Day 19 - Venice

St. Mark's Basilica. There were tons of tourists but luckily, it got better once the weekend was done.
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I actually had a night train to Venice and I shared the tiny cabin with a guy from the Czech Republic. For the one millionth time since I've been in Europe, a european HAD to talk American politics with me (sigh). Europeans, and I mean ALL europeans, LOVE Obama. I'm not exaggerating at all. Seriously, I think if I'm over here and Obama doesn't get elected, I'm going to have to carry some sort of shield because people might start throwing rocks. Or cheese, rather, since I'll be in Switzerland. Maybe they won't care there because of the whole "neutral" thing they have going. Anyway, we talked for a couple hours, where he said some pretty crazy things and then I went to sleep. Well, I tried to sleep but trains are uncomfortable and they stop ever 30 minutes or more which means your body rocks back and forth violently. That didn't seem to be a problem for my Czech buddy but needless to say, sleep was not achieved.

When I got up, it was raining but we were still 2 hours or so from Venice. Luckily, the rain had passed when we reached the city but it had made the canals overflow into the streets (yay). I sloshed around to the waterbus and made my way to the hostel. It was relatively easy to find, especially since Uncle Rene had spent quite a bit of time on google earth with me, helping me "see" where my hostel was. The first floor, which is vacant, was flooded. I checked in, and promptly layed down (Don't be mad! I was tired!). When I awoke, I made myself get up and just walked the streets, which are actually more like alleys, that are actually more like small corridors. The incredible thing (or one of the many) about Venice, is that it's literally rotting away. I think I read that they don't allow residents to change the outside of the buildings in anyway (I assume unless it's for preservation) so you have centuries old homes and churches that actually look like they were built and painted and left alone. It's breathtaking to just walk around the city and take it all in. Soon, I realized I had become entranced and hadn't taken any pictures, or even taken notice of where I was going. Hmmm.... lost in Venice. Fortunately, being lost in Venice is nothing like being lost in Bruges (BRUGES!!! ARGG!). After a while, I found my way to the outskirts of town (i.e. the sea) and then to a water bus stop. This also happened to be at sunset, so I was pretty pleased with my view.

I'm going to have to carry some sort of shield because people might start throwing rocks. Or cheese,

After dinner, make that FREE dinner, at my hostel, I went to bed, extremely happy to be in beautiful Venice.