to me and assured me I would make it to my train in time, which I did...with about 10 minutes to spare.
I'd say my day smoothed out from there, but not quite. As I hauled my luggage onto the train, a woman also boarding offered to help carry one of my bags. Then demanded money. Sometimes I hate Europe. It was a really heavy suitcase, so it did help at least. I gave her a euro and she wanted more, but I closed my wallet and sat down. It quickly became apparent that she probably did this all the time. Her strategy wasn't pigeons, it was a heavy suitcase. She really ticked me off. I'm sorry, but in Texas we practice hospitality for free. The world could use a little more southern kindness.
The train ride was great though, as we passed through northern Italy, withtge horizon dotted with mountains. It was beautiful. Here was my view out the window virtually the whole time:
Finally....I arrived in Venice! Not five feet out of the train station, it was already stunningly different. Boats of all shapes and sizes passed by, and the sun shone down and reflected a thousand different directions off of the waterways. I hopped my vaporetto (waterbus) and set to taking pictures, as my stop was on tthe opposite side of the city (meaning I got to ride through the entirety of the Grand Canal). It was the perfect introduction to Venice. Check it:
Then, I hit another road bump. As I followed my instructions to Angeles' house, I realized that I didnt have the house number. Um...important. It was time for the cleaning lady to leave, who had my keys, so I went to call her...but my global phone was dead. Awesome. So I went into a little bistro and plugged in the charger. Went to call again, and she didn't speak English so she hung up. Awesome. Then I go to call Angeles, who can't seem to hear anytbing I'm saying. I go to call again, but I'm out of minutes. Awesome. I call the self-service recharge number and get redirected to customer service after entering in all of my information already, and they take me through the whole process again. AWESOME. At some point, the madness ceased and I got a hold of Angeles, got the keys from the bistro owner (turned out to be the one she had mentioned before) and got inside the house. Which is actually awesome, and not just sarcastic pretend-awesome.
Oh and by the way, I have this apartment TO MYSELF. Less than 10 minutes walking from St. Mark's Square (Piazza di San Marco) in the back streets of Venice. For something like $70/night. Not bad since I'm only here two nights.
Now for Venice - it is wonderful! Exactly as advertised. Canals everywhere, ridiculously narrow streets, colorful buildings, gondolas everywhere, clothes lines and flowers and balconies, musicians around each corner, and just wonderful. I decided to hit the touristy area tonight since I was staying so close by, so I grabbed my directions (altering them along the way to match the actual street signs) and headed for Piazza di San Marco.
Which was incredible. There was a quartet playing that included a piano, cello, violin, and accordian to provide a wonderfully Italian ambience as I took in the square and the basilica and the sheer immensity of the buildings around me. I did a little shopping and picked up my postcard for Venice (I've gotten one in every city thus far) and some very special gifts for a certain mom and grandma... and the thing I got also came in red - Grandma Virginia, you can bet the farm that I would have gotten it for you.
I spent a lot of time wandering mostly, taking in the feel and rhythm of another new city. I took everyone's advice and wandered the smaller streets, where I found tonight's dinner choice. Now, I never ate lunch today and have been eating pretty cheap, so I splurged a little tonight. The restaurant was on the corner of a tiny piazza and had waiters in white coats and shirts with black slacks and bowties. White coats and bowties - how could I go wrong? My waiter was an older Italian gentleman with a sweet demeanor about him. And he kept calling me signorita. So cute. Check out my spread:
From left to right: mineral water, rolls and breadsticks, LASAGNE, glass of Pocello sparkling white wine, and the fanciest parmesan dispenser I've ever seen. Everything was delicious, and thst lasagne was freaking phenomenal, but I guess that makes sense. Dessert was crème caramel, pictured below:
The desert itself was very light, and the caramel was thinner and less artificially sweet than I'm used to. It was definitely a dinner worth splurging on.
Now I'm in a cozy bed in the midde of Venice. What? I am so blessed. Tomorrow I think I'll do a tour of the three more famous surrounding islands. Or maybe not. We'll see.
Traveling alone can be kind of awesome.
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