They say if you’ve never been lost in Venice you have never been to Venice…well I’ve been to Venice.

The day got a late start. Both Christina or I are still struggling with the time change or it might be the alcohol consumption but regardless I am still up in the middle of the night and sleeping in much later than usual. So we got a late start on our trip into Venice and did not arrive until after noon.

The walk to the train station was much better when we figured out how to get the map to do walk instead of drive and we were soon on our train. We did forget to validate the tickets so I spent the whole time worried we would get yelled at in Italian but no one checked so we had no problems.

We arrived and decided to walk down to Saint Mark’s Piazza and shop along the way. It all started so well the main path was wide and lined with shops and people headed in the same direction. We went in a few of the shops and made a few plans to return if we found nothing better along the way. As we got further in the streets got narrower and weaved and turned and easily defeated my maps app and my navigation skills. We walked in circles for a bit coming back to a narrow street with Christmas lights still up a number of times. We finally asked a local (dressed in the classic gondola striped shirt and black pants) if we were going on the right way which of course we were not. He tried to explain but then told us we could wander another 30 minutes or he could give us a ride there. We opted to splurge for the ride.

I had not taken a gondola ride on my first trip to Venice so this was a new experience. Getting in the boat was a bit awkward as it really felt like it would tip over but it did not and soon we were gliding down the canals. Venice in January was not very crowed but we completely got away from the crowds on the canals. Our guy gave us a the history of Venice pointed out the highlights as we passed and talked a lot about the tide. He confirmed that November is the worst month for flooding (which was when I was there before and the whole town was covered in water). He serenaded us a bit which I tried to record but only got a bit. At every turn he had to yell out to let others know we were coming so the singing never lasted long. We went with him to get a new oar which took us a bit off the beaten path in the more residential areas where we saw more of the small power boats parked along the canals. All in all I highly recommend a gondola ride. To see a peaceful side of Venice and hear nothing but the oar splashing through the water and perhaps your guy singing was worth the price.

But back to the theme… he drops is off and says take two lefts and you will be in the piazza. We were once again lost in Venice. We definitely took the wrong two lefts and wandered for awhile before finally seeing a sign guiding us to the Piazza. I know sooner walk into the square where my phone which has been in and out of service due to the buildings finally has service and I get a call from someone at work. I send her the picture of St Mark’s I just took and tell her who she can talk to until I am back from Italy.

I convince Christina to go into the church. It is my all time favorite and do not intend to miss it on this trip. It is still fabulous and even Christina likes all the gold shiny mosaics on the walls and ceilings. I love the floor tile work which to me doesn’t seem very churchy. I do not know what the birds symbolize but I love them and take several pictures as we wander through.

After the church we stop for lunch and split a pizza some pasta and a bottle of wine. Fortified and rested we start our way back hoping to be on the same path to hit some of the store we saw earlier. After a few wrong turns we finally get on the Main Street and our headed back in the right direction. We return to the shops where I buy several of the mosaic picture frames I like and some other souvenirs which I hope I make it home with. I did spend way too much on some fondue sticks so I will be serving fondue at all parties for the foreseeable future. The picture frames were much cheaper than I expected so I bought more than I needed but couldn’t resist. Christina even bought a new rolling suitcase to help carry everything home.

We made it back to the train station with all our goodies and headed back to Treviso. We dropped everything back at our apartment and headed out to dinner. Last night we were to early for dinner and today we were to late. Seems like 7-9 are the golden hours for eating in Treviso. We found a bar that had snack foods so we ate what they had. I had a ham and cheese toast (which is basically a white bread sandwich) and Christina had several vegetarian bites and a strange looking price of fried fish along with another bottle of wine. It is crazy to be able to get $18-25 bottle of wine with your meal. No reason to just get a glass. We finish our bottle and head back to the apartment to pack up to head to Florence early in the morning. Here’s to hoping the sleep goes better tonight.