Italy Trip Day 1: Venezia (Venice)

After switching trains in Dijon, we took an overnight couchette to Venice. The couchette car had 6 small cots, 3 on each side. The bottom 2 bunks folded into regular train seats and there was a ladder to get up to the top bunks. Our train arrived a little late and it was cold waiting out on the platform so we were happy to jump on when it came. Thankfully, we only shared our car with an older couple who seemed to be fairly experienced overnight travelers. They hopped up on their top bunk and were ready for bed in record time. Vic and I were still trying to figure out where to put our stuff and how to get into our cots for the long haul. Once we were settled in.... it wasn't sooo bad, got a little stuffy a few times and then frigid cold at other times, but overall we were able to sleep with the help of motion sickness meds;)

In the morning, the train people came around to give us back our passports and tickets (guess they needed them for when we crossed the border overnight... but it kind of freaked us out that we had to hand them over). They notified us that our train was running 2 hours late! We were supposed to get into Venice at 9:20am.... but didn't get there until about 11:15. We were able to do a little more sleeping, eat some breakfast from the train cafe, and get ourselves semi-presentable in our extra wait time.

Once we got off the train, Victor stopped to exchange some American cash (sadly getting a horrible rate) and I got my bearings from the simple map I drew from google maps. We miraculously found our hotel, just around the corner, checked in and left our bags to go eat lunch before our room was ready. We were shocked at how many people were out and about and how many of them were wearing face paint, masks, and costumes. The costumes ranged from little kids in spiderman get-ups like at Halloween, to very Marie Antoinette costume ball wigs and gowns. Venice has one of the biggest Carnival celebrations in the world....which explains why there were so many tourists and locals there to observe or dress up.

After a little walk around (it was nice and sunny!), we stopped at a restaurant and both ordered crispy, fresh, and delicious pizzas... and after paying for our pizza and water (gah! not in France or the US anymore!), we were able to check into our hotel and freshen up before we began our real exploration of town.

We decided to take a vaporetto (water metro line) to St. Mark's Square first. For 16 euros each, we got a day travel pass and it ended up being totally worth it. The boats were generally quick and effective in getting to where you wanted to go on the grand canal (although sometimes they were fairly crowded with Carnival goers)....and being on the boat gave us a chance to see everything from the water.... gondolas, boats, old Italian architecture, bridges, etc. We actually got off at the famous Ponte Rialto before making it to St. Mark's. The picture of both of us on a bridge is from this 1591 stone structure, home to 2 rows of covered shops.

After the bridge, we hopped back on another vaporetto towards St. Mark's. The square was packed with people in costume and people taking pictures of people in costume. There were mask vendors at every corner and it seemed like the more time we spent in the crowds, the more people we saw with masks.... so of course, Victor talked me into getting one. He was going to get a hat, but couldn't find one he liked enough. In the moment, the mask was fun to wear....(I even had people taking pictures of me!) and now I have a cool souvenir/mask for my next masquerade:)

We went into St. Mark's basilica and unfortunately I wasn't able to take any pictures of the beautiful gold mosaics (no foto allowed!). It was a little eerie and dark feeling, even with the gold, but we were there when the sun was setting, so maybe the natural light wasn't as strong. We had thought about going into the Doge's palace next door, but with so many people, we decided to walk away from the square and towards some market shopping. Venice is famous for the Murano island glass.... you can find every type of jewelry, vase, figurine and more. We both got a few gifts for family and for ourselves:)

To end the evening, we went to a nice little seafood restaurant serving a 2 course fixed price menu. We both had pasta for the first course (mine was something with clams and his was something with black ink sauce) and fish for the second course. We enjoyed some house wine and had amazing tiramisu and mousse for dessert. We were exhausted by the end of the night, but it was a great little one day Venetian experience.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!