Venice, Italy - Sept 9 to 11, 2009

Ahh Venice... This is what we were expecting when we got to Italy, we were disappointed by Milan, but I think our expectations were just too high. Venice didn't let us down at all. We didn't have a room booked when we got to town. We were planning to just walk around and find something. When we stepped off the train we were greeted by some familiar faces. We have been running into a couple great Aussie girls all over the trip. It seems like we over-lapped quite a few cities. They recommended a camp site that they were going to stay at. It was out of the city limits, so you had to take a shuttle so we were a bit skeptical. We did a quick search online and didn't find anything cheaper so we went along with it. The camp grounds were pretty fun and we ended up staying in a small cabin with its own bathroom and shower. Not bad, but it got kind of cold in the evenings.

We didn't do a lot the first evening in Venice. We picked up some groceries and headed out to the camp site. We made up for it the next day though. We got one of the first shuttles into the city and put in a good 12 hour day of exploring. We were really looking forward to taking a Gondola ride, but they are ridiculously expensive! They average about 80 euros per 45 min ride (almost $150cdn)! We figured the money was better spent in other places. The city of Venice doesn't have any cars, it is full of canals and narrow streets/paths. The public city transportation is actually boats! We were told that the best and cheapest way to see the grande canal is by public transit. We hopped on route #1 because it was one of the longest routes and it took us right to the end of the island.













We got off at the last stop on the main island and spent the rest of the day walking through the streets slowly making our way back to the main train station.

The biggest attraction in Venice is Piazza San Marco. It is a big square with a tower, a cathedral and some old buildings. The crowds are pretty horrific:







We waited in line to see the inside of the Cathedral but we ran into some problems at the front door. We couldn't bring in our backpack, but they had a lockers we could use to store them. They also had a strict dress code to get in. Women aren't allowed to have exposed shoulders or legs. Carolina was wearing shorts and a tank top so she wasn't allowed to enter. They rent shawls that you can use to cover yourself. They charge 1 euro for each. Jesse got mad and thought is was a huge scam so we didn't bother renting them. We understood the shoulders because a couple other churches we visited had similar rules. We were surprised by the shorts rule. Jesse was allowed to wear shorts in, but Carolina wasn't. Carolina asked the security guard why she had to cover her legs and he replied "Those legs? Those legs are dangerous." hahaha, so Carolina's dangerous legs kept us from getting in... haha

These fish look pretty happy to be in the frying pan!! Ready to be wrapped in paper!

In the evening we treated ourselves to some Gelato and headed back to the camp grounds for some pizza and a couple drinks.


The next day we didn't bother heading back into venice. The shuttle cost 4 euros and we had too much homework to do. We spent most of the day working on scholarship stuff, but also took a break for a quick swim in the pool.

Now we're off to Florence!