Blogs from Venice, Veneto, Italy, Europe - page 130

Venice has got to be the most distinctive city in the world. You get off the train and there it is in all it's glory, the grand canal. Where you have water buses, water taxis, water garbage boats, and even a armored bank boat (think Brinks), hilarious. The streets are really narrow and your shoulders almost touch the walls in some parts. It's funny to see people go down a street and end up it being a dead end with the canal being the dead end. Very expensive city, our water taxi from the hotel to the train station cost us 60 euro, that was for a 10 minute boat ride!! I think we got took. Met a very nice couple from the states, Chicago, and ended up hanging out with them for the day. ... read more

We are in Belluno in Northern Italy with our Friends Nick and Laura and the sun is shining! Yippee! After buying umbrellas and rather smart jackets to protect us against the wet weather (not putting up with any of that cagole rubbish) the sun has returned. It's a good job it did because I was seriously considering coming home at the end of last week - well you would, wouldn't you? After the wet few days in Lake Bled we took the the train to Trieste in Italy. The train stopped at Nova Gorica which is the only town in the world where the border crossing runs right through the square outside the train station (novelty piece of trivia for you there). Trieste was good for a stop over (especially in the rain) and from there ... read more

Geo: 45.3932, 12.2299For once, a semi-decent hostel breakfast. Cheese! Yes!!! Off to the train station. Sat with an elderly Israeli couple and a Serb guy named Nikola. Very interesting talking to him. A crash course in Yugoslavian history (at least, the break-up portion - but aren't the break-ups always the juiciest parts?). If I get a chance I'll meet up with him in Serbia. Ate a store-bought seafood risotto on the train. It was much better last night. Gross bits of olives .... Got to Venice - cool! Weather is nice ... not nearly as hot as other places I've been so far. Piazza San Marco was packed. Half of the square was cut off for some concert tonight, making it worse than normal. Doge's palace - incredible art on display. The largest oil painting in ... read more

So, early breakfast and then bags to coach... then departure. We got to partake in some White Water Rafting as an optional. It was amazing. It ran for about an hour and I did things on this raft I thought I would never do. He had us stand on it in a circle. He had us all lay down on one side of it and have it pointing in the air, we got our pictures taken on it, and we ever had a race. I am proud to say that my raft came in first! WHOOO HOOO. After the rafting we ate lunch at the snack bar place they led us to. We then met up with the bus and headed for Italy. We are staying at Hotel Garden. Everyone decided to stay in and just ... read more

We arrived at our camp site near Venice after a six hour journey from Croatia, we left at 7am to avoid the queues at the Croatian border but then got stuck at the toll for Venice for 2 hours. We got set up and then it was off to the pool to cool down. Later as we were about to have dinner it suddenly went extremely dark, then windy, then rain, then a power cut, then the thunder and lightening came. Our gazebo would have been blown away if we hadn't been outside in the p**s**g rain holding onto it. It was more like a mini hurricane with some branches falling off trees. It cooled us down for the evening anyway. The next morning it was lovely and sunny so we headed for Venice. The camp ... read more