When my little sister decided she was going to study abroad in Italy for a semester, my older sister and I immediately started planning a trip to visit her. My sister was living in Viterbo, a small city a few hours outside of Rome. Rome was at the top of my list of places to go. The Colloseum, The Trevi Fountain and The Vatican were must-sees. Also on the list? A gondola ride in Venice, shopping in Florence, and hiking through the hills of beautiful Cinque Terre on the coast. We had one week and four cities to explore. My sister booked hotels in each city, I bought tickets to The Vatician and The Colosseum, and my best friend came along for our adventure. The three of us boarded a plane the day after my birthday and braced ourselves for all of the pasta, pizza and gelato we could handle. About 20 hours later, we found ourselves in "The Floating City" of Venice, Italy.
After arriving at the small airport near Venice, we dragged our luggage outside and saw water. Lots of water. We stepped on a water taxi and huddled together for warmth, Italy was colder than we expected. The water taxi stopped at different ports every 10 minutes or so to let people off. It was amazing to see that the waterways literally went through the city. The small towns and buildings looked like they were floating on top of the water. We got off at San Marco Square, snapped a few pictures to remember our inital view of the city, then off we went wheeling our 50 lb suitcases up and over the canal bridges, down the cobblestone streets looking for our hotel. Just went I felt that my legs and arms would give out, my little sister, who I hadn't seen in 3 months, appeared out of nowhere and yelled "Ciao!" I was so excited to see her! She led us to our hotel, an adorable little place with a friendly Italian owner who was more than happy to suggest places to eat and things to see while we were there. We checked into the hotel, freshened up and set out to explore the beautiful city of Venice.
The cobblestone streets, the pastry shops, the canals filled with colorful gondolas, it seemed straight out of a movie. We had no idea where we were going, but we wandered off in this direction then that direction, stopping to browse through shops and smell fresh pastries. We ducked into a little cafe' to grab some hot chocolate and a snack. We quickly figured out that there were no such things as "to go" cups or boxes. The way Italians live is completely different from the fast-paced life in America. There are no drive-thrus, no take-out, no fast food. Italians take their time and enjoy life. Little cafe's were filled with people drinking coffee, laughing and enjoying their lunch, something very different than seeing a packed Starbucks drive-thru and people checking their watches while waiting in line, always in a hurry to get from point A to point B. With two days in Venice, we took the first opportunity we got for a gondola ride. A tall, thin Italian man with a pearly white smile dressed in a striped shirt and dress pants helped us onto the long gondola filled with colorful pillows. He pushed off from the dock and away we went, peacefully drifing through the waterways in the city. A gondola ride in Venice is something that should be on everyone's bucket list. It was one of the most peaceful and serene things I have ever done. Looking up at the city from the water was a whole new experience. We smiled and waved at other gondolas as they passed us, and it felt amazing to be in Italy, in the beautiful city of Venice.
For dinner the first night we found a small, cozy restaurant. We had bread dipped in olive oil and we each ordered different pasta dishes for dinner. Needless to say, it was delicious. I found that the food in Italy, no matter what it was, always tasted so fresh, something that's often hard to find in the States. Exhausted and jet-lagged, we headed back to the hotel after dinner to get some sleep for our second day in Venice.
After arriving at the small airport near Venice, we dragged our luggage outside and saw water. Lots of water. We stepped on a water taxi and huddled together for warmth, Italy was colder than we expected. The water taxi stopped at different ports every 10 minutes or so to let people off. It was amazing to see that the waterways literally went through the city. The small towns and buildings looked like they were floating on top of the water. We got off at San Marco Square, snapped a few pictures to remember our inital view of the city, then off we went wheeling our 50 lb suitcases up and over the canal bridges, down the cobblestone streets looking for our hotel. Just went I felt that my legs and arms would give out, my little sister, who I hadn't seen in 3 months, appeared out of nowhere and yelled "Ciao!" I was so excited to see her! She led us to our hotel, an adorable little place with a friendly Italian owner who was more than happy to suggest places to eat and things to see while we were there. We checked into the hotel, freshened up and set out to explore the beautiful city of Venice.
The cobblestone streets, the pastry shops, the canals filled with colorful gondolas, it seemed straight out of a movie. We had no idea where we were going, but we wandered off in this direction then that direction, stopping to browse through shops and smell fresh pastries. We ducked into a little cafe' to grab some hot chocolate and a snack. We quickly figured out that there were no such things as "to go" cups or boxes. The way Italians live is completely different from the fast-paced life in America. There are no drive-thrus, no take-out, no fast food. Italians take their time and enjoy life. Little cafe's were filled with people drinking coffee, laughing and enjoying their lunch, something very different than seeing a packed Starbucks drive-thru and people checking their watches while waiting in line, always in a hurry to get from point A to point B. With two days in Venice, we took the first opportunity we got for a gondola ride. A tall, thin Italian man with a pearly white smile dressed in a striped shirt and dress pants helped us onto the long gondola filled with colorful pillows. He pushed off from the dock and away we went, peacefully drifing through the waterways in the city. A gondola ride in Venice is something that should be on everyone's bucket list. It was one of the most peaceful and serene things I have ever done. Looking up at the city from the water was a whole new experience. We smiled and waved at other gondolas as they passed us, and it felt amazing to be in Italy, in the beautiful city of Venice.
For dinner the first night we found a small, cozy restaurant. We had bread dipped in olive oil and we each ordered different pasta dishes for dinner. Needless to say, it was delicious. I found that the food in Italy, no matter what it was, always tasted so fresh, something that's often hard to find in the States. Exhausted and jet-lagged, we headed back to the hotel after dinner to get some sleep for our second day in Venice.