Venezia
I arrived in Venice on Easter day, expecting the city to be shut down and the streets and alleys to be empty. I was wrong. The streets were more alive than ever, buzzing with excited locals and tourists.
I took a 2 hour train from Florence to Venice and arrived mid-afternoon. I was staying at Friendly Hostel, located in San Marco Square. After disembarking the train, I located the closest water taxi stop to my hostel. The water taxi is exactly what it sounds like, a large boat full of people that stop at docks along the Grand Canal (main "street" in Venice). After 20 minutes of jetting around the Grand Canal and sending other passengers off, I finally arrived at my stop. I grabbed my bags and set off into the alleys to find my hostel. Luckily I managed to find a direct route and reached promptly.
The colorful buildings that outline the Grand Canal.
After dropping my bags off, I decided to spend the rest of the day getting lost in Venice (I'm actually serious, this place is a labyrinth). But it is such a beautiful city with gorgeous architecture and a unique flare. Since it was Easter, some museums were open free of charge. Once I found that out, I was running around Venice finding all the must-see museums before they closed. I probably looked like a madman because I would take one look at something, then run away wildly trying to find another cool treasure. I ended the day with finding a petite bar with glasses of Prosecco for 1 Euro and really cheap cichettis (Venetian tapas). I hunkered down on a ledge next to the canal and enjoyed a boozy sunset.
Later that night at the hostel, I got to know some of the other ladies staying there and became fast friends with all of them. The next day, 2 girls from the hostel joined me for the Venice Free Walking Tour. If you haven't heard of these free walking tours before, I highly recommend them to anyone visiting Europe. They are free tours offered by knowledgeable guide. In addition to taking you to the well known sites, they also show you some of the city's well-hidden secrets. I was so glad I took my first tour here because in addition to learning some of the history and culture of Venice, I also got some insider tips on how to navigate through this place. Apparently there are only a handful of accurate maps and she showed us where to get one. What a relief! The guide also showed us a fantastic place for cichettis and cheap glasses of wine, so me and the girls decided to spend the rest of the night trying different snacks and guzzling down delicious house wine (I know house wine usually isn't the best, but hey, in Italy the house wine was still better than you'd get anywhere else).
Carnival originated in Venice as a festival for eating, dancing and socializing. Eventually the Venetians created this mask so people could eat at the festival without taking off their mask and revealing their identity.
Another elaborate Carnival inspired dress
This is probably the most famous church in Venice. Earliest construction of the relics started in the 800's but construction continued through the 1100's.
Essentially all ceilings are covered with these golden mosaics. Breathtaking!
Restaurant recommended by the free walking tour guide. Excellent dishes.
Aperol, white wine and sparking water. Delizioso!
I spent the next couple days exploring Venice with Mariana, another new friend I made at the hostel. She was also backpacking Europe for the next 3 months and we instantly bonded. We had tons of fun running around Venice the next couple days. My favorite place we visited was St Mark's Church. It had a floor to ceiling golden interior and was a one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen.
On our last day together, Mariana and I had lunch at a place that was recommended by our free walking tour guide and had delicious unique pasta dishes (although I will say that the service left much to be desired...).
Like clockwork, Venice floods every year around the winter time when the tides of the Adriatic sea cause the water levels to rise. The sidewalks end up flooding as well. Since so many books have been ruined over the years from flooding, this bookstore decided to use the books as walls, stairs and now a tourist attraction of the world.
In the back of the bookstore stands a 9-10 ft high staircase made completely of books. But you must wait your turn before you can climb them as it has become a huge tourist spot in Venice.
Wow. Just, Wow. But beware of the facade.
The architects and artists were not only brilliant to sculpt and create the masterpieces seen around Venice, but were also smart enough to know how to protect their pieces in times or war or catastrophic weather. Many of the beautiful buildings around Venice have detachable facades that they insert their pieces into. In the above picture you can see the brick formations underneath the facades. So if there's a sudden attack, the only thing that can be destroyed is the brick building.
Only in Venice...
This little guy was placed at the bottom of a bell tower that rung out at times when no one touched it. Citizens of Venice thought the bell tower was haunted so he was constructed to scare away the demons that were ringing the bells. Years later it was discovered that the tower was actually built at an angle, which explained the mysterious ringing a little better than demons did.
DAY 1: EASTER DAY & MUSEUM HOPPING
DAY 2: FREE WALKING TOUR ADDICTION BEGINS
DAYS 3-4: GETTING LOST IN THE STREETS OF VENICE
TRAVEL TIPS: VENICE
During the last couple days, Mariana and I had so much fun together and decided that we should tackle our travels together. We both wanted to go to Istanbul, but didn't want to go alone. With that perfect piece of puzzle put in place, we decided to meet again in 10 days in Istanbul and begin our journey from there. Mariana was visiting Florence and Rome next and since I had just been, I needed to find a spot to pass the next 10 days in. I decided to head to the city I was most excited to visit: Barcelona!