A Labyrinth of Enchantment ★Venezia★

We got to Venice at about 18h, and followed the treasure-map-like directions from the train station to the hostel. We crossed canals, and walked through tights alleys, barely wide enough for 2 people, all the time in awe of our magical surroundings. Once at the hostel, we checked in and payed, dropped our things and went out to get dinner. We stayed out for a few hours, not wandering too far for fear of getting lost in the labyrinth of alleys, canals, and bridges.
Saturday morning we got up early (for us), and headed out to explore the beautiful city, full of history, art, and Italian culture. We walked wherever our noses lead us, not knowing or caring where we were or how we could find our way back to the hostel when the time came; the only thing we had clear was that we both wanted to avoid the overwhelming floods of tourists who infected the city. There were endless churches to check out, and gondolas to admire! We wandered around for hours, admiring Venice in all its glory, buying chocolate, and trying to find the cheapest lunch where we could sit and get out of the cold.
At 15h we found our way back to the hostel for a rest (reading/knitting/planning). After dinner, we got ready to go find the famous Piazza San Marco (the livingroom of Venice) on the far side of the city, which supposedly is most beautiful at night. Just as we were leaving, we met 2 Americans, Pia from NY and Justin from CA, who are living in Rome for year, "studying". We went to their room and hung out (drank a little) for a while. It turns out that Kels and I, and Pia have a mutual friend! What a small world!
At 20h we left together in search of some adventure...and the Piazza of course. After visiting a few bars and leaving quickly as soon as we spotted the prices, we met up with some of Pia and Justin's friends and then made our way, over bridge and across square, to the Piazza. We played around a bit there, took pics, and then, just as we were leaving to go back to the hostel, we ran into a group of more American students (studying in Barcelona) we exchanged info, talked...and then went to their appartment. We made plans to meet up with the kids staying Barcelona when we make it there, and same with Justin and Pia for when we get to Rome!
Finally we left, and began the difficult task of finding our way back...thanks to Justin's 3G, it only took us 45mins, and a stop at the kebab place :D
This morning (01/12/2013), we enjoyed our last hours in Venice, and then hopped on the train! (We've really come to enjoy our train rides. They give us time to breathe, recount on the times we've had and things we've done, and get ready for whatever's up ahead...while admiring the European countryside)
On to Firenze!
★Iolani