Day 102 Northern Italy and Old Floating Venice

The culprits of Davide's shortened night.

So my hundredth day out here passed without much fanfare, but I did spend it in the company of Davide, so Montreal homesickness was a certainty. We found ourselves in Udine, and after a bit of drama regarding where to stay, it was decided that we would sleep in the bar! Tetris is a new spot, opened by his buddy Luca, who lived and worked for a decade in London. His girlfriend Korinne is the cook there, and they had called for a consultant to help the kitchen with its service. It's designed to be like a house, and has a gallery, lounge (with benches and cushions, where I laid my head), a room for board games and a room with four xbox consoles! You can chill with coffee, or go watch the footie game, or spend a night of the weekend there when it's super busy and there's a DJ. All in all it's a mixed bag of awesome. I actually got invited to work there, and almost did for a shift, before it became clear that Monday nights are not busy enough to merit two bartenders, much as the owner would have liked!

sleeping angel haha!

cool Tetris decor.

We started early, being as there is not much to do in the city, especially in the rain and winter weather! I did get out to the squares though, and there are some especially gorgeous ones. The nice thing about Udine, versus Rome for example, is that everything you need to see is all in one area, and you can survey it very quickly, and know you haven't missed anything. I am constantly worried in these big cities that I've skipped over something I will regret later! Too much to see, and so little time! The perk of Davide's consultant gig was the free beverages, from Brandy and Tea, to Spritzes, I was all kinds of hooked up. Luca made me a Spritz (which is like their aperitif, pre-dinner cocktail) with Cynar, a bitter derived from artichokes of all things! It's mixed with white wine and soda and served with an orange slice and ice. Delicious!

Look what I found!

We had lunch at the apartment where Michele, Davide's brother, lives with his three roommates. A delicious cauliflower soup is pretty much all we ate all day though, which along with the strawpedos I introduced to him, explains the extreme levels of intoxication experienced by Davide later. The bar provided the backdrop for the rest of the day, and by 9, when we had returned to the apartment to include the boys in our fun, Davide checked out and Korinne and I were left to return to Tetris, where I camped out after it closed at 2.

Floating market!

The next morning I woke up really late, a side-effect of the lack of sleep from the previous few days and the abundance of wine from the previous night. Davide was feeling pretty off, but working out his hangover with some xbox and coffee. I spent the day catching up on my journal, a pasttime I had neglected since Ljubljana, and playing boardgames (which I turned out to be quite good at!). Luckily we had been invited to stay at the apartment, so we turned in early, and watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show, during which I passed out.

Hilarious advert in Venice.

I woke up in time to catch the 10:07 train to Venice Santa Lucia station, saying goodbye to Davide, who was sad to see his link to Montreal heading off. I was really glad to have someone to talk about home with, and before I left we got a few traditional bracelets, which represent wishes that will come true when they fall off. I'm slowly but surely accumulating quite the hippie collection of mementos on my wrist! It was not raining in Venice, and the aqua alta had receeded, so my feet were out of danger!

Neat clock in the square showing astrological signs.

Armed with my trust ipod maps application, I wandered around the city taking in the major sites -  the Rialto Bridge, the Piazza San Marco, and the bevy of canals and winding streets that make the city so picturesque, and so easy to get lost in! I found an inexpensive place to buy Murano glass (some of you are getting presents!!) and another to grab a salad in. The city is full of couples, so that was a little tough, but I made the best of it and appreciated the city for its uniqueness. There really is nothing like it, boats that sell fruits and vegetables to people as they pass, the (very overpriced) gondolas, and the knowledge that you're walking through the city as it looked in the 16th century. It's honestly just a massive museum, and very cool. I wasn't as stunned by it as some are however, and I imagine in warmer weather, with a travel partner, that it would hold more of my interest. I was lucky to avoid the crowds and smell of summer though, so there was a plus for sure!

Bah! WHERE DO I GO?

Church in Piazza San Marco,

the famous Rialto Bridge.

5 hours of wandering was enough for me, and I headed to the Mestre train station to await my first ever sleeper train experience to Rome. One problem with this agenda was the 6 hours waiting to be passed before the thing arrived! I spent a lot of time sipping a glass of wine in the wifi spot across the street, and a lot of time with a coffee in the McDonalds in the station, reading the book Davide gave me. Finishing this, I sat in the cold after the restaurants were closed and passed an hour on my dying iPod, listening to some good ol' Shane Murphy and missing home. I will say this: it was all worth it! The sleeper train is one of the best travel experiences! I slept like a rock, and woke up refreshed in a new city! Sure beats sharing a row of seats with someone on a bumpy bus, or trying to get comfortable in a plane. I was lucky with my last-minute discount, and it cost me €42, but if it ends up costing almost the same as the bus, I would definitely do it again. Unfortunately, cost is usually the deciding factor, and more often than not, it's buses for the win.

Rome at 6:30 am wasn't particularly fascinating to me, so I got to the hostel early, checked my bag in, and took a shower. I was unaware though of the first level problem of alternatively scalding and freezing water, and it was the worst! I managed to only wash my face before being chased out by the temperature fluctuations, and was grateful the fifth floor, where I ended up staying, suffered no such issues!

Rome awaited, and there is so much to do and see!

Love From Abroad, the countdown begins and I'm home soon to see all of your beautiful faces!