Venice

We were all very excited about the idea of the train ride through the countryside but we were also all thrilled to be getting off.

When the train arrived at the station in Venice it pulled in right next to the Orient Express. For a moment the idea of being back on a train became a little more appealing, but the moment passed and we turned our attention to the water, we were finally at Venice. 

Venice, the city of canals, is an architectural marvel floating on a lagoon. Founded over 1,500 years ago, it’s built on more than 100 small islands, separated by canals and connected by over 400

Venice offers a unique blend of history, art, and charm, seasoned with a rich culinary experience.

We have three nights here before we depart for our cruise. For now we were tired and hungry and our focus was on finding our Air BnB. 

We arrived in Venice just after dark so our first impressions were bathed in lights reflecting in the water, which was not an unpleasant experience. But as was our experiences elsewhere, being dropped off in the middle of unfamiliar territory is never fun or easy. 

We were told by the Air BnB host to catch a water bus to a certain stop but she never told us where to get the water bus, how to get it or which way to go. No one was helpful. Our requests were often met with just pointing or silence and some people were just flat out ignoring us. We asked other visitors for their help and usually they were equally as lost and frustrated.

We found the place to buy tickets but the clerk there was no help either. We went to two different bus stops and even got on a water bus that turned out to be the wrong one and I had to jump back off after it started to pull away from the deck. 

We were past frustrated at this point but decided it couldn’t really be that hard, so we gathered our maps our instructions and our wits and did make our best educated guess and did manage to get on the correct water bus and even managed to got off at the correct stop. It was all just a short easy walk from that point.

Or SHOULD have been.

Venice is an absolutely confusing maze of narrow winding streets, doorways and paths that can be large enough for a car and at other times small enough for only one person at a time. 

They can be well lit and actually look like a walkway and at other time so narrow and dark it feels like an alleyway and then after a few twists and turns it could open into a large courtyard or a plaza. While fascinating, and I’m sure quite fun when one is awake and alert, we were far from either and all the wandering was quite frustrating. 

I totally felt like a rat dropped into the middle of a maze, and I could almost smell that cheese at the finish line but we continued to hit dead ends. Again we had to sit and regroup and reread the directions again and we eventually through trial and error  we found the apartment. And THAT was another problem.

There are 6 of us, all grown men, and we thought we booked a three bedroom apartment. It ended up being just one very small apartment with only one bedroom and just one bed. We may be good friends but we aren’t THAT good of friends!

We did some more calling to air BnB and again no answer. We were absolutely exhausted at this point and about ready to sleep on the floor but I did have my eye on the bed. At this point I guess it’s just a matter of whoever was the strongest. 

Again we sat and reread everything and found there was a second lockbox code. Sure enough, there was an adjoining 2 bedroom apartment that was also ours so together we actually had a rather large and comfortable place.

With all that behind us the only thing left to do was eat and sleep. We found a nice pizzeria nearby, which was a rather nice first meal to have in Italy, and then we hit the beds and had a good nights sleep.