Today is Sunday and I think this park is the gathering place for everyone; families, friends, and lovers. Laurie and I found a place to sit and read and nap. People had their blankets down with their food. They were all talking away. Italian sounds very much like Spanish. Maybe if I learn Spanish I will understand Italian.
We walked back to the hostel by different streets. Even though the stores were closed there were a lot of people out window shopping. We got pizza for dinner. I don't think I have eaten so much pizza in my life.
One thing that I forgot to mention. There was a street entertainer that was amazing. He was a musician and he played crystal glasses. He had a tray with about 20 crystal glasses, different sizes and styles. There was water in the goblets at different levels. He played by either tapping or rubbing the rim. The first thing he played was from the "Nutcracker". Seeing him play and listening to the music was very moving. I think I could have stayed all day. It is very moving to watch good musicians anyways, but I had never seen anything like him before.
September 15, 2003
After breakfast we caught the train to Venice. We were going to take a boat to three islands, Murano, Burano, and Tracelto. Each one is suppose to have something to offer. We went to Murano first. This is known for its glass making history. There was a museum there with glass pieces, back to the first century. I still wonder how glass was discovered. How did they know that heating sand and other chemicals to a very high temperature would make glass?
The museum had some very intricate pieces of glass from several centuries ago. I would say the pieces of today are more exotic and unusual.
The island itself didn't offer too much else. It also looks like alot of the buildings are in disrepair. There were quite a few glass shops and cafes.
The second island we went to was Burano, but once we got there we hopped on to the ferry to Torcello. It was suppose to have some old churches with mosaics. There was a fee so we just walked around. This island looked deserted.
We took the ferry back to Burano. This island has a lace museum. I think this was the nicest island. We didn't go into the museum, but we looked at a lot of the shops with the lace items. While we were there I heard more American voices than I heard Italian. There must have been several large tour groups.
We walked back to the ferry and went back to the main island. We wanted to find the American bookstore. It is so easy to get lost here, it is like a maze. We finally found the bookstore, but they didn't have what we were looking for. So the next place we were looking for was the internet. It was amazing that we found it. It was expensive, so we weren't on long.
We found our way back to the train station. I think I walked on every lane and crossed all 300 bridges. Maybe more than once.
We just missed one train by seconds. The next train was about 10 minutes later going to Verona. We hopped on it thinking that the normal train goes through Padova to Verona. Once we started riding and it was stopping at all these places we were worried that we were on the wrong train. We thought we might have to go all the way to Verona and then take a train back to Podova. The problem was it didn't look like the train would leave until later and by the time we got to Podova and the hostel, it would be past curfew at 11:30. Luckily the train pulled into Podova and I let out a big sigh of relief.
Laurie and I walked back towards the hostel. We stopped at Brek's to eat. The British girls staying in our room told as about it. It is an Italian chain that serves cafeteria style. It was inexpensive, but if you got more than one thing, it quickly added up.
With full bellies we walked back to the hostel.
September 16, 2003
Today was another day with train situations. Laurie and I checked out of the hostel after breakfast. It was about 8:00. We walked to the train station and hopped on the train going to Milan. This stops in Verona where we were going to spend the night. We couldn't find seats. It was full. After walking several times down the aisles, we found a place for our packs. Then we went to go find seats. The conductor saw us again and asked to see our tickets. He said that this was a special train for reserved seats only. He made us get off at Vicenza. We usually don't have a problem getting on the reserved trains because they usually aren't full.
So Laurie and I went in Vicenza to get the next train to Verona. Once we got to Verona and after the tourist information stop, we went to get the bus to the hostel. The bus was there waiting. Most places let us buy the tickets from the bus driver, but not here. I went all over trying to find where to get tickets. Each time some one told me the wrong information. It wasn't intentional, it was just that he didn't know what I wanted. I finally found the ticket place, but our bus had already left. We had to wait for the next bus.
Once we got off the bus, we were trying to orient ourselves to the map. There were three older women sitting on the bench. They must have known that we were confused. They asked if we wanted to go to Ostella. That is the word for youth hostel and we said yes. They gave us directions and we were off. The hostel was at the top of a hill in a very old building. I am wondering if it is an old convent. Speaking of convents, I have seen more nuns and priests dressed in the traditional garb walking around. I guess if there is any place to see them it is Italy.
We checked into the hostel but we couldn't get into our room. We left our packs there and went back to the train station. We were going to take a ride to Trento and possibly Bolzano. These are the areas I heard we could hike near the Dolomites.
We arrived in Trento and found the information place. They said they have what we were looking for.
