I cannot think of a better way to spend my birthday than to travel to Venice, Italy for the weekend (woo, 23!). Lucky for me, the rain kept many of the tourists away from the main island on Friday and Sunday, and the sun kept me warm as I boated around to the other islands on Saturday.
My alarm woke me up bright and early on Friday – 4:30AM. I needed to catch the train that would take me to the bus station in Klagenfurt. Rain began to fall as soon as I reached the cover of the station. The bus drove toward Italy, winding through beautiful mountains and quaint villages, into tunnels and through the rain. For the first time since I landed in Austria, I listened to music on the way. There is something about listening to your playlists in a different country that really transports you. At home, the music is the same. But in this new place, I was reminded of what it felt like and where I was when I first heard these songs back in the United States. Now, I am building new memories surrounding them.
I got off the bus at the Mestre station, where a CS’er named Luca met me to show me around the city. We walked to another bus nearby. As it pulled up, he asked, “So, do you want to pay or try to risk it with me?” Apparently, Italians never check to make sure you have a ticket, so Luca boards the bus without one every time. I shrugged and said I guess I would risk it, and we successfully arrived at the main island without consequence.
Luca was kind enough to show me all the main places on the island, stopping along the way to try free samples of chocolate and crème liquor. We walked over bridge after bridge as the rain began to pour around us, dispersing the thousands of tourists that clogged Venice’s thin alleyways. We made our way through an interesting, colorful art gallery that showcased Tobia Ravà’s work, and then took a brief turn through one of the dullest ancient art museums. We both agreed that was enough museum for one day, even though we only spent about 25 minutes there.
We also stopped in one of the fanciest malls I have ever seen. Singular items like shoes and purses were spaced around wide, pompous rooms without a price tag. I assumed that meant everything was $$$. The most bizarre part was that the theme of the mall was . . . floating hands? It is not sufficient just to describe what that looked like, so here is a photo:
We saw so many sights in one day, even with the rain! I loved the contrast of everyone's colorful ponchos and umbrellas against the Italian architecture.
We then took the bus back and drove to Jesolo, which is known by the locals for its clubs. Unfortunately, the rain had also kept the crowd away from this area, and not much was there. So, we drove back, said goodbye, and I booked a stay at the Wombat’s Hostel in Mestre. That night, I met several other women in my room who were also young travelers. One Australian was on a 7-month backpacking trip across the world. Others were on their holidays from work. It was refreshing to be surrounded by so many other women who were also traveling and wanted to meet new people.
The next morning, I decided to buy breakfast at the hostel for the sole purpose of trying to meet other people who might want to explore Venice with me. I spoke to the two women at my table, but neither of them took me up on my offer. Then, I found another girl sitting alone and asked again, “Are you going around Venice today? Would you like to explore it together?” She smiled and said she had a group already, and that I was welcome to join.
Her name was Kash, and she then introduced me to Abby and several other girls who were all exchange students in Verona, Italy.
Kash, Abby, and I took the train to Venice, shopped around, peeked around corners for good blogging and photography ops, and then took a boat to Burano. We hopped on the boat, ready to see some colorful buildings, but as soon as we sat down we started to wonder: where were we supposed to buy our boat ticket? Were we supposed to buy it off the boat? We scanned the crowd, which was full of people holding tickets, then looked at each other with wide eyes as the water bus started to pull away from the dock. Whoops, too late now. Luckily, the whole Italy-does-not-check-tickets trend succeeded yet again, and we made it to Burano.
Burano is famous for being one of the most colorful islands in the world. No two adjacent houses had the same color paint on their walls. Tourists milled around, snapping photos in front of pink and yellow houses, eating gelato that was melting in the warm sun. The three of us turned into back alleys to escape the crowd and happened upon an empty street lined with bright, neon hues. Kash matched the mood and started to sing, “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore. . .” I twirled around in the street as she started to play the tune off her phone. Needless to say, Dean Martin’s classic hit was stuck in our heads for the rest of the day.
Once we arrived at Lido, the three of us lugged our backpacks along the sandy beach, bending over to collect seashells. Kash went all in and put her feet in the water (later regretting having wet sandals), whereas Abby and I just put our fingers in so we could say that we touched the Adriatic Sea. There was a movie festival going on further down the island where they were hoping to see some famous people, but at that point, our backs were aching and feet heavy, so we decided to depart.
Back on the main island, we meandered through the winding alleys and over bridges to a restaurant where I had my birthday dinner (it was so good, of course). As the rain clouds started to pull in once more and darkness covered Venice, they walked me to where I was going to meet my CS host, Chen.
Chen had just come from Lido, where people were having a march against climate change in the middle of the music festival. He explained how the timing was ideal, since many people, including famous ones, were there for the festival and could see the protest. I said goodbye to the girls (see you in Verona sometime soon!) and Chen and I bussed back to his apartment. We talked for hours about life, ideas and projects, and our philosophies at his kitchen table before I went to sleep on the pull-out couch.
I woke up on Sunday to the sound of rain, and as soon as Chen woke we trudged through puddles to a coffee shop, then to a sushi place, and then back to the main station where I was supposed to catch my ride back home. My bus app did not tell me where the bus would arrive, only the street name, and Chen and I ran back and forth trying to find it. We went inside the train station, where Chen asked three different people where the intercity bus would stop. Two said no, it does not stop here, but the last one finally pointed us in the right direction. Chen and I sprinted toward the bus, rain pouring around us, and I made it on board with three minutes to spare.
I had an amazing weekend in Venice thanks to all the new people I met. I want to thank Luca for giving me a tour even though it was pouring rain and quite cold, Kash and Abby for a fun day full of laughter, pictures, and good food, and Chen for incredible conversation and helping me locate my bus. Venice was a dream, both rain and shine.
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