Scary Rome to Charming Venice...

Today started off a little scary. First as I was sleeping (or trying to in the intense humidity) my roomie came in. I had one after all, but only one. Not so bad, but I now felt bad about getting up and shuffling about come 3:00AM when my alarm was set. I dozed back off hearing him mumble and snore all through the night. C'est la vie. It IS a hostel and boy did I find out about that one this morning. I got up and was ready to go for when my cab was supposed to be there at 4:00AM. I went to go out, but the reception was locked. Was I locked in? How was I going to get out? Minor panic, but I just left my bags while I investigated. There was no need lugging those around while I wandered the halls. Ha! I found an opening. Okay, I was out into the parking lot and popped a squat. The wind was blowing fiercely and the trees were rustling like mad. The sun hadn't come up and I'm surrounded by barracks and cornfields and this creepy warehouse type building down the road in the darkness with candles glowing in the windows. I look around and notice the iron gate was shut and bolted. I hope they left the door for me. I checked and wha-la. It was open. Now I was on the outside of the compound and the creepiness factor increased 10 fold. Trees right next to me just being blown by the wind and covering the lamp post shining light onto me and the letters on the gate which read "Ostello Casale del Monaci" where some letters had fallen off their hinges and were crooked. Since this was inevitably creepy and getting creepier by the moment with the random cats wandering the fields, I decided to try and take a picture of this funny sign to remember this moment and how stranded I felt. Finally 4:00AM rolls around. No phone call. No cab. I would be able to tell if a cab was coming down the road at least 10 minutes ahead of time because of the moving lights that's how dark it was. I waited until 4:15AM. I know I told the front desk clerk to order one for 4:00AM. Well, I figured this was a challenge and since I had about 3 hours and the airport was near, I'd walk. I walked down the dark road to the main street passing the weird warehouse with the candles in it. I waited a few, looked around, and then decided to walk in the direction of the airport with no idea where it was. Finally, the phone rang. SAVED!! It was the cab company saying the cab would arrive in 10 minutes and it was 4:20AM. Okay. I passed 2 creepy stray dogs and made my way back to the entrance to the hostel. I wasn't about to re-walk that dark road past the warehouse, so I just waited at the intersection. A car came 10 minutes later, but not a cab. Just residential. It was now 4:40AM and I was wondering where the cab was. The call came in blocked and the stupid stubborn Italian front desk clerk said they'd take care of the cab and wouldn't give me the phone number. The one they did give me didn't work from my cell. I waited for a bit and then pulled out my "Let's Go" travel book to see if there was anything about being stranded in Ciampino on a dark humid morning with no phone numbers, lol. No I was looking to see what the country code was so I could try information or the cab company again. Another car pulls up. In desperation I asked the guy if he could take me to the airport and just as I was doing that the cab pulled up. Hallelujah!!! Lesson: Never book a remote hostel with no front desk or transportation service when you book an AM flight or don't book an AM flight period. I should've just stayed in central Rome anyway. Cabbie took me to the airport, but upon getting in I noticed the fare was already €20. Hmmm. Maybe I was reading it wrong, but the price kept increasing and he got lost at one point. We finally get to the airport and I realized without the cab, I would've never found the airport. Whew!! Someone was watching over me, but for a price. I tried to fight the cabbie on the price, but I guess the simple fact is that here if you order a cab to get you, the meter starts when the cab leaves the station. Bullshit is what I have to say to that, but the cabbie knew very little English and I knew no Italian and I was losing time to check in. I was there and I needed to go. I gave him my card and he screwed me with €35. Yikes!!

The flight was fine and I landed in Treviso Airport, which is about 50 minutes from central Venice. There was a shuttle waiting that took you there for €5. I slept most of the way as we drove through the countryside. We arrived at Piazza Roma and here it was. Venice and a gorgeous day to start. This truly is THE city of canals. I have been in cities with canals, but none like this one. Every corner is a beautiful moment. Flowers in the windows, beautiful architecture, and just plain ancient things. The city is sinking and you could tell since some of the houses are a bit underwater. This morning as I arrived I went to the train station to get my ticket to Prague. I'm all set for tomorrow for an overnight train to Prague. My first overnight train ever. The return will be just in time for me to high tail it over to Pisa to catch my flight to London. Then London for 4 days. I arrived at the hostel after doing this to check in, but I was early of course. I was staying in an old college building. This should be fun. I left my one bag and wandered through the streets just absorbing everything and doing it at a relaxing pace. There were merchants bringing their cargo in from somewhere on gondolas. Fresh fruit stacked high in one gondola, water and soda (beer as well) in another. People were milling about on tour or just going to work. The city was breathing of history and culture. The sun was strong this morning, but now a dark cloud or two have rolled in. I've had perfect weather all trip. I would hate to see rain, but here for some reason it would be okay. This place makes me smile. I bought a map for reference, but I'm just going to love getting lost in all the side streets without worry of time constraints like you have on a ship. There is a ship in port today. It's one of the Celebrity ships. I went back to the hostel to check in when it was time. Here I go. I walked up the 3 flights on an outside staircase. The building after walking through the hallways looks like it should be condemned, but I guess it's safe. It was definitely a college hall for classrooms converted to a hostel. My room used to be an office I gather since I have a window right next to my door as if to receive mail or talk to someone in reception. It's just one small room about the size of my space on the ship. Just for me. No bathroom. This I will have to walk down the hall to take care of business. Yup. My first communal hostel. All the rooms I stayed in so far had attached bathrooms. This one is totally communal and reminds me of a college dorm. I have a wonderful view of the rooftops of Venice out my window though and I'm SURE it's going to be quiet tonight. I think I'll definitely sleep in as much as possible tomorrow. I have to check out at 11:00AM, but my train isn't until 8:00PM. Now I wander the streets of Venice. This and Paris were one of the highlights of my trip. Prague and London are as well, but I was most excited about these 2 places.

