Oops. Look at me getting behind on blogging again… It’s funny because when I think I’m going to have more free time, I find more things to do, which means I actually have less free time… at which point I think I’m going to find more free time… Et voila, on a bouclé la boucle!
Bear with me as I flash back to the end of my Christmas vacation.
“I’m hot. Know why? I’m hot ‘cuz I’m fly… you ain’t cuz you not! This is why, this is why, this is why I’m hot- MIMS! Sorry, had to throw a reference in there. No, actually the reason that I’m hot is because I’m wearing about a kajillion layers. Remember how I said way back when that I’d fill you in on the secret to packing everything for 10 days in a little backpack? This is it: wear all of your clothing haha :) Currently, I have on three different tanktops, two tshirts, a long-sleeve shirt, and a dress… in addition to three layers of leggings and jeans.”
This was my impression while flying from Barcelona to Venice. Flying with Ryanair has its perks, namely that it’s extremely inexpensive to traipse all over the continent, but one of the constraints is that your carryon luggage can only be 55cm x 40cm x 20cm (aka 21.7 x 15.7 x 7.87 inches), which is smaller than the typical carryon allowance, and the bag can only weigh 10kg (22 pounds). That may sound like a fair amount, but let me assure you that it adds up quickly! And you don’t want to exceed the limits or have to chck a bag, because you pay 35 euros at the gate if you have to check the bag and you pay an extra baggage fee PER KILO if you exceed the checked baggage limits. Moral of the story? Wearing your clothing means a smaller, lighter bag that prevents you from having to pay extra.
I pulled my first ever all-nighter in the Barcelona-Venice tradition, staying out on the town until nearly 5am before showering, packing, and catching a 5:50 bus to the airport. I have to say, I was absolutely exhausted, but caught a second wind around 6am- unlike Andrew, who resembled the walking dead. The Barcelona airport is definitely not someplace I’ll want to fly out of often- the information station was zero help and we could have easily missed our flight if we hadn’t been proactive and searched for a different area of the terminal. Our flight gate was never posted on the big screen! Highlight of the morning: flying over the mountains in Northern Italy and seeing SNOW for the first time in what seemed like years.
We finally arrived in Venice and I unfortunately was feeling a little under the weather. I’d been on the verge of getting sick for several days and the combo of staying out all night and not getting any sleep didn’t give my immune system the boost it needed. We walked around a bit, but I ended up crashing at my hostel, talking to family and friends before taking a 2-hour nap. A Venice Fish, my hostel, was really sweet because they make dinner for all of the people staying there. It was a great way for me to meet a lot of new people! Two girls from Australia were on a whirlwind trip during their winter vacation (southern/northern hemisphere switch) and had just started their tour of something like 30 of the biggest/coolest cities in Europe and Africa.
I was excited that Venice wasn’t flooded because apparently in the winter, it’s pretty common to have water not only in the canals but also on the streets alongside them. You could see how high the water gets with many of the buildings- they had special barriers to keep water out of lower levels. Without going on about Venice for too long, some of the highlights, in no particular order:
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| Saint Mark's Basilica |
1. Saint Mark’s Basilica (San Marco in Italian, as seen on all of the signs)- probably the single most famous site in Venice, which certainly lived up to its reputation! It’s hard to see in pictures, but almost everything in the basilica was created mosaic-style, meaning that tiny little tiles made up all of the pictures. I can’t imagine how much time it must have taken!
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| Going up! |
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| I liked the shadow in this one :) |
2. Taking the elevator up the campinile (bell-tower) next to San Marco to see the whole city- seemed like a rip-off to have to pay 8 euros, but the view was AMAZING. It’s gotta be one of the most profitable elevators in all of the world… the line was never shorter than 50 people all day long.
3. Taking the #1 Vaparetto (Water Bus) down the canal for a night-time tour- a great (cheap) way to see the city by night.
4. Free Dinners at the Hostel!- Free food was a big plus, and it was a great way to meet the other travelers. It was fascinating to hear everyone’s story J
5. Window-shopping for Italian handbags and boots- Someday, when I’m rich and… rich, I’ll have to make some bigger purchases. For now, I enjoyed browsing!
6. Paying more for lunch for the privilege of sitting and eating at a table- yes, that’s right, you pay more to be able to stay. Even at cafes that resemble fast-food places, there are different prices for food that’s “to-go” and “on-site”… you pay easily another several euros to stay and eat, which is their way of encouraging you not to take up space. Normally I don’t enjoy spending extra money, but I found this so amusing that I didn’t even mind.
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| Sunrise :) |
7. Watching the sunrise outside Doge’s Palace- I got up bright and early the morning we left in order to see the sunrise over the water, by the gondolas next to Saint Mark’s and Doge’s Palace. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who can get themselves up and at ‘em that early in the morning!
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| Love that look |
8. Gondola Men- I could watch Gondolas going up and down the canals all day. There’s something about the strangely maneuverable boats with their striped-shirt, hat-wearing drivers that makes them impossible to resist
9. Getting lost. I like to do this in most places I visit, with the condition being that I don’t end up in sketchy places. I think it’s a sign that I’ve been wandering like I should be. Especially in Venice, you can’t really go wrong as long as you just keep walking, and know more-or-less where the main canal is located in relation to your current position.
10. Being a stowaway- yup, you read that right. I thought I knew where I was going after my sunrise expedition, but my internal compass was slightly turned and ended up heading more west and less north than I thought… meaning that I was running behind and afraid I’d miss the bus back to the airport. So… I saw a Valetta stopping a hopped aboard! Unfortunately, I didn’t know where to buy my tickets and don’t speak any Italian… so I crossed my fingers that someone wouldn’t come and check on me, and no one did! I hopped off close to the bus stop and made my connections no problem.
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| The sign said it was there... |
11. Attempting to watch a glass-blowing demonstration- Murano Island, which I would love to visit one day, is just a water taxi ride away from Venice and is famous for its glass-blowing. Tons of Murano glass is sold in stores all over Venice, but there aren’t nearly as many places to see glass-blowing. However, after a particularly convincing argument from my lil bro, I did my best to find a place he remembered close to San Marco. I’m pretty sure I did find it… but the man inside just screamed “No! Get out! Closed!” when I tried to go find out more, and apparently he wasn’t just closed for lunch. If I spoke any Italian, maybe I would have been able to investigate further… but it was a situation where body language and his limited English got the point across. Maybe another time!
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| Hey puppy! |
12. Dogs in sweaters- For some reason, nearly every dog in Venice was wearing a sweather. i'm not sure if it was a "because it's cold" thing or a "my dog's gotta be as fashionable as I am" thing, but I thought it was hilarious.
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| New sunglasses = Happy Allison |
13. Bargaining with a street vendor for sunglasses- I’ve had super-sensitive eyes ever since I started wearing contacts, which is only a problem when I’m in bright bright sunlight. The reflection off of the water magnifies the light and makes it even tougher on me, and I was tearing up while walking- but I refused to pay 10 euros for the crappy sunglasses at the tourist shops! I found a street vendor that started at 12 euros, but I held my ground at 4 euros and when I threatened to walk away without buying, he went for it! I was so proud of myself :)
14. Being surrounded by water :) This one’s a no-brainer. So pretty!
After my nearly-missing-the-bus experience, getting to the airport and figuring out the flight was super easy. I bid adieu to Italy and headed back to France! What a great way for me to wrap up 2010 :)
