May 13

May 13 Italy 2018: Day 2

This morning, we got up and hopped on a train. Unsure how my boyfriend would react to long train travel here (as it is his first trip to Europe), I aimed to make the longest run first. That way, we would know if he was alright with it for the next trip. That’s a good pro-tip for anybody traveling this way. If you don’t know if you are going to hate it and everything about it, make the longest or worst one first. He had a great time and has said repeatedly that the train is the only way to travel. What he didn’t realize at the time, of course, was that we were traveling first class on the Eurail Pass. He did not have to hoof it in the back with the poor college kids (coincidentally, how I traveled for YEARS!). I digress.

So, we were on the train for about 7 hours to make our way from Geneva, Switzerland to Venice, Italy. He wanted to be in Venice for his birthday. I humored him. I know, I know. People love Venice and want to visit there all the time. Venice is one of the most popular cities to visit in Italy. I find it to be crowded and expensive. Well worth a visit once or twice, but not for more than a day or two. Then again, I don’t care for the concentration of people there. If you don’t mind that many people, have at it. We trained by way of Milan and saw so much beautiful landscape.

Venice, as expected, is difficult to navigate. We ended up trying to walk to our hotel. I’m not a fan of booking in advance to prevent this exact problem, but him being a first-time European traveler and us being there during a weekend meant that booking in advance was prudent. I knew roughly where we were heading and we pretty much followed the Grand Canal until we hit the Ponte di Rialto. Our hotel was right a the base of that bridge. The Hotel Marconi was delightful and it was centrally located to everything that we wanted to see. Not to mention, super easy to get to. Anytime you stay near a major attraction or a major bus stop (in this case, waterbus stop), it is easier to find yourself when you are lost.

Hotel Marconi, Ponte di Rialto, Venice, Italy

We got ourselves lost and found some cool stuff. In that excursion, we found our way to Piazza San Marco. We didn’t go in the church, but the square was well worth it.

After the square, we headed back for the hotel to get ready for his birthday dinner and has an exquisite Italian meal. My favorite part about meals in Italy is the duration. Don’t expect to eat in less than 2 hours, there. You won’t get away from the table nearly that fast. The food was amazing and the company was delightful. Tomorrow, we make our way to Rome.