Viva Italia!

Jules & I at the Trattoria where we ate a delicious dinner alongside the water.
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Viva Italia! Early Friday morning, 1 a.m. to be exact, on September 29^th, Julie, Joe, Skyler & I left for Venice Italy. After a twelve-hour train ride we arrived in Venice around 2pm on Saturday. Once we dropped our bags off at the hostel, Camping Jolly, we took a bus into the heart of the city. However, before getting on the bus we stopped at a gelateria to taste our first official Italian gelato. I chose my usual tiramisu; only to be absolutely amazed at how much more incredible it tasted compared to gelato in Heidelberg. It might just be the best thing I have ever eaten…seriously. Finally in the old city and ready for Italian wine and pasta we chose a quaint trattoria located alongside the water. We each ordered a different pasta dish; mine being a shrimp, zucchini pasta, as well as an Italian bottle of wine. Everything was wonderful-the food delicious, the atmosphere enchanting, and the simple fact that we were in Italy, unbelievable. Exhausted from the long train ride we decided to call it a night and head back to our hostel, which was more of a camping site than anything. We loved it! Barley big enough for the four of us, we sweated the evening away, unwilling to open our windows due to the swarms of mosquitoes that waiting outside, and yet we had a blast being packed in a little box that shook whenever one of us moved.

Julie & I on the gondola in Venice
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The next morning, after a refreshing night’s sleep, we took the bus back into the old city. Now what does one do in Venice? A gondola of course! With the sun seeping into the rising fog, we boarded our gondola with Luka, our gondolier, as our guide. For forty minutes we spent the late morning basking in the Italian sun, running our hands through the cool Venetian water, and taking in all the magnificent architecture of the city. It was…more than amazing…I don’t know if I even have a word, they all seem too generic…perhaps magical? Regardless, it was my favorite experience thus far. Luka showed us where one of Italy’s more famous violinists once lived as well as the palace of Napoleon Bonaparte. The architecture of Venice is absolutely astounding. Every little detail is important to each building. Once our gondola ride ending we decided to take the water taxi over to San Marco Piazza, said to be the world’s most beautiful public square. In all honesty I’m not sure if we ever saw the actual square, however, we did tour the streets and smaller public squares around it. Located on these cobblestone corridors of Venice, lay such fashion giants as Gucci, Prada, and Fendi as well as local Italian journal shops and gelaterias. Also located along these streets were African men selling fake bags right in front of the designer stores themselves. Skyler bought a fake, but very posh looking, Prada bag for only 20 Euro! The hilarious part is that such practice is highly illegal and yet completely unrecognized. At one point all the men scooped up their sheets and started running at the sight of the poliza, who, ironically didn’t even seem to care! The whole situation was just funny to watch. Knowing that our train to Florence was leaving around 5pm we eventually and reluctantly headed back to the train station.

With the sun seeping into the rising fog, we boarded our gondola with Luka, our gondolier, as our guide.