23 - 24 August 2013
Day 14: Getting to Venice
This wasn't the most straight forward task because we had to do something like this:
The island
Did you know that Venice is an island (technically 120-something islands)? I didn't. I knew it had the waterways but I guess I thought it was similar to Amsterdam. Anyway, we dumped our bags at our (crappy) hotel on the mainland and jumped on the train to go see the island.
Lunch
Our leader's boss, who lives in Venice, took us to a restaurant for lunch. The lady behind the counter wasn't particularly nice because I tried to order spaghetti and meatballs (sounds like a real dish, right?) but they don't have it so I had to get spaghetti and sauce then walk around to another counter and wait to be served by the same lady so I could get meatballs, WTF!?! I'd probably be less jaded if the food tasted good but it really didn't live up to my expectations of great Italian food.
Walking tour
After lunch the boss-man took us for a walk around to island to give us an orientation and a tour in one. We learnt some cool things like:
Dinner
The restaurant we ended up at for dinner was much better than the lunch episode and the lasagna I ordered was so nice I could've eaten a few more plates. They also served beer in 1L steins, which was a first for me, so we had a pretty merry time there. We also finished dinner off with some of the local firewater called Grappa, which when served cold, is actually surprisingly drinkable and smooth. After dinner my beer buddy and I grabbed a few beers for the road and slowly made our way back through the maze of streets to catch a train home.
Day 15: Last day
I woke up with a well earned hangover and bleeding leg that was stuck to the sheets (a cut from Australia Day felt like bleeding again). Today was a low point for me because I didn't have anything planned after the tour plus the group was separating. The salt in the wound was the fact that I had to pay to use the internet at this shit hotel and it was so slow it didn't even work. In any case, after a few hours of swearing under my breath at this evil building and it's terrible WiFi, I found a hostel that was in walking distance and not too expensive so that's where I headed.
New hostel
The new hostel wasn't anything special but it was quiet, had a supermarket close by and had a really good internet connection. So after I stocked up on food from the supermarket I sat down and bashed out 3 blog posts before collapsing into bed for a huge sleep.
Day 14: Getting to Venice
This wasn't the most straight forward task because we had to do something like this:
Bus -> Train -> Walk -> Bus -> TrainWe had to get a bus to the station in Bled, then get off at the edge of Slovenia, walk across the border, catch a bus across town then catch a train to Venice. There's no border control anymore because both countries are in the EU but there isn't a direct train line either.
The island
Did you know that Venice is an island (technically 120-something islands)? I didn't. I knew it had the waterways but I guess I thought it was similar to Amsterdam. Anyway, we dumped our bags at our (crappy) hotel on the mainland and jumped on the train to go see the island.
Lunch
Our leader's boss, who lives in Venice, took us to a restaurant for lunch. The lady behind the counter wasn't particularly nice because I tried to order spaghetti and meatballs (sounds like a real dish, right?) but they don't have it so I had to get spaghetti and sauce then walk around to another counter and wait to be served by the same lady so I could get meatballs, WTF!?! I'd probably be less jaded if the food tasted good but it really didn't live up to my expectations of great Italian food.
Walking tour
After lunch the boss-man took us for a walk around to island to give us an orientation and a tour in one. We learnt some cool things like:
- Technically Venice is a whole bunch of small islands connected by bridges and some have been joined together so there's some argument over the exact number of islands
- What we know as Venice now isn't where Venice has always been. In the past another area close by was called Venice
- Current day Venice is built on a swamp and consequently sinking
- There are no cars on the island so everything is moved with hand carts and trolleys
- The island floods about 100 times a year due to tide movements
Dinner
The restaurant we ended up at for dinner was much better than the lunch episode and the lasagna I ordered was so nice I could've eaten a few more plates. They also served beer in 1L steins, which was a first for me, so we had a pretty merry time there. We also finished dinner off with some of the local firewater called Grappa, which when served cold, is actually surprisingly drinkable and smooth. After dinner my beer buddy and I grabbed a few beers for the road and slowly made our way back through the maze of streets to catch a train home.
Day 15: Last day
I woke up with a well earned hangover and bleeding leg that was stuck to the sheets (a cut from Australia Day felt like bleeding again). Today was a low point for me because I didn't have anything planned after the tour plus the group was separating. The salt in the wound was the fact that I had to pay to use the internet at this shit hotel and it was so slow it didn't even work. In any case, after a few hours of swearing under my breath at this evil building and it's terrible WiFi, I found a hostel that was in walking distance and not too expensive so that's where I headed.
New hostel
The new hostel wasn't anything special but it was quiet, had a supermarket close by and had a really good internet connection. So after I stocked up on food from the supermarket I sat down and bashed out 3 blog posts before collapsing into bed for a huge sleep.
Thoughts on Venice
- I know it's to be expected but Venice is super expensive and touristy
- It was busy when we were there although we did manage to find really quiet areas once we moved away from the train station. Apparently it gets much worse in peak season.
- I really hated that shit hotel. I'm not a fan of hotels anyway (I prefer hostels) but this one really pissed me off.
- Since I've left Venice I've felt like it was the only place that I didn't really like but now that I've worked through things by writing this blog I realise that Venice isn't too bad but what I hated was that hotel and the first restaurant for lunch.
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| Enjoying Grappa after dinner |
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| The Italian-Slovenian border |
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| My first 1L stein with my beer buddy |
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| A pub with cool decorations on the ceiling |
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| The view from the bridge out the front of the train station (Ponte degli Scalzi) |
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| Steam punk Venetian masks |
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| Me and a Kiwi friend on some bridge in Venice |
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