I managed to find my way to the hostel last night and even took my very first vaporetto ride. These are Venice’s answer to “public transit” when your city’s main street is a canal. They work exactly like the subway or a bus would, only it’s a boat. The crappy thing is – they’re expensive. At 6EU a pop – you’d better really want to get where you’re going. It’s somewhat possible to avoid using them, but that requires more time spending winding through the tiny and confusing streets of Venice.
Unfortunately for me, the hostel is on an adjacent island, so the vaporetto is a must (a fact that would have been good to know earlier, but oh well). But I decide to make the most of it and buy a 24 hour pass so that I can visit all the adjacent islands for one low price.
And that’s what I did today. Well, technically first I took the #2
vaporetto to San Marco (the main part of town) and gave myself a few hours to wander around and (hopefully) get my bearings a bit. Let me tell you – it is NOT hard to get lost here. In fact, I pretty much spent the whole day lost. Here’s a freebie for you: if you don’t like not knowing at least approximately where you are at all times and if inefficiency bothers you – do NOT come to Venice under any circumstances. Despite the views and the fact that the city is literally on the water, it won’t be worth it.
Amidst my wandering I decided to try and locate (sans a real map) the other “hostel” in Venice. I had read that this other option was closer to St. Mark’s, so it would allow me to avoid the spendy vaporetto in the future. After about (I kid you not) two hours, I finally found it. And they even have bed available for tomorrow – yay!! With this news, I confirmed my plan with myself to island hop for the rest of the day. That way by the time by 24 hours is up – I’ll be safely tucked away on the “main land.”
There are three other islands of note: Murano (where the famous Venetian glass is made), Burano, and Torcello. I missed the vaporetto to the third island (Torcello), so I only toured two today – but that was really all I had in me anyway. The islands themselves are not much to brag about, but tourists are given ample opportunity to buy both glass and lace items (their two specialties). I did my fair share of shopping and then was happy to come home.
I’m starting to reach the point where I am craving a bit of normalcy; a bit of sameness and routine. I had figured that I would be able to establish that a bit in the bigger cities (as I will naturally be staying longer), but I don’t know if that will be the case for Venice.
Perhaps it’s because at this moment my feet hurt, I stink, and I’m hungry – but the city is exhausting. It truly is an elaborate labyrinth built to keep you in – I wasn’t pulling your leg. The buildings are quite tall, and the streets between them are quite narrow, so all you can ever see is concrete walls on either side of you (not pictured). There are technically signs everywhere, helping you “navigate” but…they are really more like guidelines. It seems in reality, there are equally as many right turns as there are wrong. Sometimes the signs even read San Marco with an arrow pointing in both directions. Instead of feeling enthusiastic that no matter what I do – I am going the right way, I usually feel a little despondent: as in, the choice is futile. Whether I choose right or left, I am not actually affecting when I will arrive at my destination.
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