We arrived in Venice at the Santa Lucia station on the main island of Venice. The directions we had told us to take Bus 15, which was of course not there, but a man at the information desk told us that to get to the general area, we should take Bus 6/ (yes that / is supposed to be there). We followed the bus and started seeing stations that included Bus number 15. We hoped off that bus and tried to pick up bus 15, but the stations in Venice don't work like any stations anywhere else. The bus does not tell you what the next stop is, and if you use the station markers, there can be multiple stops on the same street with the same station name. Fed up but close, I pulled us off of the bus and walked in the general direction I thought that the street we need was. This is one of many points where things could have gone so horribly wrong. We were outside the old city of Venice (the part you think about when you think of Venice) and on the main land in a residential area that was mainly natives. We were not going to find many English speakers here. I managed out of some luck and ingenuity to find the street and even the building where our flat was, but here is the problem. We were now about an hour after our intended meeting time with the owner of the flat. I had no wifi and we had struggled in vain to find wifi at the station or anywhere in Venice. I had a phone number, but roaming never worked on my phone. Sara's phone works, but it was dead. Growing increasingly stressed and scared that we were not going to be able to contact the owner and get our flat, I set off to find a payphone. No Pay phones. The one hotel, which I entered and tried desperately to communicate with in Italian, turned me down. I returned to Sara and just managed to find a wifi signal that was unprotected. for about 20 minutes, this wifi worked and in that small window, I managed to send an email and recieve an email from the owner. She thought we were still at the wrong station and started to send us in the wrong direction again. But realizing that was what she was mistakenly trying to do, (not realizing we were already at the flat) I stopped us and returned to the building where I knew the flat to be. The email had her last name (which I hadn't known previously) and I was able to buzz the right apartment. She was fortunately still there and very kindly gave us everything we would need to stay in the apartment and the bombshell that there was no wifi. Yay!
Tired, exhausted, but relieved to have a place to stay, Sara and I settled in and got groceries for the next night. Our next goal was to begin our exploration of Venice and find wifi long enough to coordinate with Ben, who we would pick up from the train station the next day.
Venice is a labyrinth of bridges and streets. Each corner holds a scenic and beautiful view, but ultimately the same view. Most of the churches (of which there are many) look the same from the outside and museums can be found around each bend. Sara and I, who had made a habit of getting strategically lost, got actually lost. After about 3 hours of walking we had become exhausted and had little success in finding wifi. We had our first gelato, which marked the beginning of many gelato outings, but that was about all the joy. I had reached the end of my fuse and after losing control of the situation, aka my ability to know roughly where we are in relation to things, I was not a kind person. I said mean things and couldn't help my temper from flaring up over nothing. We did manage to get a message to Ben informing him to contact us through Sara's phone. Realizing that was the best we were going to do and that we were both quite emotionally at our wits end, we turned in for an evening of making up through a warm meal and drinks.
The next day we picked up Ben at the train station and this is when our fortunes turned. It was also New Years eve and we had a task of finding the location of the New Year's party in Venice. We took a new path wandered around a different side of Venice. Another thing about Venice, the city tries to nickle and dime you to death. Every bar and restaurant boasts free wifi as their selling point but there is often a cover and service charge for sitting in the restaurant and of course the prices are crazy. We made a habit of avoiding buying anything in Venice (except for gelato which was cheap) and wandering. We didn't go to many museums or galleries because it wasn't worth the cost. Additionally, riding in a gondala wasn't going to happen at the tune of 80 euros. So instead we let the city surprise us. We bought a map and now didn't fear getting to ridiculously lost.
I think the first moment that I have geeked out about anything on this entire trip was when we arrived at the Piazza de San Marco. So, I have played and loved the Assasin's Creed games. In particular, Assassin's Creed II which was set in Italy and the level of city detail in the game is quite impressive. You explore the cities of Florensce, Venice, Tuscany and Rome. All the major sites in the game are immaculate reproductions. As we set foot into San Marco square, I was struck with a sense of deja vu and an overwhelming sense of familiarity. It was like I had been there before. This was also the site of the New Years eve party.
Content that we knew where to go in the evening, we took a more expedient route back to the buses and to the flat. We had a nice dinner, pre-drinks, and relaxation. We went to the main city of Venice again for the New Year party. The square was packed! Wall to wall drunken people. It was often difficult to see the stage and we were also jostled around quite a bit. They had a band with two women. They only sang American pop and rock music from either the 80s or the 2000s. In between the sets of songs, there were advertisements for Bellini which was one of the major sponsors for the New Years festivities. Most of the announcements were made in Italian and then a brief summary in English. There was an automated clock projected onto the nearby tower and the walls of the Piazza that counted down the new year. At the new year, a Bellini bottle was opened and fireworks began. Sara and I shared a shot of chocolate Mozart Liquor that we had bought in Salzburg for the occasion. We then moved through the crowd to a better spot to watch the fireworks before heading home.
The next day we explored other areas of Venice and even found a carnival. It was at this point that we saw the more residential side of Venice. The pictures speak for themselves. We turned in for a restful evening realizing that Venice may secretly be a mountain in disguise. With all of the bridges, you end up walking quite a few stairs. By the end of the evening we had become quite sore.
The next day was fairly dreary. As we walked towards the bus stop for yet another day of aimless walking, one of us remarked that they could just spend a lazy day in. The next agreed and that was when I realized that we probably should. So I suggested that we go to the grocery store and splurge on a few luxury items and take a personal day. We did just that, grabbing some things and enjoying a lazy day in doors while it rained.
We had to be out by noon, so we packed up and went to the train station. After making reservations for the next train to Florence, we boarded the train and were off. It was on the train that we had reliable wifi for the first time. That's where I will leave that story. I will say that this leg of the trip has taught me one thing. I am a stubborn person who likes feeling in control and leading a situation. I don't have a lot of patience for waiting for someone to learn a skill or task and if I feel like I can do it more efficiently, than I would rather do it. When control is ripped from under me, or I feel like I am not the best for a situation that I should be the best at, my pride is damaged. These feelings are also a reflex, something I can't quite remove, but rather just need to monitor it. I felt bad for trying to micromanage Sara and in some instances Ben. But I guess that is what travel is for, to learn valuable lessons about ones self.
I will continue with a story from our trip in Florence soon. Hopefully with fewer speed bumps.
Adventures Await!
KH
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