Day 17 - Venice, Italy - June 19

see all photos »

After sweating for 8 hours, waking up every half hour to bells, we got out of bed, took cold showers, and got ready to explore Venice! On our walk to the taxi we were drawn to a gelato shop displaying the most delicious looking gelato- gelato of all kinds with amazing toppings! We had gelato for breakfast and it turned out that the gelato was even more delicious than it looked! We ate gelato every few hours for the rest of our stay in Venice, nutella being our favorite.

After our nutritious breakfast we got on the water taxi and headed to San Marco Square. Getting off the taxi we passed by Harry's Bar (one of the most famous bars in the world) and walked by some very expensive shops. We walked around the crowded square and decided to follow a guided tour that we'd been walking with unintentionally for a while. So, we got a great tour of Venice- all we had to do was follow the orange umbrella. After hitting all the frommer's suggested sites- famous bridges, old boat yards, a few monuments, etc- we went back to our place to shower and get ready for dinner, as we decided to splurge somewhat and enjoy dinner by the water.

see all photos »

Seated by the water for our "splurge" meal (planning to spend around £40 since the menu had main dishes listed at around £13 and we ordered a half liter of wine), we soon found out it would be much more of a splurge than we anticipated. Turns out, unbeknownst to us (since it was not posted anywhere)m, if you sit by the water you are required to order a primi and a main dish. Our waiter however spoke very little English and we were having a lot of difficulty communicating with him. Eventually we understood he wanted us to order a primi so we asked for a few more minutes. After the waiter left, I looked at Shaun bewildered and said "I don't understand." The tone in my voice and my choice of words caught the attention of the lady sitting immediately behind me with her back to me, also eating by the water. She turned around with a huge smile on and explained that they'd been just as confused, but that what they learned is that its just tradition to have different servings so to order a salad or something to share first, then have your main meal. We chatted for a while longer before turning back to our tables. Soon after the waiter came back, we ordered a salad to share in addition to our two entrees. This sharing business however was also unacceptable. The head waiter came over and rather harshly informed us that "this is a restaurant" and we had to each order two dishes since we sat by the water. We ordered the cheapest starters on the menu (which, by the way, gave the restaurant less money than the salad we ordered to share before...). After being scolded by the head waiter, I turned around to Macky (the lady behind me) and joked with her that she got us into trouble. For the remainder of the evening we sporadically chatted with the couple behind us. After we ordered our bill one of the waiters brought over two amorettos, we thanked him thinking it was like Los Galayos where they brought complimentary brandy to you after your meal. Turns out, Jeff & Macky bought us the drinks. We stayed and chatted with them for a long time (they ordered another round too!). They're a newly engaged couple from Hermosa Beach, CA. He's 45 and a very successful entrepreneur. She's 32 and a personal trainer. We had a great time chatting with them- we hit it off right away, with Shaun and Jeff sharing many of the same interests and me and Macky laughing and bonding over what its like to date an entrepreneur. Eventually the restaurant was closing and informed us that we'd have to leave. At this point, Macky and Jeff asked us to go on a gondola ride with them to the casino-their treat! We, of course, accepted. On the gondola ride, Jeff offered Shaun a Cuban cigar which they smoked and enjoyed together. At the casino, we shared many laughs in trying to get in as Shaun was wearing Sandals and the men needed to rent jackets. Macky convinced one of the casino staff dressed in a tux to trade shoes with Shaun, which he eventually agreed to. We stuck around here for a few hours and Jeff and Shaun left with their heads hanging low. We had a great rest of the night partying with them until 3 in the morning! We exchanged information, they invited us to CA and expressed interest in coming to NY & Miami (since I informed her my baby sister would be going there next year!)... This was a great night.