I don't have enough words to describe how much I loved this City. Out of the 6 Cities that we visited, Venice was my favorite. I had to do some emergency shopping at Benetton. The 2 jeans that I brought for the trip broke. They didn't really break, the fabric just got so thin in between the legs that had 2 big holes in my inner thighs. I bought 2 pants that saved me the rest of the trip plus I love Benetton and what better than buying it in Italy.
In Venice, I had the best pasta that I've had in my life. We walked outside of the tourist area and were starving. We saw 2 gondoliers walking towards a trattoria and that is where we went in. We had a bottle of white wine with lunch and we also bought a liter of white wine at a local enoteca for €3. We did not go in the gondola because it was €80 per person. I was ready to pay for my 80 euros but my boyfriend did not want to and what was the point of going by myself. I should have tried harder to convince him.
The line to go to the Basilica di San Marco was too long for the few hours that we were in Venice. Next time I will make sure that we go inside. I've heard the floor is made of glass and that will some day sink. I will go back to Venice for my gondola ride and I will make the gondolier sing for me. We did not see the pointe dei sospiri or the bridge of sights. I still don't know where it is.
During the whole time in Venice I was singing this song. I was so happy to be in Venice and discover that it was so beautiful. I knew that I had to go some day but it was never at the top of my list of places to visit. I love surprises like that. I expected a lot of Paris and I was not disappointed but I was not surprised.
This was a popular song in the 80's. I never saw Hombres G live but I would go anywhere to see them. I was a big fan when I was 7 and I still am. The song really starts at minute 1:26. The rest is just a cheesy introduction.
At the ponte Rialto
Grand Canal
The best home made wine
Piazza San Marco
Basilica di San Marco
Taxi
This is where we had lunch
We followed these gondoliers to find a good local place for lunch
My lunch
Very happy after having Spaghetti, wine, coffee, and Tiramisu
My 2 new friends :)
We returned to Rome that night. The plan was to go to the Fontana de Trevi to see it at night but, I was VERY hangover from the wine. We later heard that we were supposed to toss a coin in the Fontana de Trevi to return to Rome. I will return to Rome and will toss many coins to go back to Italy again and again.
This morning we returned to the Colosseum. We only had a few hours to do this. We had a flight to Venice that afternoon. Luckily, we had the ticket from the day before. The line to get the tickets was very long!!! if you can buy the ticket online or go to the Palatine line which is shorter and buy the 2-day ticket to see the Forum, Palatine and Colosseum. Inside the Colosseum there is a museum of the history of gladiators and the Roman empire.
Gladiator outside the Colosseum
After the Colosseum, we went to the Palatine ruins. It was a little hard to imagine how it looked in the empire times. Some of the ruins are very well preserved but other are just small pieces. It was very moving to be in the same place as the Romans. I always loved history and I could hear my 6th grade teacher telling us the stories of the Romans... I wish I had been paying more attention to the class!!!
Above the Forum (that we saw the day before)
Roman Forum from the Palatine
After our half day in Rome we were on our way to Venice. This short trip came up last minute when we were deciding what to do in Rome. We thought about going to Pompeii for a day trip but the flights to Venice were so cheap that we decided to go for 24 hours. We only took a backpack and left our bags in the hotel in Rome. Our hotel in Venice was the most expensive of the whole trip and the oldest of all. When we arrived to Venice we got lost for a while looking for the hotel. There were 3 other hotels in the area with the same name and every time we asked for direction we were sent to the wrong hotel. We finally found it. After getting our room we walked to find a place for dinner. We had pizza! It was great! It sounds simple but pizza is probably my favorite food. I love bread and cheese and when the italians combine it is just perfect.
More gelato!!! I love italians for inventing some of my favorite foods
We walked for a while and had to buy sweaters. We were expecting warmer weather like the one in Rome but it was a little cold. I also saw one of the funniest things I've ever seen: a condom's vending machine. I guess italians always think of everything.
