Venice

 Storybook Venice

Waking up on a night train in Venice was one of those once in a lifetime experiences we have got to have on this trip. The train ride, well, we didn’t sleep, but when morning came we were treated with a Viennese bun and jam, which wasn’t particularly delicious but it was food. The train was supposed to come into Venice station at 8:30am, but as the famous Italians are known for, we were late. When we got off the train, the heat hit us. We had 5 hours to idle before we were allowed to go to our apartment, so we had to wander aimlessly in the muggy heat. First, we all rotated into a chocolate shop so we could sneak some testers, then we found a park and rested in it and played in its small playground Then we proceeded, lifting our enormous suitcases every 20 seconds as there was so many cobbled bridges. We stopped along the way for some authentic Italian pizza which was very delicious. 

When we finally arrived at our home, with the aid of a few icy poles, we all collapsed on the couches and bathed in the air conditioning. The next day, we set off early, determined to make the most of the day before the heat set in. We made it to the The Campanile di San Marco, in San Marco square to see the tower in the Olivia the Pig story of Venice, which we all enjoyed. We then strolled through the streets of Venice, enjoying the sunshine which we had not really had for a while, and we got an ice-cream.  

After that, we trudged back home, and spent the rest of the day enjoying our air conditioned home, and watch the Matildas game that everyone was very tense about. That night, we had a homemade Italian dinner with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. The next day, while Mum was working from home in one of our bedrooms, Dad and us kids went on a grand adventure to the other side of Venice to see the Hand Bridge, which is a bridge composed of giant hands reaching out and touching each other, all different ages, sizes and shapes. But getting there was very difficult and involved a lot of carrying prams over bridges for me, double backing to find the right entrance, searching for toilets and negotiating and asking questions of Italians. 

When we finally got there, we got a few photos, while Eleanor and I were being devoured by mosquitoes, and being scorched by the sun, and then slowly made our way back, up and down bridges, with a yummy ice cream on the way. That evening, we went on a quick Gondola ride across the river, because a real one would have cost $160 AUD for one person. We enjoyed the quick ride, well at least I did -some of us weren’t so sure - but we walked back home after that.   

The next day, we packed up everything and got ready to leave to Nice… we just needed something to do for the day, so we decided to go to the island of Murano, well-known for its glass blowing. There was a ferry terminal right near where we were staying so we walked over with all our suitcases and waited for ages for the ferry to come. The first that came wasn’t for us, it was going the wrong direction. The second was the right one and going the right direction but it was crammed full. The third wasn’t right, neither was the fourth, and by then we had been waiting for about 40mins. Finally the fifth ferry arrived, and we squished on, and traveled on it, very seasick in the thick humidity, for half an hour until we arrived in Murano. 

Luckily, when we arrived in Venice, Dad had booked for a small hotel to look after our luggage till we had to go to the airport to fly to Nice. We didn’t have anything to do so we wandered around, got our first ice-creams for the day (cheap supermarket ones) and came across a glass workshop where if you paid fifteen dollars, you could make a small pendant that you could have made into a necklace, brooch, magnet or bracelet. Dad, Eleanor and I participated in that, and I really enjoyed it. After we had finished, the person running it put them in the oven for an hour, so in that hour we got our second ice-creams, wandered around, got some delicious, cheap pizzas, and we watched some glass blowing from afar. 

When it was time to leave, we picked up our bags from the hotel, thanked the lady and trudged back to the boat terminal. We then waited for ages for the ferry to arrive, and after that we made our way on boat to the airport. The boat was very hot and stuffy, and our luggage was put in a precarious spot, right next to the sea, and the boat kept jolting. When we finally got the airport, we were directed somewhere else, thanks to Beatrice and the pram, to avoid all the queues. Venice airport only has one terminal but it was very difficult trying to find where to check in. After our luggage was checked in, we had some sandwiches for dinner, but then had to race to airport security because we lost track of time. When we were boarding through to the gate, Mum left to get us some snacks, but then ran out of time, so we had nothing to eat on our EasyJet flight.

When we arrived in Nice at 10pm, we waited awhile for a tram to come and sorted out the tickets. It is all kind of a blur now, seeing as we were so tired and it was so late after a day on the move, but from what I can remember is that we hopped on a tram for two stops, then got off to buy tickets, then waited for ages for another one, then stayed on there for 30mins, then we arrived in Old Nice, where we were staying. Our new landlord’s friend, Pierre, walked us, with all our luggage, through the noisy, crowded streets to our new home. It was very late (11pm), and the streets were a party! It seemed to take forever then, and it seemed like a rabbit warren of streets and shops, but now I could walk through it with my eyes closed and get home in 5mins. Once arrived, we had to carry our suitcases and the pram up 3 flights of stairs to our flat on the 3rd floor. At our place, we had a drink, then collapsed into whatever bed we could find at midnight - yet it was still 28 degrees! We were so glad to be at our temporary home for now.