Today (I use the word "today" very loosely. As of writing this I am already back in San Francisco) was my first day travelling. I ate breakfast with my host family in the morning-I've gotten pretty accustomed to biscotti and coffee for breakfast (#italy15 #letsbereal20). The kids came down the stairs and were super excited to show me shirts they had made with a picture of all of us on it, then they presented me with my very own! It was really so sweet.
Several tearful goodbyes and a short train ride later I found myself in Venice. Well, Mestre, really. I took the bus to my hostel (the Venice Lagoon House), in a little village outside Venice. The owner was super friendly and showed me all around the place and gave me all the information on how to get to Venice. The hostel itself was inside a house, and there were just a few rooms, which made it feel more like staying at someone's house than in a big hostel, which was really nice.
Once I got washed up I headed out into the city which was about half an hour away. On my way I bought a half-liter bottle of water and finished it in about two gulps. It was hot. Really. Really. Hot.
When I reached Venice I wasn't actually sure what I wanted to do. The bus dropped me off in Piazza Roma, an area I hadn't been to before. The neighborhood was quiet and pretty empty so I just wandered and wandered and wandered. For a while I was following signs to go to Piazza San Marco, until I stopped to ask myself why I was going there. I had already seen it a pretentious number of times, it would be packed with tourists and I was currently enjoying empty side streets, and it would be extremely hot due to lack of shaded areas.
Instead I went to the Ponte Rialto, which although I know is also touristy I still like it and think the bridge is really pretty. Unfortunately half of it is under construction now, but still. Once near the bridge I found a square I remembered being near the Pesce Campanella, which was near the apartment my family and I stayed in when I was a young warthog. This was my third time to Venice since then, and the other two times I had managed to stumble across the fish market (which apparently is just a fruit market on Sundays) but unable to find the place I stayed with my parents. So, I set out determined to find it. After a little bit of wandering, and trying to remember anything I could about they path we had taken to get there from the vaporetto stop, I stepped out of an alleyway and bam there it was! Whew. I stared at it for a little bit, then took a picture-but only after making sure there were no kids standing in the window and making faces.
At this point I was so thirsty. So when I passed a place advertising 1.5 liter bottles of water for a euro I stopped in for some.
Sidenote 1: While in Germany I started to like carbonated water a little. Now I can't get enough of it, but everyone here assumes that because I'm American I want the flat water. Which is probably true for most people, but all I ever want in my life now is carbonated water!
SIdenote 2: I hate that I keep buying bottled water. I am not trying to kill the planet! The problem was previously that I had lost my water bottle, and that I really really like carbonated water. Anyway, I have just purchased a water bottle. So no more planet killing for me. Because also recycling bins are hard to find. So my carbonated water addiction is feeding a garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean, probably.
Sidenote 3: Italy has been super hot this summer. Record temperatures (although at least it isn't Syria) for record times. I have existed in a constant state of thirst, so much that I forgot what it felt like to be hydrated. But after downing 1.5 liters of water (a total of 2 now) I remembered! Wow, hydration is great.
Anyway, so I took my giant bottle of water and sat by the canal and watched boats for a really long time. Then I stood up again and started walking and wandering and walking and wandering. And also stopping in shops for a bit of AC.
Finally, I was hungry. So I went to the usual pizza place (Ae Oche Pizzeria or something along those lines) and got a pizza with brie and walnuts on top to go, then went and sat by a canal and had a picnic. Apparently it came with a free soft drink, so although I already bought my water bottle at that point, I got another half liter bottle of fizzy water. 2.5 littles for the day! I don't think I have been that hydrated ever.
Anyway, the pizza was interesting. It still had the tomato sauce/mozzarella base to it. If I were to make it I would definitely use pecans instead of walnuts, and I would maybe add arugula. I wouldn't use a tomato sauce, but I am not sure what alternative would be good. Still though, I enjoyed it and it was super filling.
When I got back to my hostel I was exhausted and pretty much ready to pass out. The owner was inviting everyone to have a glass of wine with him, which was so nice and sounded lovely, but I was too tired. So after catching up on emails, letting people know I was alive and in Venice, I fell asleep.
P.S. Apologies for any weird formatting or spelling errors. I'm writing this on the Blogger app and I can't control the formatting as much. And there is no spell check. So. Here's to hoping I can somewhat spell!
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