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Published: June 17th 2007
Venice
Shot from the campanile, a bell tower in San Marco overlooking the city. So after that quick first entry you might have been expecting more to follow in the next days. But, as I soon found out, everything in Italy costs too much... especially the internet. Im actually in Rome right now, still struggling with these european keyboards. Sorry also about the lack of pictures.. they are coming, once I remember to bring my usb wire... I know a blogs no fun without them!
So Venice! Before I get to that though, the bus ride to Venice was incredible! We were in 3 countries in one day.. Germany, Austria, and Italy. The funny thing is that you dont really notice the border crossings, but all of a sudden the perfect Austrian homes with rows of flowers turn scattered Italian villages, with homes perched on mountain tops. Absolutely every house had a vinyard too. In Austria, we stopped for a couple of hours in St. Johann, a town of about 8,000 thats right in the mountains. You can do skydiving, bungee jumping, and paragliding there if you have a death wish. We passed Innsbruck on the way into Italy and I definitely wouldnt have minded staying there for a month in July either!
St. Johann in Tirol, Austria
The bus made a short stop in this scenic town in the mountains. Somewhere around there, we drove over Europes highest bridge... absolutely stunning views as the road is hundreds of feet in the air, supported by massive bases and tunnels take you straight through the mountains.
I met some cool people from the bus when we stopped at the rest stations. Australia must not be that great of a country, because its entire population is in Europe! There were also some Brits and Kiwis, but very few Canadians or Americans. Its tough keeping up with them sometimes.. they talk a mile a minute and use lots of slang.
After a long day on the road, I arrived at my camping site just outside of Venice. I took the shuttle in the next day to see the city. Wow!!! Venice completely blew me away! As much as you hear about it, youre still amazed at how unique it is. I started off by taking a vaparetto (water bus) that goes along the Grand Canal, which snakes through the city. I took so many pictures, youre gonna be sick of looking at them when I get back! The vaparetto took me to Piazza San Marco, the focal point of the city. Venice
Grand Canal
Shot from the vaparetto #1, heading along the Grand Canal. is a combination of quiet alleyways and canals and tourist traps. The only thing outnumbering the tourists are the pigeons. You can pay to throw seeds at them and get attacked... I dont understand the thrill.
In Venice, among many things I checked out St. Marks Basilica, the Rialto bridge, a bunch of churches, and I took an elevator to the top of the Campanile (a bell tower). But the best part was just walking aimlessly down random streets and relaxing in bustling piazzas. My favourite place was Piazza Santa Margherita, which is more of a student district. There, I could find huge pizza slices for 1.80 euros (Pizza al Volo - I highly recommend it). There were a couple of places nearby with cheaper gelato and espresso. mmm.. gelato. On my second day in Venice, I went to the island of Murano, which is widely known for its glass. As soon as I stepped off the vaparetto, a guy came up and offered everyone on the boat a free tour of a glass factory. He led us down some sketchy alleyways to the factory, where one of the glass blowers did a little demo for us. They sell
Wandering About
The best part of Venice was getting lost in the streets and walking about aimlessly. the glass everywhere in the city, as well as colourful painted papier-mache masks.
Well, I think Im going to update the rest of the stuff another time... I havent eaten much today on account of the ridiculously cheap beer across the street at the supermarket here in Rome. Ciao for now!
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Jessica H
non-member comment
That's a spectacular shot from the campanile! I hope you took it in high-res. According to your itinerary you should be in Nice right now. I do hope you make some time to get yourself a tan, because that seems to be the #1 activity in Nice apparently. A bien tot!