Venice – September 1st 2017

Venice was our first stop in Italy. Actually, Bergamo was. We literally got to Bergamo at 8pm after our first experience driving in Italy (holy smokes!!). We would be having a quick sleep and then hit the road the next day.

Arriving at our Venice Airbnb was easy enough if you take out the crazy Italian drivers we were now dealing with. We met our Airbnb host, Nonna Pia and wow she was a character. No English, None! but when she saw our rental plates, she thought we were French and we found some common language ground. It wasn’t perfect but it got us through.

We were lucky to book a great place about a 5 minute walk to the train station to get us to Venice. Our airbnb was a good size, had great WiFi and was fully equipped. You never know what you are going to get and we were happy with this one!!

It was still fairly early after we checked in so we took the train into Venice to explore for a couple hours. Now, up till now I was not excited for Italy. I know some people are (most actually) but for me Italy was never a place that drew me in. The drivers had been nightmares so far and the first town we stayed in was small and didn’t stand out too much to me. I rode the train into Venice skeptical that I would enjoy my time.

The first thing that hit me when we came out the station was the pretty views. Ok, Venice, point for you there. The second thing I noticed (which I knew but it didn’t dawn on me until we got there) was the lack of vehicles, no worries for the kids safety as no cars, bikes, scooters or motorbikes allowed!! Venice had scored it’s next point with me. All in 30 seconds of arriving.

We walked about, trying not to get lost in the streets (although it might have actually been fun too). There were so many shops to browse in, and every corner we turned had me taking pictures. We explored for a few hours when we noticed the sky turning dark. We decided to call it a day and got back to the train station just in time! The rain, thunder and lightning hit just as we were running back to the airbnb. We got soaked but it was fun ducking for cover when we could in doorways.

Although we only had a little time in the city and the weather had turned nasty, Venice had taken hold of me and I loved it!

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