We woke up on the train in our tiny, not even twin size beds, to find that we were in Italy and nearing Venice. We thought it would behoove us to know where we were going to stay in Venice so we looked at our travel documents. It turns out we weren't staying in Venice at all, we had a hotel booked in Mestre, whatever that is. We asked the train guy and he said the train would be stopping at the Mestre station before heading on to Venice, phew. We got off at the Mestre station and tried to find our way to our hotel. It was a bit of a mess because we didn't have a map or anything, and Jason didn't want to get a cab. A nice Australian couple that we met on the train and had stayed in the same car as us helped us out while we were struggling to find out where to go. Eventually we took the bus to the stop before where we were supposed to get off, and did quite a bit of walking with all our baggage to finally make it to our hotel. Jason had already decided he didn't like Venice very much. Poor Venice, we weren't even there yet, we were still on the mainland, and Jason was already giving it a hard time. The important thing was that God kept us safe, and we were together, plus we even made some new friends.
After we got cleaned up at our hotel, we asked the concierge how to get to Venice. A bus stop was close to our hotel and would take us right to Venice. So we got a one-way bus pass from the hotel, we would have to get a 3-day pass later from a tobacco shop, and bought a Nestea lemon flavored iced tea for the bus ride. The iced tea was delicious and that was to become my new drink of choice in Italy, since Fanta tastes funny in Italy. The iced tea was amazing though, it definitely doesn't taste that good in the states, in fact, I don't even like iced tea.
When we got to Venice we were taken aback. It really is like a fairytale or something. No roads, no cars or motorcycles, just narrow walkways and lots of canals full of boats. Since we hadn't eaten anything but cookies and fruit, we decided to find a place to eat. It didn't take us long to find a place that had good food. We got spaghetti carbonara and chicken. I got another Nestea, and Jason had a Coke. The good was amazing.
Frommer's told us to get lost in Venice and then you would discover its true flavor and depth. So, we didn't ask for directions or look at our map, we just walked around. We eventually found a place to buy our Museum Pass and Bus Pass and even though everyone we asked said there were no ATMs or that they hadn't heard of them, we found one.
We found a mask shop and got some really pretty Venetian masks that are a pair. They are crimson and black and have music notes on them. I liked them so much that I was convinced I would not find a pair that I liked better and we had better get them right now. I was right, I didn't find any I liked better.
We continued on to Piazza San Marco, which is huge, after we saw a few cathedrals on the way, and we visited the Correr Museum where we bought a guidebook because no pictures were allowed.
After taking a short waterbus ride, we walked around to find a place to have dinner. We ended up eating at a pizzeria where we ordered swordfish, spaghetti ragu, and a ham and mushroom pizza. It was the first time either of us had swordfish and it was pretty good. It is very fishy tasting though, so you have to be in the mood for that. The spaghetti and pizza were also good, but not as amazing as they should be when we are in Italy. When we finished dinner we hopped the bus back to our hotel. It was a long, but good first day in Italy.
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