Travel Weekend 2 (a.k.a., On the Road Again)

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As far as Travel Weekend 2 plans were going, all my dad and I knew was that we were going to go see Venice and hit some spots in northern Italy. But in true Lucas fashion, we couldn’t make a decision. Part of the reason is that I am “saving” some of the northern cities I want to visit for when Ryan arrives. Another part of the reason is that my dad wanted me to make all decisions and reservations (maybe so he could blame me if anything went wrong. Case in point: the 300-pound transvestite at the Royal Oak motel). And another part was that I was so exhausted from the previous jam-packed week of teaching and meetings that what I really wanted to do was sleep for 48 uninterrupted hours. But I knew that I would regret that option. Besides, I could always sleep on the train.

I did make the executive decision, however, that we were not going to leave on Thursday morning/early afternoon like we did the previous weekend. Instead, we were going to take it a little more slowly. And I was going to get my grading done before we left so I wouldn’t have that little black cloud hanging over my head the whole time.

We got up bright and early on Friday morning, packed a small bag (Italian dictionary, camera, backup batteries, jackets, sunscreen, and umbrella) and drove to Castelfranco Veneto train station. There, we were greeted by our favorite train station employee who sold us two round-trip tickets to Venice for €7,20 each. Not a bad deal, eh? An hour later we arrived on the island.

Venice was lovely. And though I typically hate shopping, I was mesmerized by the storefronts and found myself drawn time and time again to look at all the pretty things in the windows. The glass pieces are really something else. There are a couple pieces I’d love to buy… if only I could get them back to the U.S. without them breaking or without paying an arm and a leg for shipping!

My dad and I wandered the streets up and down along the canals. This was the first time during our travels that I took more pictures than he did. I just loved the colors (and the sound!) of the water. Maybe that was it. I could be having water withdrawal. Nebraska aquifers simply don’t have the same effect on me as above-ground water sources.

Really, the Venice experience is mostly about wandering the streets, window shopping, real shopping, and maybe feeding the pigeons in Piazzo San Marco. So we did it all—without a map. In fact, we didn’t really need a map except for one occasion. My dad asked me what I wanted to do. I told him that I would like to find a water closet. But instead of following the “WC Arrows” under our feet, he recommended that we walk in the other direction, cross a bridge, and then wander aimlessly for another 30-40 minutes before eventually returning to the train station and using the facilities there.

With that problem solved, we boarded water taxi #1 for a cruise of the city along the Grand Canal and out past Murano. It was nice and cool on the water taxi. My dad even briefly nodded off during the ride. Upon our return to the starting point, it was more wandering, more shopping, and more wandering. I was getting a little weighed down by my bag and was regretting lugging all the stuff around with me all day. But then around 5:30 or so, the heavens opened up and there was a major downpour. We popped open the umbrella I had lugged all afternoon and found a spot in a doorway to hang out in as the rains subsided.

We finished the evening with dinner in an indoor restaurant. We boarded the last train home (where we endured the experience of riding with three “goofs”). From Castelfranco Veneto, we drove back to my apartment where we crashed a little before midnight.

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Photos

The Grand Canal
This picture captures it all: The water, the bridges, the boats, the candy-cane striped boat markers, the pastel colored buildings.

No Sing, No Pay!
The gondola rides have a reputation of being both terribly romantic and terribly expensive. So it was definitely on our "No Grazie" list. Even if they did want to sing.

More Our Speed
Water Taxi #1 at about €6 each was more our speed. We got to go further and faster down the Grand Canal, out past Murano, and back again.

Where Do Tourists Go When It Rains?
Luckily we had an umbrella to share. But I doubt everyone had planned so well. It was amazing to watch the streets go from jampacked to nearly empty in just a few raindrops.