Venice, Italy
My Italian Summer Abroad: A Weekend in Venice Italy
I'm standing on the balcony overlooking the canals in Venice and thinking to myself: How could this get any better? Ok well...maybe if I wasn't in a hostel, sleeping in bunk-beds with strangers, or having just taken a freezing cold shower....But hey! I'm in Venice and looking forward to fun-filled weekend!
Back in Milan, Mo and I saw a package on Viator for a four and a half hour boat cruise to the Venetian islands! We were so excited to go on this cruise because we would be getting to explore 3 different islands. So that morning, Mo and I gathered our belongings and headed off to find our boat that was set to leave at 11:00 AM.
...Then things went awry.....
Turns out “San Marco” is a very popular name for places in Venice.....and the correct "San Macro Port" where we needed to be, was on the complete other side of the island. I know what you’re thinking--- Mo and I aren't all that irresponsible! We gave ourselves enough time in case this exact thing were to happen. Now we had thirty minutes to get across to the correct San Marcos Square to the Alley Lagoon where our cruise ship would be departing.
My first instinct was to just take off running...but then I'd run into the likely chance of getting lost. So Mo and I hopped onto a crowded water bus that was uh, free. The water bus' have several stops along the grand canal and we knew that San Marco was one of them! However, I instantly regretted getting on this bus, and would've rather tried my luck running.....
Could this water bus go any slower? Oh my god..another stop?! Move out of the way you stupid gondola! (Just a few of my PG13 thoughts). The big clunky stupid water bus was going so slow it was essentially going backwards. Time was ticking and the anxiety was kicking in along with a hefty sweat-stash. An eternity later, Mo and I arrived at San Marco and starting sprinting towards the port before the guy had even finished tying the rope to the dock. We ran to the ticket box only to hear the response we were dreading...
“Oh yes. Just left one minute ago”
Looked at our watches it was 11:03. Mo and I physically deflated…
If you know me, you know I don’t give up that easily. With some pleading and very aggressive eye-batting…the ticket man was able to change our tickets to the same boat cruise leaving later that afternoon—free of charge!!!
Mo and I were so relieved and happy knowing that:
1. We could still get to see the Venetian islands
2. We didn't lose our money for nothing
3. We could get some breakfast!!!!
We stayed around San Marco Square since we had yet to venture over here. We browsed the shops, took pictures on the bridges, and enjoyed banana-Nutella crepes by the water!
2:30 came and we loaded up on our cruise ship! First stop was Murano which is famous for glass-making. We walk around the glass-making museum and saw a glass-making demonstration. It was fantastico! The second island was Torcello. The island was so lush, quaint and green! As we walked past a vineyard, I picked out my wedding location. And the last island was Burano! It was straight out of a postcard. It was covered with multi-colored houses and multi-colored boats! Mo and I explored the cute shops and took artsy pictures before settling in by a canal. With dangled feet in the water, and a cone of gelato in hand, I asked myself: Can everyday be sunshine, gelato and Venice?
While writing on the train, I can’t help but reflect on how grateful I am for another wonderful and successful weekend! Venice has brought me new friendships, incredible memories and shown me more of this beautiful world! I can't wait to share more of my lovely, hilarious and (at times) chaotic stories from Venice!
Well it’s back to “reality” in Milan for class tomorrow…..but who’s complaining :)
Caio!
-Megan