The under water city

Alrighty... ive been real busy the last few weeks so for those of you who actually read this with any degree of regularity will have noticed i havnt written anything on italy yet at all so with out further adue i give you......(drumm roll please!) VENIZIA! Honestly , once we hit i think we finally were really good and used to the idea of backpacking and relizing that ya just gotta relax and see where you end up sometimes. Learned to relax and not worry about things i had no control over and to let the good times roll! Dont knwo if i mentioned it but back in Salzburg we met up with Jeremy a guy from Boston  and he had been traveling with us at this point so the four of us hop off the train in mestre which actually isnt in venice but just a 10 min train ride outside. Advice for anyone going, bring a map. On second thought the map will be usless to you in Venice as your going to get completly lost at least 4 times the first day so just let it happen and enjoy wandering the city. Plan for some extra time to get everywhere if your on a scheduale because the canals tend to always be where you dont want them to be and the bridge you seen down the canal has suddenly ended up behind you. Plus, seeing as venice´s income is 70% tourism it gets you away from all the main streets and off the beaten path to discover parts that most dont get to see. After finally stumbling across St. Marks Square and relizing that no, the ground isnt actually moving and that yes,those are actually all pigeons;grb some grub from a vender and feed those stinky things! Climb the tower located in the square for a great view of Venice or stand in awe of the handywork in St Marks church.Then Head off by boat to a small island close by and watch the best glass blowing in the world before cooling down with world famous gelatto. Venice is a must see just because its Venice but personally i found it a lil dirty and far to crowded with tourists ( trust me , there is a difference between tourists and backpackers!  ) for it to really be a great destination. Not downplaying the city, i did love it, just that the rest of italy has so much more to offer! More about that in the next lil bit of free time i have but as for now its hot and im sick of eing inside so im off to the beach ! later days, -Darren