Venezia: Parte Una

Westbanhof Station in Wien

My seat going. My seat back was the same but on the right,
both by the window

My trip to Venice began after much anticipation on Friday evening. I had gone to class in the morning, gotten lunch, taken a nap, and packed. I headed back down to IES to drop off some cookies I didn’t like and grab dinner before heading to Wien Westbanhof to grab my train to Venice. I had a few companions in my cabin, but some exited fairly soon after getting on. I was left with two Spanish women in their mid-thirties who spent their entire time trying to sleep fitfully. I finished up some reading and then set about sleeping myself, only to find that I was having an even harder time than they were (especially since they had taken up some extra room). It only got harder when another guy joined our train later on. This discomfort culminated in awakening at one point choking on my saliva. Once I got that out of the way however, I was finally able to claim several hours of rough sleep. I arrived at Venezia Mestre, the station on the mainland before the train goes out to the actual island of Venice, and was too slow getting my wits about me to get off. I then got off on the island of Venice at Santa Lucia station and had to find a bus back to Venezia Mestre. I checked into my hotel and waited until I could get into my room at 11 (it had taken a long time from my 8:30 arrival to find my way back to Mestre and the hotel). Once I dropped my stuff off, I had intended to rest to catch up from the night train. That did not occur, primarily because I had the intense feeling that I had to get out and start seeing Venice or I was wasting time.

The view outside Santa Lucia Station
 on the actual island

One of the famous Venetian gondolas

I therefore got up and went out to wander through the city. I took the train back to Santa Lucia and got off. I decided I would walk to San Marco and simply find my way. It helped that there were signs pointing to Rialto and then to San Marco, although the two got so equated in my mind that I believe I went to Rialto, then went beyond, and started following the signs back to Rialto before correcting myself and going from Rialto to San Marco. I stopped in a cathedral I was not familiar with and it was impressive, if not stunning. This whole process of exploration took about two hours. That said, every guide I read said that the most important thing to do in Venice is to get lost and wander the streets. I checked that one off the list.

The random cathedral

The random cathedral exterior

Piazza San Marco!

Sunset view from Piazza San Marco

Once I finally arrived in San Marco it was late afternoon and I was starving, so I got a great sandwich. It came in a pita wrap with marinara coating, had some sort of cured roast beef, rucola, and Brie, and was heated. I spent the rest of the afternoon simply wandering around the vicinity of San Marco, looking at the exterior of the Doge’s Palace, San Marco Basilica, the water, and all of the shops in the area. I must also say that though I did see the Bridge of Sighs here from the outside, it is currently being renovated. This meant that there were countless advertisements covering the scaffolding around it. The bridge was fortunately still visible, but I’m sure lacks the same impact. I did some research and it looks like this “renovation” has been going on for years, and that the contributors really like having their advertisements up. Still, I’m glad I could at least see the bridge’s façade. I then went to a restaurant and had some carbonara to see what it was like. I later read that in Venice you shouldn’t try dishes from other regions of Italy, and anywhere with a pizza on the menu and/or English speaking waiters or an English menu are likely to not be the best food. Still, my carbonara was good and if I had tried to find a more authentic restaurant I probably would have either gone broke or searched until I starved. The carbonara was interesting because it was very thick and almost yellow. It made me wonder what the difference was from not only carbonara from home, but also from other places I’ve tried it. After dinner I took another look at Piazza San Marco as the sun was setting before making my way back through the twisting streets to the train station and my hotel, turning in early after my long day and fitful night.

The Rialto Bridge, with all its shops, that I passed over on my way back in the evening