On Friday, June 19, 2009, I headed over to South Kensington at 11:30 pm on Thursday and was able to get a few hours of sleep before waking up at 3:00 am to take a cab to the Victoria bus station. We arrived super early to the bus station and had to wait an hour. Finally though, our bus arrived and we were able to take another hour nap to Stansted airport. At the airport, we went through customs and got on our flight to Venice. The flight was a Ryanair flight - very cheap, but nothing is free - you have to purchase your drinks, your snacks etc. They are constantly selling foods, drinks, accessories, perfumes etc throughout the flight with all of the lights on. Although it was sometimes difficult to sleep because there were constant ads playing over the loudspeaker, I was able to get two hours of sleep. Venice is an hour ahead of London (so 6 hours ahead of Buffalo, NY) and we did loose an hour of sleep. Once we arrived to Venice, we got a bus and after waiting for our transfer bus, made it to our Hotel - Hotel Palladio. At first our room was not ready, but in a matter of a half an hour, we were able to go into our room. We all took an hour nap and then were ready to go. Our room was quite nice (with a badé and everything) however, the key was very heavy and we needed it plugged into the wall in order to have the air conditioning and electricity to work. We put most of our valuables in a safe and then headed toward Venice.
In Venice, we walked around for a bit. It was very hot - however the forecast said it would rain all weekend (but it only rained on Friday night when we were heading home). We had a delicious lunch - I had gnocchi. We then decided to head to Lido and the beach. We originally bo
ught passes for the water taxi and buses, however, no one checked our tickets, so we did not pay for the rest of our time in Venice. The bus system and taxi system however were very poor - not giving exact times when each departs and arrives, does not say when the last bus departs etc. However, we made it to Lido and were able to do some shopping. The taxi ride toward Lido was beautiful and I took many pictures. In Lido, I bought some Murano (Venetian glass) glass - the best glass in the world. I got some great deals and the lady selling us the glass was a typical Italian. We then headed toward the beach (I had to buy a bathing suit). The beach was quite nice, however there were some people naked. We went swimming for a bit in the ocean and then headed toward the showers (which we had to pay for) and got the salt water off. We then headed back to Venice.
ught passes for the water taxi and buses, however, no one checked our tickets, so we did not pay for the rest of our time in Venice. The bus system and taxi system however were very poor - not giving exact times when each departs and arrives, does not say when the last bus departs etc. However, we made it to Lido and were able to do some shopping. The taxi ride toward Lido was beautiful and I took many pictures. In Lido, I bought some Murano (Venetian glass) glass - the best glass in the world. I got some great deals and the lady selling us the glass was a typical Italian. We then headed toward the beach (I had to buy a bathing suit). The beach was quite nice, however there were some people naked. We went swimming for a bit in the ocean and then headed toward the showers (which we had to pay for) and got the salt water off. We then headed back to Venice.In Venice, we had some gelato and then attempted to get back to our hotel - however, we did get on the wrong bus, and took us a few hours to get back to our hotel, when it would have originally took us 30 minutes.
We all hit the beds right when we got to the hotel.
The next day, Saturday, June 20, 2009, we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast was not the best, but it was food. We then headed toward Venice again. The weather was a little c
ooler, so we walked around Venice and went shopping to various stores and stands. Venice is known for their masks, so we looked at many masks too. The language barrier was not that difficult - most times, everyone spoke English, but I was also able to understand much of the Italian and read most of it. However, speaking it for me was quite difficult. As we walked, we picked up some pizza and some Italian desserts. We finally made it to the Guggenheim Art Museum and were able to see some great art and gardens. We then headed toward St. Mark's Square, the largest square in Venice. We then headed toward Rialto Bridge - the famous bridge in Venice. On the way back to the bus station via the Water Taxi, we passed a station called Giglio. I took a few pictures of it. We then walked around Venice some more, had some gelato and headed home and got some pizza. We were going to go for a gondola ride, but it was quite expensive.
ooler, so we walked around Venice and went shopping to various stores and stands. Venice is known for their masks, so we looked at many masks too. The language barrier was not that difficult - most times, everyone spoke English, but I was also able to understand much of the Italian and read most of it. However, speaking it for me was quite difficult. As we walked, we picked up some pizza and some Italian desserts. We finally made it to the Guggenheim Art Museum and were able to see some great art and gardens. We then headed toward St. Mark's Square, the largest square in Venice. We then headed toward Rialto Bridge - the famous bridge in Venice. On the way back to the bus station via the Water Taxi, we passed a station called Giglio. I took a few pictures of it. We then walked around Venice some more, had some gelato and headed home and got some pizza. We were going to go for a gondola ride, but it was quite expensive. The last day, Sunday, June 21, 2009, we headed toward Venice again and just took a ni
ce easy day. We had a great meal, two courses, spaghetti and chicken, and just walked around and headed back to St. Mark's Square. We saw many people feeding pigeons too. We then took a bus back to Treviso airport. Our flight was delayed for a half hour, and then it took an hour and a half to go through the immigration line. We missed our first bus, but was able to take a second bus back to London. At the Victoria station, I took a cab back to my flat and went to bed.
ce easy day. We had a great meal, two courses, spaghetti and chicken, and just walked around and headed back to St. Mark's Square. We saw many people feeding pigeons too. We then took a bus back to Treviso airport. Our flight was delayed for a half hour, and then it took an hour and a half to go through the immigration line. We missed our first bus, but was able to take a second bus back to London. At the Victoria station, I took a cab back to my flat and went to bed.Venice was great! I took many pictures (1,036 pictures to be exact) so I have some great memories.
Ciao!
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