Venice has been wonderful. The weather was so hot and I'm leaving with sunkissed shoulders. It only rained one evening and my flip flops made me keep slipping which resulted in me snorting from giggling so hard as people chuckled walking by. I then pranced around barefoot in the streets holding my flip flops.
We didn't plan every detail of our adventure for the purpose of just figuring things out as we go. It is a cool test of instinct and survival skills. Too often we live in comfort and are familiar with everything around us. Being in another country things are different at first but it has been easy adapting to how things are done here. When we got to the airport we found a bus to take us into the city. The next two hours consisted of getting lost in an attempt to find our hostel. Venice has so many twists and turns and it was like an adult playground and corn maze.
Thanks to some great friends who were just in Venice we had a few waterbus passes with us and they came in handy. The heat picked up and my pack was getting heavy so we eventually took a waterbus to the stop by our hostel. We dropped our bags off and went exploring with no agenda. Hanging laundry is the thing to do in Venice. Nothing like showing your junies to the world!
A group of young boys looking like One Direction were hanging out by a water fountain when we went to fill up our bottle. All the sudden one of them started playing music on his phone and lip synching to Marvin Gaye, "I've been really tryin', baby..." It was adorable. We ordered calzones for lunch not realizing how large one was. A group of guys next to us laughed at our big-eyed reaction and photo taking. Later we stopped for drinks to give our feet a break. Some pigeons attacked and ate our peanuts. It was the closest thing to Alfred Hitchcock's Birds that I've experienced. They even pecked my toes!
Dinner outside along the canal with authentic Italian music from an accordion player was awesome. In that moment I felt like I was truly in Italy and the reality of living out a dream had come.
We spent a day at Lido beach which was quite the experience. Just getting there on the waterbus was crazy being squished between so many people. The breeze brought with it some scents I don't care to ever smell again. When we made it to Lido we just wandered without knowing where the beach was and eventually found it. We didn't realize parts of the beach were private and got kicked off! The public beach was packed. We didn't pack any towels so we just walked around and laid in the sand for a little. I think I still have sand in places I don't care to talk about. On another note, Sarah saved a kids life! His friend was literally holding his head under water and he was panicked so Sarah helped the kid up. The beach wasn't much different than in Florida. However, speedos are more common! We also saw some boobies. Sorry, no photos of that.
We went to Murano with all the glass factories. It was absolutely mind blowing to see such beautiful things that were made by hand. The demonstration was well worth three euros. The guy literally made a glass horse in less than five minutes and made it look so simple.
My first time in a hostel was neat. It's nothing like the movies. People make it seem so dangerous. This place had a great view and even a chandalier!
Hostels are a great way to travel cheap and meet people. The people you meet are what make the trip enjoyable and memorable. I've learned that it isn't always the place as much as it is the people you're with. What's paradise if you have bad company?
We've met some really nice people. An Australian lady in her mid thirties quit her fundraising job in London to travel. Another lady from Malaysia quit her job in insurance sales to travel. It takes courage to do something some would call crazy like walking away from the mundane repetition of every day. Life should be enjoyable but so many get consumed by work and dreams die. I'm so fortunate to have a job I enjoy that gives me impeccable vacation time to do the things I love and dream about. Sometimes it can be overbearing but anything in life can be that way without the proper balance and perspective. Balancing and gauging perspectives in life can be difficult but I'm slowly learning and becoming a much happier person each day.
Our last day and night was my favorite. The lunch we had was some of the best food we had in Venice. The guys working were so friendly and let us behind the counter for a photo.
That evening consisted of cocktails by the canal with our friend from the hostel. The most gorgeous looking Italian man sat next to us with his miniature Mexican dog named Pupay. I called him Fabio. He let us pet his dog and we talked a little about how he liked living in Venice. He said he didn't have the best english. We asked if all the tourists bothered him and he said no it is good for Venice. I'm not sure what his name was but he was very generous to pick up our tab. As we said grazie he put his fingertips to his lips and in a sweeping motion said, "tourists" with a kiss. My time in Venice was made from that moment. I said I hoped to see an Italian do that very thing like I've seen on the movies. We got a photo with Fabio and parted ways. Yes, I touched his muscular arms and asked if he worked out. Our waiter said he owns a gym! The next day we passed him on the street and in excitement yelled Ciao at each other. It was like I was a part of the city, making friends and familiar faces on the streets. Ahhh Fabio, I will miss you!
Venice doesn't have much of a night life but we wandered the streets to see what we might find. We made some friends with a group of students studying at the local university. We talked about life and their perceptions of America over some drinks. It's such a different way of life and solidified my belief of not conforming to one way that is the "right" way. It was a perfect ending to my time in Venice.
Arrivederci Italia! Off to Malta:)
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