A Day to Endure

No pictures, just a quick update. Yesterday was the craziest day ever. I woke up early at 6am, caught the 6:30 shuttle to the train station, said bye to Mom and Dad. Mom was teary, as usual.

I arrived in Rome without problem. I bought the ticket at the Fiumicino station because I was dumb and did not notice that my Eurail was first class (enabling me to get on basically any train). What a waste of money. Then I got to the Roma Termini station, where everything was a madhouse. There were people everywhere, trains waiting at the platforms, red times next to all the trains. Everything was delayed, including my 8:50 train to Venice. Great, I thought, how will I meet Adam and Casey?

I waited for about 4 and a half hours, just seeing my train get further delayed, each time without a platform listed. Then I looked up around 11:30 and saw the tiles for my train were spinning. Yes! Time to go! They all went black instead. My train literally disappeared. There was tons of confusion, as all these people with 8:50 train tickets flooded the information desk. I managed to get on the 11:30 train to Venice, which did not leave the station until 1:20 pm (about 15 minutes before I was supposed to meet the Hammonds).

I was on a hot car with all these Italian people who were shouting and banging on the windows for them to turn the air on. I have learned while here that the less you move and the less you think about being hot, the more manageable it is. So I just sat there quietly, waiting for it to pass. A grandpa sat next to me with a large nose, kind face, and hairy arms. Across from me sat a man who belonged in the original Italian mafia, dressed in a button down black shirt with thin stripes, tanned, bald with a ring of white hair, drawn lips, and square sunglasses. He even had the whispery voice when he answered his cell phone.

The train kept stopping in cities and even in tunnels. I can not tell you how many stupid tunnels we stopped in! It was in one of these tunnels that I realized that I was not on the express train I had paid to reserve, but was rather on a slow train. The trip took 7 hours.

Upon arriving at the train station, I did not see Adam and Casey. This was not that surprising, as I was there a full 7 hours after I had planned. I waited for about an hour, and then saw an American couple. I had been praying, Lord you are in control of everything; show me what you desire, give me a way. I walked up to this couple and asked them if they knew about the campgrounds, where I knew the Hammonds were staying. Unfortunately there were 3 campgrounds, and I did not know which. They were from Florida, the first Floridians I had met. I ended up getting a hotel room with them. We had a lot of fun, actually.

The cool God confirmations kept coming through the night. After I came back from the bathroom in my PJs (standard European wear for me: my faded blue Denver Broncos shirt that I do not even know how I own and capri pj pants), Alex, the guy, went "What is that shirt?" He glanced over at Katrina, who was wearing a nearly identical shirt. Both shirts are faded, hole-ridden, and neither of us are Broncos fans. But they are our favorites, so we love wearing them. Then later, I find out that Alex went to Orange Park, and he knows the Cassidys (including Casey) and was really good friends with Kelly.

Things are working out. I am meeting the Hammonds at the station in 30 minutes, and then we will hopefully manage to keep tabs on each other from there. I have gotten a taste of Europe on my own though, and it is crazy. I will keep you all posted when I can.

Venezia

As you know, our plans got shuffled the day we left for Venice. Aside from the ridiculous snoring in the couchette, everything worked out and we arrived in Venice yesterday morning. We found our hotel, showered the train off of us, and then headed to the bus. We were staying in Venice Mestre, on the mainland. We had to cross the causeway to the 100 island complex we know as Venice.

We fed our bellies near the train station and boarded the #82 vaporetto (public water taxi) for Piazza San Marco. We had booked a tour of the Grand Canal and had a few hours to fill beforehand. On the vaporeto, I had to keep reminding myself, you are in Venice, you are not in Epcot. I kept expecting to round a bend and end up in Russia. The Grand Canal was filled with boats. It was incredible--gondollas, wooden taxis, vaporetti. We crossed beneath the major bridges: Rialto, stone with its markets and prestige; Accademia, netted to keep the falling wood from hitting boaters. We saw the beautiful palaces of old Venice, when it was the middleman city for all trade. Finally we jumped out at the St. Marks Square stop.

I found the Grand Canal tour in Rick Steve's book. (Shocker. Our whole trip can be found in Rick Steves' books.) We had given them our credit card information to charge over the phone, and had only "Meet us in front of the Royal Gardens at 5:30 p.m." in exchange. We located the Royal Gardens for later. My dad was feeling nervous, but let it go.

Heading into St. Mark's Square, we were immediately struck by the crowds, the architecture, and the pigeons. There are thousands, and rumor has it the bird seed they sell in the courtyard is laced with birth control.

At the southwest corner of the square you see first the Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale, on right above). Looking into the Piazza beyond, you see St. Mark's Basilica (to the left). That's where we started. The Basilica houses the remains of Venice's patron saint. St. Mark's bones were smuggled into the city in AD 828, according to Rick Steves. The Basilica has a Byzantine influence and is covered by mosaics within. Pebble-sized stones create masterpieces on all the walls and ceilings, telling stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, the Ascension. Even the floors are mosaic designs. Thankfully, we were all dressed modestly. Otherwise we'd have been caught by the fashion police at the door and forced to wear large paper towels over our knees and shoulders.

Mosaic over the entrance, no pictures allowed inside

We headed to the Doge's Palace afterwords, and got a look at lots of art, cool armory, and the prison. One highlight: crossing the Bridge of Sighs. Out of the courtroom, reenacting the walk of a convicted criminal (or enemy), we headed through the covered stone bridge, took one last look at Venice, sighed, and walked into the prison for torturing.

Sighing on the Bridge of Sighs

Our canal tour was not a rip-off. The guides met us and about 30 other English-speaking tourists at the Gardens and put us into boats of eight. We heard stories about famous families, the Venetian plague, and throwing golden plates out of windows after dinner at the Ca'd'Oro.

Rialto Bridge

We walked through tiny back streets in the labyrinth of Castello, the district near St. Marks. We ate dinner canalside and then walked back to St. Mark's Square for the nightlife we'd heard so much about.

With the gondoliers

It was magical. Cafes lighting up in the square, people dancing (ok, Amy and Mike dancing). They have nightly orchestra groups dueling in neighboring cafes. We started at the Caffe Quadri. The water was coming up through the floor of the Square; I guess the tide was in. The smart waiters in their tuxes and white ties wore rubber boots. The orchestra was playing "My Heart Will Go On," which felt very fitting as we felt the city sinking. We later moved over to the more famous and pricier Caffe Florian, where they had classical music. In the glowing streetlight, I kept imagining Casanova sneaking in for a secret rendezvous.

The orchestra played its last song and we were sad that the night ended. Venice has been our favorite city so far, my favorite in Europe.