When We Went to Europe: Day Two - Venice, Italy

Jet lag finally hit us that night, as we turned in to get some sleep. It was also weird without a fan or AC to keep us cold. We opened the window on the ceiling, till it was too cold, and we had to close it again. We got used to the stuffy feel and managed to get some sleep. Welcome to Europe, indeed.

We woke up late and rushed to a nearby SPAR supermarket (called De Spar) to get some vegetarian supplies. That was probably the best decision in our entire trip. We would keep going to supermarkets whenever we needed a quick bite, or a complete meal. We got enough egg-less mayo, ketchup, salsa and bread to last us a while. After cramming in a quick breakfast, we headed out and took the bus into the island which was a twenty minute comfortable ride. Most countries in Europe do not have bus conductors checking your ticket when you board. There is a machine on the bus where the ticket has to inserted and validated. If you were every caught on a bus without a ticket, consider yourself bankrupt.

Typical touristy picture on one of Venice's multiple bridges.

Venice was a cool 11 deg C when we got off the bus. We didn't have a map, so decided to wander around. Fortunately, my Vodafone sim was activated so we had a backup plan (What else, but Google Maps!) in case we got lost.  We wandered around the island carefree. there was no rain, but a very slight drizzle that worried us now and then. The first gelato we had was just a little more than 2 EUR each. It tasted like heaven. Anybody who thinks the gelato is the same as an ice cream needs to have a proper gelato. It's milkier, the taste is more true. It doesn't feel even a bit artificial - almost like a chocolate bar was molten and place strategically on a cone.

One of Venice's beautiful churches where we sat to catch our breath.

Vegetarian lunch was hard enough to get as we walked around. As we went searching for a proper veg place, we notice that the lanes were extremely narrow, and thankfully, we were there in the off season. I can't imagine how crowded it would be when the summer finally comes to the island. Most of the buildings were ages old. By ages, I mean atleast a hundred years old. The island seemed to function as if on auto pilot. The streets and bylanes were clean, but didnt have one sweeper on the road. There was a slight drizzle, but no puddles. It was almost too good to be true.

Using a 1 EUR telescope, trying to spot birds on the clear Adriatic Sea.

The canals were sparkling neat too, and what again amazed me was the clear smell in the air. No fish smell. This mattered a lot to the pure vegetarian in me. Any smell other than the sambar and rasam at home was a turn off. We took the customary touristy pictures on the canal, and got lost a lot of times as we walked the 8+ km around the island. I was surprised my parents weren't tired considering both of them were 50+. But I think that is what a beautiful place does to you. Makes you do things you wouldn't even have thought possible elsewhere.

Piazza San Marco, or St Mark's Square was the lowest lying plain on the island. We were relieved to see the water had drained by the time we visited.

We managed to grab some pizzas at a roadside shop. The sliced pizzas are especially cheap in Italy. We were well and truly lost post lunch, and decided we needed proper directions if we wanted to get anywhere close to the central bus stand. Google Maps did help me out as the rain got heavier. We needed to get to the Hotel by 6 PM in order to get our stuff and rush to Venice Maestre, the central railway station on the island, for our train to Florence. The hotel reception was nice enough to let us keep our bags and stuff in the store till the evening. But we had to get back fast in order to make it to our train at 7 PM.

A candid by Sister mine, as I sped through the various lanes, trying to find the right one.

We were lucky enough to get to the Hotel, and Station on time. Between reaching the station and catching our Train Italo to Florence, I managed to lose my parents, got the wrong platform number, and even almost missed our train. But thanks to Italo being inefficient, and giving us a couple of minutes thanks to its delay, we got our act together and got into the train.

We were the only folks in our compartment. I had never seen an empty inter city train before in my life. The ticket conductor came and got our tickets checked. We managed to get some sleep, but the 2.5 hour journey to Florence was uneventful otherwise. It was late night when we got out of the train and into the Santa Maria Novella station in Florence. The hotel was a five minute walk, and we were greeted by a warm Colombian who showed us our room. We were almost going to turn in for the night when the thought struck that we hadn't eaten our dinner. For a normal family, that would not mean much. But we worshiped food. Not having dinner was sacrilegious.

I was sent on one final errand for the night. All the nearby shops were closed. A small supermarket seemed to have it lights on. The Chinese owners spotted me peeking in to find if it was open, and ushered me in, fearing I would ransack the place otherwise. They were just wrapping up for the night, counting the till and closing the doors. I quickly got some milk, bananas and chips for the night and made my way to my hotel after thanking the Chinese proficiently for their kindness.

In the hotel room, I was greeted with dirty looks as I gave them bananas and milk for dinner. It was 11 30 PM in Florence and the city was already asleep. That night, as my mom slept, she had finally seen Venice, a city she thought she would never have the privilege of visiting. I don't know who was happier that night in Florence - my mom, or me.