Venice - take two.

(I wrote this one 18.10.08, so it is a continuation from the first post about Venice)

The second day in Venice was just as fabulous as the first. It started out with breakfast at the hostel, where we saw six other girls from our London group who just happened to be staying there too. We had no idea. Seriously, how crazy is that?! Oh, and the best part of breakfast was that they had tiramisu! That’s fabulous - thank you very much. :) After breakfast, we packed up all our luggage and took the hostel transportation back to Venice.

We were going to “deposit our luggage” at this place our hostel clerk told us about because we didn’t want to drag it all over Venice with us and we weren’t going back to the hostel at night. So we arrive at the luggage place and there’s a sign that says it’s FULL. Great. A lady waiting outside told us that we could take it to the train station and leave it there. So we drag our luggage over there, which luckily wasn’t too far away. When we get there, there’s a HUGE line, but it’s not like we have a choice so we just waited like nice, patient girls. I don’t really understand what was taking so long to move people through, but that’s probably just the American mentality that comes out every now and then about “speed of service”. Europeans just aren’t in as big of a rush, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing – I’m just not used to it. BUT, if that did happen in America, there would be some irate customers for sure.

We finally get our luggage taken care of at the train station, which actually turned out to be a good thing because that’s where we had to come anyway to take the train to Florence later that night. The public transportation strike was over today, so we took a boat to the island of Lido. The ride there was so beautiful. We basically went through the entire Canal Grande, so we got to admire Venice from the water which is just spectacular. The weather today was so much nicer too – a little warmer and much sunnier, so that made it even better. It took about 45 minutes to get from Ferrovia (the train station area) to Lido, but I enjoyed every minute of. I’m sure the Venetians would never say that about their public transportation, but for us tourists, it was so much fun riding in a boat because we never get to!

When we arrived in Lido, we walked to the beach, which was only a 10 minute walk from the boat stop. I know we didn’t get to see much of Lido, but from what I did see, I thought it was just so quiet, secluded, and peaceful. It didn’t seem like there were many tourists, but that could just be because it’s October. Lido is famous for its beach, and in most places October and beaches don’t go well together. But I could definitely see it being popular in the summer months, especially among the celebrities who want a little privacy.

The beach was beautiful, even though it was slightly chilly (good sweater weather). It stretched on forever and ever, just in one single, straight line. The water was freezing, but you can’t go to the beach and NOT put your feet in the water. It’s just not right. We saw a man who was going swimming – in a Speedo. Yikes. I walked with one other girl for quite a while because we wanted to find out the purpose of this unique-looking building in the distance. As it turns out, it was only a restaurant, which would definitely be a beautiful place to eat. It was just a really fun day – relaxing and peaceful. But really, who wouldn’t love to visit an Italian beach?

The rest of the day was spent eating gelato, buying CHEAP water and Coca-cola light at a grocery store in Lido, and taking the public transportation boat back to the train station in Venice. We left Lido at 5:00, which was just perfect because the sun was starting to set, which allowed for AMAZING pictures. Definitely the best time to take a ride along the Canal Grande.

One of my favorite things about Italy so far is all the cute, little sandwich shops and pizzerias. It’s so easy just to grab a little sandwich or slice of pizza and be on your way. I guess that’s their version of fast food. AND they always have a vegetarian option, which makes me so happy. :) Tonight at the train station I had a grilled tomato, mozzarella, and green olive wrap – Delicious!

So now I’m on the train to Florence, but obviously when I post this I won’t be. Unfortunately the technology isn’t so great that I can get wireless on a train across Italy. I think that would be a good mission for my brother, Jeffie – You could make a ton of money. Think about it. :)

Until next time,
Rachel