14 Hours In Venice

Limited days off, limited budget. But after traveling all the way to Italy, I had to see Venice! Yes, the excitement was all from Bollywood movies and basically pop culture, but that doesn't make it less of a reason for being super excited! As I was traveling alone, the idea of staying overnight didn't seem like a good idea. Taking baby-steps to the whole "adventure" and "exploration" ideas which were pretty new to me, I decided to make it a day trip.

My Trenitalia train left Rome at 11:35 pm. I chose the slower train so that I would reach Venice at only 5:20 am the next day (I mean what would I have done getting there a couple of hours earlier at 3 am right?). Here's a selfie-galore of me trying to capture some moments in the beautiful city of Venice...

Sunrise was the first thing I saw getting out of the station.

Waited for the first water bus to Piazza San Marco for a few minutes, and then rode the Grand Canal, mouth wide open in awe of the gorgeous buildings on either sides.

Getting off at Piazza San Marco, that was the postcard Venice for me (until I roamed around and figured every corner of Venice is the postcard Venice). No shops were open, not even a cafe at that hour in the morning, but seeing the huge square without it's usual crowd, I was glad I chose this arrival time. Throughout the day, I could see the square almost transform into a different picture as tourists flocked in.

I was tired from the long train ride, craving coffee. Saw some benches that had the view of Venice, so guess what, I grabbed my backpack tight, and dozed off for a good thirty minutes.

When I woke up, I began walking-because I was told the best way to explore Venice, is by getting lost in it. Totally agreed. I came to the same exit a couple of times, but this colorful city, with a mix of heritage and contemporary fashion was a treat at every step.

View from the tower in the preceding picture.

Gondolas!

Well I only took a picture with one because the ride was 80 Euros...

Like I said in my last post, it was all about selfies or finding tourists, offering to take their picture, then asking them to take yours.

The gallis of Venice.

So the ferry or water boat ride was 7 Euros one way,even if that way was from the station to Piazza San Marco (about 20 minutes), or just across, from one side to another. I know, strange right! Anywho, the locals definitely understood that that was a bit steep, so they directed me towards a walking bridge that would get me to the other side, a good 40 minute walk, but hey, that's what I came for!

Weather wise, I could have worn something lighter, but my wardrobe woes are a topic for another post, so watch out ;)

Tried my first squid-ink pasta. Didn't find it to be so strong to be honest, surely fun to eat though! And the restaurant owner was such a sweet old man, offered water (which is charged sometimes as much as wine :/ ) for free. We have a saying in Nepal, paani khwaune le dharma kamaucha, as in, the one who gives you water is blessed-that sweet old man sure received my good wishes!

This tiramisu was upon the insistence of my love, because it was his birthday. I told him I was full, but he was like "It's my birthday you have to have cake!, my treat". How could I say no to this sweet sweet man, so yup, stuffed on some GOOD tiramisu.

On the way back while waiting for my train, I went into some makeup stores in the station. Aishwarya Rai's much hyped purple-lip red carpet look (and accompanying Joey Tribbiani Ichiban lipstick memes) were doing the rounds, so purple it was.

Overall, I had a great 14 hour trip to Venice. It was a new experience-a backpack, selfie stick, medicine pouch, ID, cash, phone and that's it. Traveling with good company surely has its own perks, but traveling alone is just something else. Of course it means you make silly mistakes such as book tickets for the wrong dates and there's no one to double check that for you (hint hint for the next blog)...but I'd do it all over again!

#travel #AnkaTravels #venice #AnkaExplores