Venezia

Venice is more than what you see in the movies. There are canals everywhere, yes, but only one is big enough for an actual boat chase. It is amazing just to get lost in the middle of the winding alleyways. I got lost on more than one occasion. The very first day, in fact we all went wandering around the city to find dinner and got lost. Venice is LOADED with pizza and gellato stands. And the best part is, they are CHEAP! Very nice after Switzerland. Every time you go somewhere, there’s another gellato place. But gellato is so orgasmic. Way better than ice cream! The first place we wound up someone had a gellato milkshake with mango and kiwi and he said it was the best thing he has ever eaten. Venice is a really romantic place to be. It would be great to take people on dates with all the gondolas and the lights on the water at night. San Marco square is pretty awesome. Between the bell tower, San Marco cathedral, and the Doge’s palace I feel like I’m actually back in time. I actually feel like I’m in Assassin’s Creed. I have been to Venice, Florence and Rome in that game. Actually being in the spots where I assassinated people gives me some odd flashbacks. I look at all the old buildings and think “I have climbed all over these buildings before”. The pigeons will attack anything that looks remotely like bread. I saw a Japanese baby getting attacked because its parents thought it would be a good picture to have their kid on the ground with pigeons swarming. I had an obsessive whim the whole time I was there to kick a pigeon. By the end of our time there, I kicked a total of four. They didn’t get hurt so it was fun. One of them was under a table and between the legs of me and another guy so I let that pigeon have it. It couldn’t dodge it in time. It flew off as fast and as far as it could and almost got caught by a dog next to the table haha. I got to see where Indiana Jones pops up out of a tunnel outside a church and I saw where Johnny Depp jumps from the roof onto a tent roof at the marketplace on ‘The Tourist’. I got to see all the artsy things and the historical things that anyone would want to see. No pictures in any of them. I’m getting really tired of looking at all these religious paintings everywhere. There’s only so much Madonna and child that you can stand. I finally bought a few things in Venice because it isn’t all designer stuff. I got an adventure hat, a red striped gondolier shirt aka my new Where’s Waldo shirt and even a V for Vendetta mask! I mostly stuffed my face with pizza though. Did you know that there’s really only about 30,000 Venetians left. Most of the place is just tourists everywhere. Me and another guy ventured south away from the city and were very pleased with the experience. We could actually breathe at a park with trees and grass. A much different scene for Venice. It was very peaceful away from all the other vacationers. This, I said, is what traveling to Europe should be about. Finding the places where nobody else goes, seeing the local culture, taking a breather. My experiences in Venice were great and I would like to go back some day. I would stay out of the busy streets and canals and opt to a place by the park that I saw. Until next time Venice. 

P.S. Shout out to Elizabeth who has a way cooler adventure hat than me. ;)