EuroTrip - Day 48

Venice ki galiyon mein

The most popular mode of public transport in Venizia (Venice) is boats. With so many canals passing through this island city's every part, it is bound to be so. As soon as you get out of the main railway station (Venizia St Lucia) you are greeted by one of the big canals. Crossover to the other side to see some different island (yes there were many island that formed Venice) or walk with the tourist flow to some place on the same island. The tourist information office does not bother to give free maps to the city. It is quite understood considering -
1. The city does not have a unique address mechanism.
2. The real fun of roaming in this city comes from walking in some random direction, getting lost and then finding the ways back (of course there are some popular tourist attractions such as churches, bridges etc too for the tourist types).

With our kind of traveling the only option in consideration was to do a long random walk to the city and soak some of its spirit. As usual Mr. HotTiii took the lead with the help of dummy map on the pizza box (it does not matter as long as it is something similar to a map).

Venice is made for tourists, or that is what it will make you believe if you travel through the popular tourist attractions. There are shops selling souvenirs, restaurants offering authentic cuisine and gondolas offering a royal trip through the canals. One interesting thing, pick up any visiting card from one of these places and turn it over. You will find a little map that will help you reach the place. That's the way addresses are written in Venice I guess.

Venice is famous for its masks and mural glass work. Do give a visit to some shops to explore these arts. I found them really interesting and creative. Wish I had a chance to go see them in making (there are some workshops in the tourist districts itself, but as usual finding them is a tough task). Do bargain if you want to buy any of those. You might get to hear some nice stories in return too.

The Rialto Bridge on the grand canal is the center of attraction. The number of couples in liplock near this place gives some hint to its romantic image. Don't be disappointed if you don't get any such vibe. Italy is a country where passion always runs high.

St. Mark's Basilica is a big crowd puller for this grand cathedral has a totally different style from the other big ones in Europe. The gold paint work gives a out of the world appearance to the building. It is different, to say the least.

The sea passes close to Piazza San Marco (St Mark's square) and you can see Lido and other popular places across in the water. We were too tired and hungry to go all the way there (did I tell you that even Venice does not have luggage lockers!) so we started our walk back. We were lost. But we did not complaint. That is what we jaded intended to do. A couple of attempts to get to the only McDonalds in town and we found it.

McDonalds are our pit-stops these days. A short break for rest and we were ready for our search for food. Billa came on the way so we paid our 'customary visit' there too. We had tried some nice authentic thin crust Margarita pizza in the morning. So the same place served our dinner too. By 5:30 the sun sets and it is cold in Venice. So we had to resort to a quick random walk towards the direction across the bridge and then come and take shelter in the waiting room (interestingly, they have a nice heated waiting room on the station). Our train for Roma leaves almost at midnight. So there is lot of time before we get some good sleep. Till then let me charge my phone somewhere.