In Search of an Emergency Exit

On Sunday I took a last minute trip to Venice, and let me tell you, all the hype is well deserved.  I cannot believe I waited so long to visit!  And this time, I wasn’t a solo traveler, another girl was visiting the association that I work for and we decided to explore Venice. 

Our day began quite early, but it was worth it.  We arrived in Venice at around 9:30am, at which time we stopped at the first bar we saw so that I could have my very first espresso!  First, I took a sip with just a bit of sugar, but it was disgusting so I dumped the rest of the sugar in.  With all of the sugar it tasted much better, though still not something I will drink every day. 

We started to wander, not really having a specific destination in mind, at least not until we saw signs for the Rialto Bridge.  The Rialto is something that I have wanted to see for awhile because pictures give it a magical illusion.  When we actually found the bridge, it was a bit anticlimactic, but I will attribute that to the direction in which we came upon it.  It was a bit awkward.  Still beautiful. 

After that, we went in search of Piazza San Marco.  As luck would have it, we happened upon a marathon in the piazza: the Venice Marathon.  For all you runners out there, if you want an extra challenge participate in this marathon.  Runners have to cross multiple bridges throughout the city.  My new friend and I followed the course to the finish line, which was pretty difficult as the half of the bridges were blocked off for the runners.

The entire city is breathtaking; I was literally in awe everywhere I turned.  Every building, street, and canal is picturesque.  At one point I was mulling over the thought of living there, but then I ate lunch pretty much surrounded by pigeons.  I HATE pigeons, they are rats with wings.  And Venice pigeons… I swear, they are not the least bit bothered by humans.  This is Italy, for goodness sake – shouldn’t the Italians have put the fear of God in these birds by now???

Anyway… My friend and I used this trip as an opportunity to simply get to know Venice.  Our only goal was to explore the city, which we did – only getting lost once!  Thankfully, a nice, Italian gentleman with an adorable dog (I stress the word “gentleman”) helped point us in the right direction.  I am sure I will go back to Venice sometime soon and then I will actually have to find something to do.