9/13/03 - 9/23/03
My alarm went off. I didn't want to get up this morning. ?The window was open so the room was nice and cool, but it was very comfy under the blankets. Well, I had to get up. Breakfast was at 7:30 and then we had to catch the 8:15 bus to the train. The train wasn't leaving until 9:39, but it was the only bus to get us to the center. Today was the Saturday market again. They were just setting up. Boy, that is a lot of work.
We caught the train. We were leaving Chamonix for good. I really enjoyed it there. The scenery was beautiful and we had been there for so long, it felt like home.
We met a young man from Boulder, CO. We had a nice talk while riding to Martongy. He left to go someplace else and Laurie and I were heading for Milan.
When we stopped in Martongy I had to take my loose Swiss franc change and change it to bills. I wouldn't be able to use it any where else. The reason is, when I exchange the Swiss money to euros, they won't take the change I had 16.00 Swiss francs, so I got a 10.00 bill and spent 6.00 francs on pastry and soda.
We got to Milan and caught the next train right away. We finally arrived in Padova at 5:35. We didn't have a place to stay yet, so we stopped at the tourist office. The woman was very nice and helpful. She booked a night at the hostel, but we could only get it for tonight. Well, we will deal with tomorrow tomorrow.
We walked to the hostel which took about a half hour. Boy was this place busy with people. I thought it would be better outside Venice where it isn't so crowded, but this place is just as bad. I never heard of Padova.
After we checked in we took a walk to some bookstore. We wanted to see if we could find information on the Dolomites. They are part of the Italian Alps. The people in the bookstore didn't speak English and they didn't care to try to help. I guess we will just go up there and see if we can find something.
It started to rain as we were heading back to the hostel. There wasn't anyone else in the room yet. Shortly afterwards two British girls came in, Anna and Allison. They have been traveling in Italy for awhile. They gave us some information about places to stay in Florence and Rome. They weren't able to get the hostel for tomorrow either. They are heading to Verona which is the same place that we plan to go tomorrow.
September 14, 2003
We got up early today because we were going to Verona because this hostel was full for tonight. I stripped my bed and once I threw the sheets in the laundry, the man told me that some people cancelled and that there would be room for us. Laurie and I decided to change our plans. We would stay at the hostel and go into Venice today. Anna and Allison decided to stay here also.
Since we were already up we went to breakfast. I could have easily gone back to bed. Breakfast was croissants, roll, and cereal. They really load up on the carbohydrates. We walked to the train station and caught the 8:58 train to Venice. It only takes about a half hour to get there.
Right across the train station were the vaporetto's which are the passenger boats. There are no cars in Venice. Everything has to be delivered by boat or on foot. Venice is built on 117 small islands and has 150 canals and 400 bridges. There is a Grand Canal and only three bridges cross that. From the boat, the buildings look like they are deteriorating. From a distance, it doesn't look very appealing. The buildings have the foundations right in the water. It was amazing that all of this was built on the water.
We took the passenger boat which took us through the Grand Canal all the way to the end. We got off at one of the end stops and walked through all of the alleys and lanes.
The city was really crowded. It's been a long time since I've been some place that crowded. Laurie and I kept thinking the busy season was over.
Walking through all the little alleys and over the foot bridges was neat. The buildings still looked like they were deteriorating, but it was fun walking through the alleys and lanes. There were a lot of neat stores on the bottom floor and there were apartments on the rest of the floors. There were lots of gelato shops and I just had to try it. I had it once at home and didn't like it much. I thought it might be different in the real place. It was good.
We found our way back to the train station. It was a little difficult with the alleys and foot bridges. It was hard to tell which direction you are going.
We took the train back and started walking back toward the hostel. I saw a park with lots of people so I suggested that we go in.
