This past weekend I traveled to the romantic city of Venice! My friends and I were able to get a bus ticket straight from Siena to Venice for about 64 euros with only one transfer.
Unfortunately, we booked a hotel off the island and had to find another hotel the night before! After hours of searching, we found one for 48 euros close to the train station. The hotel name was Hotel Tre Archi. To my surprise the hotel was beautiful and surpassed my expectations. The bed could have fit three people and there was air conditioning.
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Venice is a car-free, beautiful city on top of hundreds islands. Instead of cars, boats are the main way of transportation. This touristy place is filled with hundreds of thousands of people and can easily become an expensive trip.
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There are millions of bridges that connect each island together! Be prepared to walk a lot and try to pick up a map at your hotel or an information booth!
I would highly suggest taking a gondola right while in Venice! They can be easily found by the train station. They start at about 80 euros for 40 minutes for six people during the day. Try negotiating with the men because we convinced them to go down 5 euros per person. Try walking away after asking the initial price and they will give you another deal.
Gondola rides are a great way to get off your feet and see more of the beautiful city. It was one of the most memorable experiences and I loved it.
Another must see of Venice is the St. Mark’s Square. This is the political and religious center and holds the Clock Tower and St. Mark’s Basilica. Surrounding the square are restaurants with live music playing for tourist to listen to.
Be careful to look out for pick-pocketers, my friends had a group of men surround us claiming that they were a bachelor party wanting a picture with us. Luckily, we protected our belongings and nothing was stolen.
Also there are hundreds of birds in the square. There is a man who feeds them and tries to get you to take food so he can charge you. Be careful of the birds that fly low because they will poop on you.
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To get back to our hotel we had to take a water bus. When we bought our tickets, it began pouring down rain, thundering, and lightening. We waited on the dock that was being violently shaken by the storm. Every few minutes we could see lightening light up the sky or touch down to the water. Everyone was shoulder to shoulder and apprehensive of the storm. When our boat finally arrived, people shoved on to it and our group got split up. Two of us were left on the dock and had to wait for the next boat to come. After a long wait, the next boat came to pick us up. It was packed and we were hoping not to get struck by lightening on the water. Nine stops later, we got to our hotel in one non-electrified piece.
Until Next Time,
The Italian Duck
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