Okay as I was typing it struck noon here in Venice. WOW!!! There are bells everywhere!! Just ringing outside my window. I'm overwhelmed.

So it's about 9:00PM and I'm about to turn in. There was a little group of people in San Marco Square listening to the various classical duos at the restaurants play and at the Santa Margarita Piazza there was a spattering of people just sitting around drinking vino and speaking in foreign languages. I'm in what's called the Dorsoduro, which is the college area and the happening part of town. I was told there would be a lot of backpackers here, but they must be filtered in with the Italians and other folk and my hostel is pretty quiet right now. I think there are only 3 of us on this entire floor and it's pretty large. After I heard the bells I pulled out my "Let's Go" travel book that my M1, Daniel, gave to me before he left. It's been quite the weight, but also handy at times and I don't think I'll rid myself of the extra weight until London. I'll just give it to Kerry when I see her. I was reading and all of a sudden a huge afternoon thunderstorm happened. It poured and poured rain for about 30 minutes. It let up and that's when I went out. When I got outside, the water in the canal was already flooding onto the sidewalk. Not from the rain I suspect, but from the tide shift. I couldn't believe it. The sidewalk right outside the hostel was almost completely under water. I walked into San Marco Piazza and that was flooded as well. People were walking around with their shoes off dancing in the puddles and wading through the flooded piazza. I made my way to the Bridge of Sighs. This is what I didn't see last time. I wanted to see places and experience things I didn't see on my cruise ship visit. When you're here on a cruise ship, you don't see the sun set, experience the nightlife, or get to various parts because of time. I did ALL those things today. I went along the harbor past the Bridge of Sighs. Incidentally it's called the Bridge of Sighs because that's what the prisoners did as they were carted off to prison and went under this bridge. They knew it was their last taste of freedom before being entombed behind bars. I walked to the exhibition park and beyond because my curiosity took me there and then turned around. I went to the Arsenale to check this fortification out and then headed in to see the Rialto Bridge and take the route I did on the cruise ship to check out masks. There were Venetian masks, artwork, and glass everywhere. There are so many beautiful things and people here it'll make your head spin. I was also looking for an adapter for my electronics since I must've left it in the French plug. To my distress the Italians have a different plug that's LIKE the European plug, but with an extra middle piece. No good to me in Prague or Amsterdam. I headed back to the hostel to ask the desk clerk if they had one and sure enough there was one to use. Thank God. Nevertheless I still went into the electrical shops after to see if they had one and I FOUND one. Yay!! I went on into this restaurant near San Marco Square to eat. I wanted to live it up tonight. It was called Al Vaporetto and it was reasonably priced. I just seemed to get a lot of food. I was living on bread and tomatoes all day (pizza, pannini, etc) and gelato. I needed something substantial and I was sick of pizza. The fare was okay. Nothing spectacular. In fact I had a suspicion they were doing what the French did at the restaurant in "National Lampoon's European Vacation" where they took microwave meals and stuck it on a fancy plate. Oh well, it was good food nonetheless. I ordered a half carafe of Cabernet and figured that might fill 2 glasses. Wrong! It filled way more and I was a little tipsy leaving the restaurant. I walked through San Marco Square again at night and like I said earlier there were about 4 musicians or groups of musicians playing various pieces of classical music at the restaurants that echoed through the piazza. People were sitting around drinking vino and just enjoying the cool air and breeze with the atmosphere. I walked through and wanted to check out the other hot spot. I got a little lost and walked through this highly fashionable area where all the high-end Italian goods were sold. Whoa! The fashion in trés chic right now and everyone is wearing these silky scarves including the men. I was overwhelmed by all the high-end clothing I was seeing taunting me in the windows. Luckily they were closed, but I probably still wouldn't buy. I'm a horrible shopper. As I was walking I couldn't believe I was actually here. In Venice. It was too perfect. The weather perked up for the rest of the day after the afternoon thunderstorm and it was gorgeous. The light hit the old buildings and flowers in new and interesting ways. As I walked through Venice at night I expected to see a girl or boy just in college with a uniform and a nametag sweeping the streets a la theme park style. It feels like a theme park here. It's too perfect and manicured to be a real city and that's how it was for Rome and Paris as well. The city gets dirty; don't get me wrong, but the architecture, the sights, the ruins, the people. It all feels contrived and not real at all. I still can't believe I'm sitting in an abandoned college turned hotel/hostel with shared bathrooms and where my room used to be some sort of office. I headed home after stopping to get some gelato. I was tired. After all I've been up since 3:00AM and dealing with eeriness all morning before getting to Venice. Now I will turn off my light in complete darkness and almost silence. The night attendant downstairs is practicing his clarinet and playing beautiful classic music. Only in Venice. By the way. It was the Vivaldi festival this week. There was a concert tonight, but with all the wine I had I would've dozed off. That's a €28 nap I was looking at. I like classic music, but I don't love it like some. So as I sit in the dark with the cool breeze blowing into my humid room, the thunderstorm now brewing for the evening plays it's music in the distance along with the solo of the clarinet from downstairs and the occasional rumble of children and others in the streets below. Ahh. This can be the life.