Anyways, to get from Siena to Venezia, my friend Rahel and I took a bus to Florence and then took a fast train to Venezia. We left earth Friday morning and arrived in Venezia at 10:40am. I had looked around on booking.com and airbnb.com for a place to stay and found a room in an apartment with access to a kitchen and it was close to the train station. It was a little overwehlming at first. Venezia was full of people even though it was the middle of February. The streets are also very confusing and Venezia is literally a maze as some streets connect while others just dead end.
We were able to find our apartment and then we went exploring. Our first stop was to Piazza di San Marco and La Basilica di San Marco. It involved a lot of weaving and reading signs, but it was amazing when we got there. The piazza was huge and amazing. The church (like every church in Italy) was ornately decorated with gold, statues, and mosaics. It is free to enter the church and on the inside, there is wall after wall of mosaics. Even the ceiling is covered. The alter is carved dark stained wood and over all it is a fantastically decorated church. There are two places in the church you have to pay for. The first is la Pala d'oro and the second is the treasury and where they hold the bones of saints and famous people. It ends up being around 5 euros which is totally worth it. La Pala d'oro is a huge gold tablet/picture of famous saints and other important Christian people. There are over 2,000 precious stones as well. The treasury is full of elaborate chalices and dishes and candlesticks as well as other intricately detailed objects that were once used by the church. The bones of saints are very important to the Italians or at least were important. They would save a bone or hand and keep in in a very elaborate case for everyone to see. This room made me feel a little uncomfortable, but it is worth seeing because it is a part of the history and culture of Italy.
After that we went up in the tower and looked out over the landscape of Venice. It was a beautiful view of the whole city and the water. Plus the old bells were still there. Later we walked around the edge of the water and enjoyed the view of the other islands close by. We also just walked around the city and got a little lost. Venice is a very beautiful city when you get away from the main streets.
We decided to go out for dinner that night as a celebration for arriving and having a little break from school. We tried to finds non touristy resturant, but were unable to find one is close proximity to our apartment so we gave in and had a mediocre lasagne and wine.
The next day we slept in a little late and then bought a day ticket to the vaporetti (water bus). It was a little expensive, but a one way ticket is 7euros so paying 20 euros for the whole day is more worth it. Found the right water bus and made our way to Murano Island where they are famous for their glass making and glass art. We went to the Murano Glass Factory first where they let you watch as they make a couple glass pieces and give a little information about glass making. After that we explored the glass shop and the rest of the island. We found the famous glass statue and looked at a lot of glass. We didn't go into the glass museum because it was a little expensive and we were ready to move onto a different activity. We decided to find another Basilica and walked over to it. It was harder to get to because we had to cross the grand canal and there aren't as many bridges to get to the ther side. We didn't go in and it was getting late so we decided to grab a ride on the vaporetti back home so we could buy some groceries. That night we made our own dinner and just relaxed as after a long day of walking around. I skyped my friend Jill and had a great night. Our final day in Italy was okay. It decided to rain all day and everything was very wet. We walked around a little bit and I found another very large famous church in the center of Venice. We didn't go in but it was grand on the outside. We also came across a music museum inside an old church with instruments from famous Italian artists. The last place we went to was the old ghetto. We spent the rest of the day from a Burger King which sounds lame, but I have been eating real Italian food for over a month and secondly, it was dry and warm and eating American style food was nice after so long.
Our time finally came and we boarded our train back to Florence. When we arrived in Florence, we discover that the bus station was completely closed. We asked one of the guys working in front of the entrance if the buses were still running and he said yes and that it would pull up in front. Luckily there were other Italians joining us as well so we didn't feel so lost. The bus for Siena comes and then just keeps on going without stopping and all of us were like shocked and tried to run after the bus, but it was gone. Turns out, it only picks up at the other station on the otherside of the train station. Unfortunately that was the last bus of the night and the last train was leaving shortly and we didn't have enough time to get tickets and get on the train. So after much though, Rahel and I joined two other people in taking a taxi back to Siena. This is no ordinary feat and it is very expensive(125 euros=$141). The guy we were with was super nice and paid for a large majority of the fee. Since we only made it to the train station in Siena, Rahel and I still have a 30 minute walk back home.
Even though it was a rough time getting home, it was a great experience and it was so surreal! I never thought I'd ever be able to say I've been to Venice. Although it was a beautiful city with the canals and water, it was very touristy and there are always tons and tons of people which kind of takes away from the experience. It is also a very expensive city too and the food isn't that great or authentic.
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