27 March 2010: Saturday

Today was an early start to the day.  We all woke up at around seven and got ready to go.  We were heading off to Venice that morning.  We were out of our hostel by seven thirty and on our way to the train station.  Once we got our tickets for the train, we had about half an hour before we had to board, so we went to find some food.  We found a place that had pastries, so we all got croissants...mine was filled with chocolate.  Then we went back to the train station and got onto our train.  It took a few minutes to figure out which coach we were on and our seat numbers, but once we were settled, everything was fine.  The train ride was about two and a half hours.  We we were on the train, we got to travel through the Italian countryside and the Alps were in the background.  The Alps were gorgeous and I so wish I could have fit them into my Spring Break.  Anyways, we got to Venice just before noon.  Then we had to go through the process of finding out hotel again.  We had to walk a good bit, but it wasn't too bad.  We were staying in an actual hotel, so it was much nicer than the hostel in Milan, and it was in a nice part of town.  Once we checked into our room, we went up and freshened up a bit.  Then Jess, Bethany, and I went to a supermarket a few blocks away to get some food for lunch.  Deanne stayed at the hotel because she had a bit of a headache and wanted to try to get it to go away.  We got yogurts, baguettes, and some fruit for lunch.  We came back to the hotel and ate, and then it was time to go into Venice...you know, the part with the canals and such.  We caught a bus that took us into Venice, and when we got off...wow...Venice is so gorgeous!!!!!  Everything is so colorful.  The sun was out and the sky was blue and the buildings were different colors and the boats were in the water and there were gondolas and the water was turquoise and the canals weaved in between all the buildings...it was lovely.  Instead of following a set plan, we just wandered around Venice, without a map.  We found a little church with tons of paintings inside.  It also had a really pretty organ with carvings of angels and musical instruments.  I wasn't sure if we were allowed to take pictures, but there wasn't any sign telling us we couldn't, so I did.  But after a few minutes, someone came and yelled at us for taking pictures.  But it was okay because we were done there. We got some gelato...I had nutella flavored...and it was amazing!!!!!  Probably one of the best things I bought in Italy...nutella gellato.  There were so many shops.  We discovered that masks are huge in Venice.  We haven't figured out why just yet, but they are so cool and have tons of different kinds.  I'm definitely getting myself one before I leave here.  We walked around for quite a while...got a bit lost in the process...but we eventually made our way back to the bus station and were back at our hotel at around five thirty.  We dropped off our stuff in the room, then went to find a place to eat dinner.  We found a restaurant that was cheap, but there was a private party there until six thirty.  So we went back to the hotel room and napped for a while.  Then we went and had dinner.  The rest of the night has been pretty relaxed.  We've just been lounging around and watching Italian MTV. But it'll be time for bed soon because we have another day here in Venice tomorrow.