We took the ferry just after 11AM out to Murano Island which is famous for making Venetian glass. We visited the Glassworks Museum which describes the evolution of glass making in Venice, and also houses many glass pieces dating back as far as the first century. Next we took another ferry to Torcello Island which is noted for the Byzantine mosiacs in its catherdral. We walked to the catherdral but didn't feel like paying the entrance fee, so we just sat on the grass and had lunch. Then we took another ferry to Burano Island which is renowned for its lace. It's a pretty little island and we walked around for about a half hour (again deciding not to visit the museum - the Lace Museum). We took one more ferry back to Venice and got there about 5:30.
We leisurely made our way back to the train station, stopping to use the internet on the way and got a 7:12 PM train back to Padova.
We got on a train going to Verona rather than Milan, and we just assumed it would stop at Padova. As we went along, the train stopped at all sorts of small towns that we hadn't noticed on our other train rides, because they were express trains. Shari couldn't find the towns listed in her Thomas Cook train timetable book, so we were sure we were on the wrong train. We were considering all sorts of alternate plans. We were afraid we could get stuck in the middle of nowhere if we got off at any of the little stops, because the station offices were closed and we didn't know if any other trains would stop at those locations. We considered going all the way to Verona, and then taking a train back to Padova, but we were afraid we would get back to the hostel after 11:00PM, and we would be locked out for the night. Of course, we always knew we could ride the trains all night to somewhere, but it was not something we really wanted to do. In any case, in the midst of our discussions, luckily the next stop turned out to be Padova and we were home.
It was an adventure for awhile, thinking of how we would spend the night, but I'm glad it turned out okay in the end. We went to dinner at Breks (Anna and Alsion, the women in our room, had recommended it to us), and I had pasta and a salad. Breks is a restaurant chain in Italy that serves food cafeteria style. They have various sections - a salad bar, pizza, meat, pastas, drinks, and will cook your food to order at a particular food station. The food was inexpensive and pretty good.
We got back to the hostel about 9PM and I just went to bed and listened to my radio for a while.
9/16: We got the 8:58AM train to Milan, planning to get off in Verona. It was a very crowded train and we couldn't find seats near a place where we could leave our packs. Most of the seats were reserved, and as we were walking back and forth between cars trying to find a place to sit, the conductor asked for our tickets. He told us we needed to get off at the next stop, Vicenza, because we didn't have reservations. We got off at Vienza at 9:30 and had to wait until 10:15AM for a train that would take us to Verona.
We had no problem with our train today, and we got to Verona in about 45 minutes, and then we got the bus for the 20 minute ride to the hostel. It is about a 10 minute walk from the bus to the hostel, and my left foot hurts because I have a big blister on one of my toes from walking around Venice. I think my feet are more comfortable in my hiking boots than my walking shoes, but it's nice not to have to wear hiking boots all the time when it is hot. We quickly checked in to the the hostel (but we coldn't get into our rooms until 5PM, so we just left our big packs at reception and then we went to get a bus back to the train station.
We want to do some hiiking near the Dolomites, so we needed to get to either Trento or Bolzano to get information from the tourist office on accomodations in the area, and on hiking trails. We took the 1:42 train out to Verona that went to both cities, and we got off in Trento because it was only an hour ride versus two hours to Bolzano. We got some information on hiking in Trento and we checked out the youth hostel which looks pretty nice. we didn't know there was a hostel in Trento because it isn't listed in our hostel book. It will be a good place to stay because it is fairly close to the train station.
Then we got on another train and went to Bolzano and got information on hiking and accomodations in the area. There are no hostels, there but the brochure lists various places to stay that don't look too expensive. We will call a few tomorrow to check them out. The train back to Verona was very crowded at first, so a young man and an older woman sat next to us in the 4-seat section. Shari ended up talking to them; the woman is a retired teacher from New York and the man grew up in Verona but studied physics in the States. They gave us a recommendation for a restaurant in Verona so we went to eat there before we went back to the hostel.
They has told us to try one of the reataurant's specialties - donkey meat sauce over home made spaghetti, so we did. It was good, kind of like a bolgnese sauce - ground meat, but more of a brown than red sauce. I had a glass of Valpolicella wine with dinner that was excellent. Verona is known for its wine-making - Valpolicella and Soava wines.
We finished dinner just before 9PM and walked back to the hostel. We are rarely out in the evening and it was a beautiful walk, looking at all the lights along the river and up in the hills. Verona is a lovely city with lots of old buildings and structures, some dating from the first century A.D. It is said that Juliet (from Romeo and Juliet) lived in Verona and you can visit her house and tomb. The River Adige winds through the city and it is beautiful along the river both during the day and at night.
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