Venice : Not for people who cannot swim.

From Florence to Venice, it takes about three hours by train. We got up early and took the 8:30am train to Venice and arrived ahead of schedule around 11am. We had gathered that there wasn't much to see in Venice, other than the grand canal, so we decided it was going to be a lazy kind of just walk around day and see what we could. We paid for a 24 bus pass (which actually their busses are boats) that would give us unlimited rides around the city. We first walked through a meat, fish, and fruit market then passed through some merchant booths selling miscellaneous toys, gifts and other essentials anyone would need to bring home as a souvenir. Venice is famous for its hand-blown glass, so there were tons of booth dedicated to glass sculptures and projects specifically made by glass-blowers in Venice. We emerged out of the market mayhem and crossed over a beautiful white bridge that overlooked the Grand Canal. Underneath us, a gondolier passed with a husband and wife, telling them some history of the city built on water.




We hopped on a water taxi, or the city boats and we took a tour from one end of the river to another. It was a gorgeous day out, about 55 degrees and sunny, so we took the opportunity to sit up front on the boats so we were able to see all the buildings better. The entire city was so cool to me, it amazed me how they build all these houses, museums, and churches on water. The doors literally came right up to the waters edge, and instead of a sidewalk to your door, you had a dock. I also found out that Venice is sinking, with the water rising about one centimeter per year. It made me sad to think of a place as beautiful and calming as this could soon disappear underwater. The river is gorgeous, and with a no-wake policy we got to pass by gondolas (a ride costs 60-80 euro, no thanks!) and people in their own privately owned boats. People were overall friendly to us, except the elderly, who seemed to have a superiority complex against us foreigners not knowing how to work the public transportation system.




After the ride from the start of one boat line to the end, we hopped on another one after lunch and headed over to a beautiful beach town called Lido. After locating the whereabouts of the elusive gorgeous beach, we walked the width of the small island and found ourselves in boots walking along the sandy coast of a Venice island. We had come around 4pm, so the sun was starting to set, painting a picturesque memory instilled in my mind forever. The suns colors seemed unusually bright, and for some reason I could actually distinguish the difference between each fading color in the sunset. Looking back, I think this is one of the only times I've seen the sun set that I can remember. We strolled along the beach, collecting shells and snapping a countless number of pictures showing the sunset and the water. I couldn't get over how beautiful it was. The beach scene ended with my friend Sarah aptly carving "Dublin 2009" into the sandy shore and us taking a picture with it. As the words washed away we walked off the beach, completely content with our entirely successful and relaxing trip to Italy.





For my first time in Europe in my life, I have to say I am blown away with the entire continents beauty. Each place, regardless of the country was more interesting than the next. I am completely blessed to have had this time and opportunity most importantly to explore a few countries I've always wanted to visit. I hope sometime soon I can come back and see more of the countries and places on my 'to-do' list, but I assume that will be on my dime, and not my parents. Italy was a blast, and with just the four of us girls, it was a perfect, stress free way to wrap up a completely unforgettable semester.