I took my luggage with me to class and walked straight to the bus station after. An old man told me I had precious eyes when I was trying to find my bus to Madrid from Salamanca to meet my parents; it was creepy. I slept the entire bus ride.
Transportation for this trip was a bit crazy. I had to take a shuttle at the airport to another terminal, and our flight was delayed so we almost missed the last water taxi to the hotel. But, my parents and I were together in Italy so everything was great.
The water taxi at midnight was exhilarating. Venice is gorgeous, with a transportation system composed of canals instead of roads. The taxi brought us right to our hotel.
The next morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel (and I finally had eggs for breakfast!). Then, we went on a gondola ride! This was my favorite even though it is touristy; the driver told us so much about the history of Venice. The ride was beautiful and allowed us to see a lot of Venice on a perfect sunny day.
Then, we took a water bus to Murano and got to see the intricate works of glass and had a delicious lunch. I had gnocchi :) After returning, we walked through the Cathedral. It is located right in St. Marco's Square, where this picture was taken:
After the Cathedral, we got GELATO! and we took a very long walk because we got lost. The street system is confusing because the street signs are rare and on the sides of buildings.
Dinner was absolutely incredible. The concierge had recommended a restaurant called Bistrot de Venise. We ordered the fish of the day, seabass. It was HUGE:
I also had some great vegetables! And our waiter brought us a dish of various desserts. Needless to say, I ate very well this trip. In fact, I had a delicious cannoli and frozen chocolate slushi for breakfast:
and authentic pizza for lunch the next day:
Saturday was "The Festa del Redentore, Festival of the Redeemer, is an annual celebration of the end of the plague that struck a large part of europe in the sixteenth century, causing more than 50,000 deaths in Venice." The temple was constructed in memory of the grace received when God granted an end to the epidemic. On the third Sunday of July, Venetians watch fireworks and then boat towards Lido to wait for sunrise.
So, there were fireworks on the Grand Canal. It was packed with people partying hard.
On Sunday, we took a refreshing long walk across the Canal. We got to see another side of Venice. We went to the church that was praying for the Festival of the Redeemer.
The taxi back to the airport was a smooth boat ride with a cute driver:
The electricity was out at the Venice airport, so we waited in line for 3 hours to check in. But, this was a blessing because it convinced us to take a later bus and see some of Madrid in the morning.
Venice is a stunning city surrounded by water and I am so glad we got to see so much of it.
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