Venice, Italy: “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving."

As with any person that has work piling up, I have been reacting to the accumulating load with the only natural response—by shoving it in the corner and pretending it does not exist. Totally the healthy way to deal with things, don’t you agree?

So with only two weeks left in my Italian Adventure it is high time that I start recapping some of the things I have been up to over the past few weeks.

This past weekend, I went to Venice. It was spectacular to say the least. Aside from channels coursing with exotic sea-creatures, Venice is the home of Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Basilica, and Torre dell’Orlogio. Its residents are friendly and laid-back; leaving the pace of the trip completely up to the individual visitor. While tourist-oriented, it lacks the annoyance of tour-guides clamoring for your attention as with Rome and the Americanized feel of Florence making it an ideal place to visit.

I especially enjoyed the small-town feel of Venice. While eating lunch, locals stopped in to say ‘hello’ to the owners and happily chatted back-and-forth for a bit. At one point, a neighbor had brought the woman working behind the counter a bag of fresh grapes. After washing them off, she kindly offered us some before eating a few. Venetians (as with most Italians) are extremely hospitable.

As I said before, the experience of a visit to Venice is completely up to those planning the trip. If tourist stops are number one on the list, the big must-see things are extremely easy to see as many of them exist in the same place: Piazza San Marco. Right outside of the train station, there is an information center that will gladly help you plan your trip to ensure you see what you like.

Noelle and I prefer the more relaxing (although at times hazardous) form of tourism: getting completely lost with only our cameras and a 2 euro map. While it’s not the greatest way of making sure you see the touristy places (since there are very specific visiting hours), it is a fabulous way to get off the beaten pathway of the average tourist. By getting lost, we really got to see the life of the town and some beautiful, under-rated areas of the city.

We also stumbled upon a rather interesting Art Gallery which parodied famous works by adding a pop culture twist. Some examples include Adolf Hitler with Playboy Bunny Ears, A painting of Mary holding a cloth with Jim Morrison's face on it, and this little gem:

Unfortunately, we did not take a gondola ride. At 40 Euros each for an hour it was a bit outside a student’s price range but we enjoyed the canals nonetheless as we walked around them freely and even sat on the banks for a twilight dessert before heading back to the train station.

Our travel plans were once again very… interesting? Noelle and I have discovered that, as with most bad things, all of our travel plans are destroyed in threes. This time was no different:

1. Our intended train out of Rome was sold out so we had to wait an hour for the next train. I was lucky enough to get a second class ticket. Noelle was not so fortunate and had to shell out some extra cash for a first class ticket.

2. We missed the last train back to Rome Termini due to the “train schedule on the Trenitalia webpage being incorrect”. (So we were told, anyway.)

3. After training to Venice Mestra (the station on mainland Venice), we found out that we had been given the wrong information and that the schedule was in fact correct but that train was skipping the Mestra stop…. Fabulous. Thankfully, the 3:11 am train was not completely booked and we were able to get on that.

(Side note: Sorry, Mom. I didn’t want to worry you and I know you are probably freaking out reading this.J)

But we are young and as they (whoever they may be) say:

“It’s not the destination, but the journey.”

Noelle and I went crazy that night. We had our moments of panic and doubt; our moments of fury; and, as with anyone lacking sleep with a long night ahead of them, we went a little loopy.

We Dougied on Platform 7. We (over)analyzed the difference between American Twix and Italian Twix. We named the train station monitor Juan Carlo and even made him his own theme song.

Needless to say we have never been so happy to see our cot-like beds at the Residence when we collapsed into them after the 7 hour train ride at 11 am.

All in all, Venice was my favorite thing about the trip so far and I would love to go back and visit (or live) there soon! Not to mention the BEAUTIFUL gondoliers… by far some of the best looking Italian men we've seen here. Complimenti....