Vacation Pt. 3 (Also known as "You want to go to Lido?")

Venice!

So this lovely part of the vacation started with exciting happy panic time. We had the moment with getting on the train to reach the other station. Here's what this other station looked like:

 

Lovely sanctioned graffiti type art. Pretty interesting stuff. So then we got on the train and we were on the train for forever. Got off the train and it was completely dark outside. Tried to sniff out the tourist/information booth but that was closed. They did not have any maps either. There was a McDonalds though so I walked in to ask the cash register if they knew anything. I told her we needed to get to Lido and showed her the booking print out for our hotel. Her reaction: "You want to get to Lido? You have to use a waterboat for that! And those are in Venice." We tried to explain that we thought we were in Venice, and to ask how we got to the right part, but her English wasn't that advanced. We got that we needed to take ANOTHER train to reach a different station to find the water taxis that would take us to Lido. Which is an island in the vicinity of Venice. If you search Venice hotels and such, all the hotels on the adjacent islands will come out. So if ever you venture that direction, just keep in mind that possibility.

Now that we had this new problem we had to find another source of information. We searched for a station guard but there were none to be seen. There was a large crowd of people around a folk band having an impromptu concert so that was interesting but we didn't think any of them would be able to help us. We ended up walking around the back and finding some taxi drivers. Went up to one of them and asked if he knew specifics on how to get to Lido. Again

"You want to get to Lido? You're going to need to reach the water taxis for that."

Yes we know that. We knew that from the beginning. How do we get to those.

So he told us that we needed to get back on the train and go down to the next stop and we would be at the right station.

There was a kiosk in the station for tickets so we went to that, but there were five or so stations with the name of Venice plus something else. Finally I saw an official looking train man so I ran him down and nearly ploughed into some police officers. He was able to tell us the exact name for the station we needed, Santa Luccia. In the meantime Rachael got to help a nice British gentleman figure out the automatic ticket kiosk. We got our new tickets which thankfully were only a couple of euro a piece.

Finally we arrive in the correct station!

The ticket office for the water taxis is closed. Insert hair tearing out panic mode.

But we continue on through the station hoping that somehow they will still be running and we can buy some onboard. We discover another office outside right by the docks. A ticket was 7 euro one way, so that sucked in the long run with venturing to and from Venice and Lido. But we were happy to be on our way and we were hoping that the other Katie, whom we were meeting up with here hadn't filed a missing persons report.

We land on the island.

We cannot find a map.

 

We wander again, because what else could we do, and at the very end of the long station along the water, there is a map of the island. We are able to find the street we need but we don't know where it is along the street. So we walk. We find the road soon enough. We walk some more.

And some more.

And some more.

Finally as the final fit of desperation that probably would have broken us begins to set in, we reach the end of the street and the hotel.

 

It was a beautiful reunion and Katie was thrilled to see us alive and together.

 

 

This is Lido, the island we stayed on. Beautiful water, but too cold for toe dipping!

The rest of Venice was not nearly so traumatic luckily. We wandered a bit, because that's what we do. The city was beautiful with little channels all throughout the city and nearly everyone had a boat. Lido was a residential island so it was quiet and peaceful. Gelati happened quite often which shouldn't surprise anyone at this point, and we found breakfast at the grocery store nearby. In the actual city of Venice we found glass shops everywhere! Another nearby island called Murano specializes in making glass everything. Rachael and I were repeatedly drawn into the shops for the whole time we stayed there. This was also our last chance to buy leather goods because our plan to do a day trip to Milan fell through, for the same reason as Pompeii. And they said trains were cheap here....sigh...

 

But we were able to find leather shoe stores literally at the last possible moment, the night before our departure. We all managed to find a soulshoe though and we were so pleased! They are beautiful examples of leather working and I'm excited to bring them home so I can treat them and wear them ALL THE TIME! I had to wear them through the airport to the next leg of the journey and the whole time I wore them, they were completely comfortable and my feet never started to hurt. And they're brand new!!!

 

We also got really tasty pasta food but unfortunately Venice was even worse than Florence and they literally charged for water, for a cover charge, and for the service. At one point, we stopped for lunch at a pizzeria and I wasn't really hungry, so Rachael and Katie were going to order one each (they're not as big as the states, so they can be feasibly eaten by one person) and I was going to steal a bite or two. But as soon as we stated that we wanted two pizzas and that I wouldn't be getting anything, he told us that I had to order something or there would be an extra charge on the pizzas to share them. I think he noticed that all of our faces had turned to death stares so he took a step back and said "Don't be angry at me, I didn't make the rules." Yes, we literally had that moment. We were thoroughly fed up at that point, so we just got up and left. Found a food stand somewhere that satisfied us for cheaper than the other place would have.

 

We found a gallery to visit and that was an interesting selection of art pieces. Some second hand Renaissance paintings and then some really contemporary works and a room devoted to Jewish relics. We saw the outsides of some churches and basilicas but they charged to go in. And we went by the big museum there with Da Vinci sketches, but that was really expensive too. And in Rachael's words "When you can get into the Louvre for free, paying that much for a museum is just kind of ridiculous."

 

Pigeons taking a bath in part of a statue/monument

Mural in one of the back alleys of Venice

 

 So we shopped. A lot. I'm pretty sure Christmas is taken care of for all of our people. We also found a really great tea place with delicious little pastries and that served as a pick me up from all of the disappointment that was sightseeing floppage.

 

Voyaging from Lido to Venice

 

 

Also a fun moment with the owner of the hotel: I bought a small thing of toothpaste in Florence because Rachael had run out of her to-go bottle. But the top of it was sealed and we had no sharp thing to open it. So one morning we took the tube to the front desk and asked if he had some scissors that he could use to open it with, and he did. They did not work so he told us we could use a knife from the breakfast room to cut it open. But before we get very far he calls us back and says he has something that would work. Then he proceeds to open one of the desk drawers and pulls out a mini-saw. I think we were all like, "what the heck, where did he find that?"

But it did the trick. He looks at us then very intently and says "You have to throw that first bit out, yeah? It's no good."

So that was a beautiful moment, and the city was also very beautiful to walk through.

Of course at this point, we're all starting to feel the pinch of the constant travel and our clothes thoroughly smelled of suitcase. But the last leg was up and we mustered up some more energy. To Barcelona!

 

The last voyage from Lido to Venice. Lovely sight right, some kind of church literally right at the water's edge. Now look to the left....

 

 

I forgot to mention the first go around: So also on our last night, after all of the boot shopping we didn't know what to do with ourselves. It was still a little early for dinner, but all of the activity places were closing down. We decided to go back to the plaza by the canal and hang out, do some people watching, have a bit of a sit break. And in that period of time, a man came up to me with a bouquet of roses and tried to sell me one by sticking one between my thighs--I kept saying "no merci" and refusing to make eye contact until he walked away. We were all kind of like wtf after that moment, but then, not even 15 minutes after that incident, one of the light up flying sling toys that sales people were demonstrating hit me in the face. Right while I was talking. The man trotted over and apologized profusely while backing away until he was pretty much on the other side of the square.

I love salespeople. They really know how to charm their targets...

At least I was with people I could laugh with about the whole thing. And this isn't the only time this happens unbelievably. More in the next post!