Venezia

We, once again, woke up bright and early yesterday morning, this time to catch a high speed train to Venezia (Venice). The train ride was pretty cool. We were able to see some of the Italian countryside and hilltop villages. If we are ever back in Italy, I will definitely want to go visit a village built into the landscape and experience some of the small towns. As far as the train riding experience, it was very pleasant. It was hard to tell how fast we were traveling (approximately 150 mph). We met some other American and Canadian travelers and shared some of our experiences as well as our confusion on a few cultural differences. It was nice to talk to and laugh with people who had experienced some of our same frustrations.

Venice was a beautiful but very commercialized city. Don't get me wrong, I feel very fortunate to have seen it. However, the city is mostly filled with cheap trinket shops and stands, not to mention the droves of fake designer purse (gasp!) pedallers. We were able to find some Venetian lace to bring home. The lace is hand stitched and the intricate design represents the city of Venice. The design is a repetition of what looks like wheels with spokes with a circular center. The center is the island of Venezia and the "spokes" represent the bridges that connect the island to the mainland of Italy. There are also parts of the lace where netting represents the importance of fishing to the the city of Venice.

We did not skip the essential tourist activity in Venice: the gondola ride. It was very relaxing and peaceful, a great way to see the city and take a break from the shops. Our gondolier would occasionally sing us an Italian verse and pointed out a few important sites, including the home of Marco Polo.

Aside from the many shops, Venice also hosts a great number of cafes. Somewhere in my research I read stopping for a spritz was required while in Venice. We did just that before we continued wandering. We had a lovely dinner at a cafe next to the main canal before heading back to Rome.

This morning we checked out of our hotel and we're now on our way to Crete, Greece. Rome has definitely been the hardest city to leave, but I'm ready to slow down and enjoy a couple days on the beach!

(Sorry I can't add pictures this time - we're on a layover in Athens and my camera is in my checked baggage. I'll add them later!)