March 27: Venice, Italy

Venice was so amazing! I loved leaving the mountains of Austria and northern Italy and arriving in this beautiful city full of canals, culture and amazing architecture.

We began our journey at 8 a.m., and it was not a boring one. We arrived at what we thought to be a toll booth within 15 minutes of starting our drive. It ended up not being a toll booth, though, but a car shuttle train, much like a ferry. Wondering what was going on, the workers assured us that this would take us to Italy and showed us where to drive onto the car shuttle. We rode up in the front passenger area of the train and the trip was about 10 minutes long.

Our car sitting on the car shuttle, there were about 6 other cars in front of us. 

After the crazy start to our trip, the rest of the drive was quite easy, and we stayed on nice main highways
(for once!). The tolls in Italy are numerous and very expensive, which is quite frustrating.  Despite this, upon reaching the long bridge that brings you into Venice, I could not only see but feel the differences between Italy and Austria, only 2 hours away. The bridge gave us breathtaking views of the Adriatic Sea. 

Once we got off the bridge, we were right in Venice. We entered this large, 2 lane traffic circle where there were tons of buses and cars, and no one was really following the rules. We saw a parkade sign and thought, seems good enough! After waiting in a line of cars to get into the parkade, we were directed to the 8th (the top) floor. So we drove around and around the narrow connecting roads until we reached the 8th floor. The view from this floor was breathtaking! 

The view in the morning when it was still cloudy. 

The view before we left in the evening; the sun was just starting to set. 

Our parking garage, Garage San Marco. At this garage, they ask you to leave your keys in the car and the car unlocked so that they can move it to allow the people parked directly behind you to get out. When the parking attendant first asked us to do this, we were quite nervous. We moved our belongings into the trunk of the car, although still accessible, it was certainly less noticeable; we also made sure to take all of our valuables with us. Happily, at the end of the day, all was where it had been left and there were no problems!

 Finally, after getting parked and organized, we departed for the real part of our visit to Venice, walking around the alleyways and the canals that are Venice. Crossing the large bridge over into this part of Venice was really magical. There were lots of people out looking around! Among the cobblestone paths, there were so many vendors and little shops, it is impossible to choose where to purchase whatever you are looking for. 

We walked around these streets just looking and admiring everything for about an hour before we decided it was time to eat lunch. I knew that I had to have pasta, being in Italy and all. We went to a cute restaurant and both Mom and I really enjoyed our meals! 

After this we decided to head toward San Marco Plaza, one of the most famous parts of Venice. Inside there is a large (and beautiful) cathedral. We followed the mostly spray painted on direction arrows toward the centre. Upon arriving, you step out of a small and dark alley and you are inside this huge square. It is amazing! I couldn't get over how grand, magnificent and stunning it was. There were so many people and there was a band playing Italian music. The sun was shining and the atmosphere was perfect.

After San Marco Square, we decided to start to find our way back to the parking garage through the streets, which proved to be a challenge. But we did eventually get there! On our way back, we also got some delicious gelato, and a huge slice of pizza! 

Here are some more pictures from the day...

I loved the day in Venice; it is such an amazing place!

Hockey update: In the first game, the Canadian Explorers lost to Switzerland 5-2. In the second game, the Canadian Explorers won against Germany 7-2.