The Water Canals of Venice

On the morning of the 31st, Matt and I left Milan and rode the train for a four-hour journey to Venice. Once outside of Venice, we switched trains and continued on to the small city of Treviso, about twenty minutes from Venice. In the city of Treviso we began to look for a city bus to take us to the neighborhood of Cassier where our hotel was located. We happily found the correct bus and were riding comfortably for ten minutes when Matt said, “Maybe we should ask this lady when we should get off for the hotel.” I agreed and asked in my clearest English and the woman responded by pointing directly across the street as the bus rushed past the hotel. Matt and I couldn’t help but laugh as she hit the button to ask the driver to stop and we got off a hundred yards from the hotel. We had arrived! Our hotel was modern, clean, and comfortable; best yet, we were greeted by a friendly man just a year or two older than us named Oliver. Oliver chatted in English with the musical Italian accent and was happy to acquaint us with the hotel and area. Unfortunately, we discovered it would be difficult to get back in Venice for a New Year’s Eve celebration due to our distance from the city and Treviso’s city bus schedule. So we settled into our room, warm and cozy, and watched Italian TV before venturing out to find a nice restaurant to eat supper. We did indeed find a pizzeria within walking distance but then found out the restaurant was booked for the evening’s parties. The owners did politely allow us to order and stay for thirty minutes, and I admit we were thankful to have something warm to eat. With nothing else to do, we went back to the hotel immediately afterwards and found its restaurant was just beginning to open for evening guests. The ladies and gentlemen were dressed in dresses and suits, so we felt like the dirty, tired, and worn travelers that we were; our room provided suitable refuge and the evening hours quickly passed away. Around eleven, we went back down to the restaurant area and talked with Oliver as we drank hot tea. We stayed until the midnight countdown and rang in the New Year with a room full of happy Italians and kisses all around. The next day we traveled to Venice in the afternoon once the buses were running again and spent our time attempting to stay warm while wandering around the water canals and shopping areas. We particularly enjoyed looking at the intricate Carnival masks. We ate a late lunch at a Chinese restaurant and were pleased with the hot soup, rice, main plate, and tea. The next day I was feeling the effects of a bad cold but we still continued our adventure in the city by riding on the “bus” – a series of boats which make trips to different points of the city. The majority of our day was spent at Plaza San Marco wandering around confusing streets and exploring the old buildings and huge gothic church. We finished off the chilly day with yummy gelati cones that just somehow seemed to make everything all right. The day of the third of January was our traveling day. We left Treviso around noon on a train ride back to Bergamo to catch our flight to Barcelona. Our day went accordingly: bus to Treviso train station, fifteen minutes; train to Venice, thirty minutes; train to Bruccia, three hours; train to Bergamo, one hour; bus to Bergamo airport, forty minutes; wait in RyanAir lines, three hours; flight to Girona, one hour; bus to Barcelona, one hour; metro to hostel, ten minutes; walking around lost at midnight, thirty minutes; check in at hostel, fifteen minutes…and so our adventure continued!