Venezia is Bellisima!

I did it! I completed my first weekend of travel to Venice this weekend. The weekend started off by realizing that our train tickets were not from the main station in either Florence or Venice, so this was our first test of travel. We figured out how to take a one euro train to the station we were leaving from and were able to get on the train to Venice and we were off! When we got to that station we had to figure out how to get to the main station in Venice. This station was very small and it was late at night so we couldn't find where to purchase our tickets. Then we saw the train we needed to get on and without a ticket just jumped on. The man came around checking tickets, and I just decided to look confused and give him a very sad face telling him that I will pay right there. As we were getting off the train he just let us all get off and ride the train for free! We then proceded to take a fairy to our "hostel" which ended up being the most adorable bed and breakfast in the best location!

Friday morning we woke up, and were told we were getting breakfast served to us. Thinking we were getting an American breakfast, after missing it so much, we were very excited. When we got the breakfast, it was cookie, hard rolls and Nutella. I don't understand how the Italians eat this kind of food for breakfast. We headed to San Marcos square, picking up a toothbrush for me on the way. As we walked into the square, I was amazed by how beautiful the church was, and when we walked in it I was in awe. I never thought that I would be so amazed by a church, but the whole inside is covered in gold and the most amazing art.

After we visited the church we headed to the Gugenheim in Venice. All of my friends here have majors that somehow focus around art so they were in love with all of the works of art. I felt like a snob because I thought all of this modern art looked like something I could have done. Modern art is just something I don't really understand so it was difficult to really be amazed by it all.

For dinner that night, we found a random little trattoria, close to our house and away from the main tourist areas. When we walked in there was about a 10 minute wait. The people felt terrible so handed us some sparkling wine while we waited. When we sat down we ordered lots of seafood for dinner and appetizers! The waiters also gave us a liter of wine for free, and then a special discount when were all done. The staff treated us like we were celebrities.

The next morning we headed to the outdoor markets which were so fun to be around and see all of the Italians shopping for their fresh fruits, vegetables, and lots and lots of fish! Then we hopped on a gondola with a cute boy that showed us around Venice. He asked where we were from and all of my friends here are from California so he proceeded to sing Katy Perry's song "California Girls" as he rowed us around Venice.

Later that afternoon my friends and I went to the top of the bell tower and saw all of Venice. It is such a beautiful place and it is hard to believe people actually live there. My friends and I decided to do some shopping and go get a glass of wine. I don't know what was going on, but we walked into a restaurant where we were once again treated like royalty. We each just ordered a glass of wine and we got a free appetizer of Bruschetta, our own individual plates of mozzarella and bread, a free bottle of wine, and free bellini's. Not to mention they played a California playlist for us when they found out we were from California. We each payed four euros for all of this!

My weekend in Venice was such a fun one and a great way to learn how to travel through Europe. I highly recommend going there if you are in a group of 6 girls because you will be treated like Royalty!