After we settled in we went to a nearby grocery store for some breakfast items, and wine. Then we stopped by a pizzeria on the way home. This was the first pizza I had in Italy, and it was worth the wait! We also used up all the Wifi, which our host has to pay for in set amounts due to the area, so that’s why I’d been silent about Rome for so long.
Yesterday morning we slept in, ate breakfast, and got on a bus to the island part of the city, where we had arrived the day before. We had a few goals: Ride a gondola, find magnets and charms for Emily, find art for me, and get lost in the city.
Getting lost wasn’t hard, so we walked around for quite a bit until we finally found a bridge we’d been searching for. After crossing it we found a gondola to ride. All the gondola services in Venice have a max charge of €80 and we had been looking for a €80 40 mintue ride, but the one we found was €60 for 30. During the ride we actually went by a lot of what we had seen walking around. Also, there weren’t other gondolas around, since we had opted for the quite side, so it was very relaxing.
After the ride we walked around more, found more dead ends, and found a great pasta place for lunch. After lunch we searched for a restroom, and after a lot of walking found one. We had to pay €1.5! This is by far the most expensive public restroom we’ve seen in Europe, and the cheaper ones were still €1 and also hard to find!
Lastly, to end the day we went by some stalls and shops for Emily’s magnets and charms, and searched in vain for an art gallery I had seen in the morning.
This morning, we had Wifi, but refrained from using it much since it was for the next guests. To start the day, we went to the train station we had arrived in and checked our bags, as the Airbnb had people arriving at noon and our flight wasn’t until 18:45 (6:45 pm).
We searched more for that art gallery to no avail. Then we got lunch at a place we’d passed a couple of time and had free Wi-Fi, which I used to upload the Rome blogs.
After lunch we walked towards our bus on a different route and found that art gallery by accident! One problem: most places in Italy close from 14:00-16:00 (2-4pm), and we got there at 14:04. I said oh well, as I had already given up earlier, but we did pass a shop where I bought a small art tile for €6, which was probably much cheaper than what I had been looking at in the gallery.
Lastly, we got on a bus to the airport and waited there for a while until we boarded our current flight. Next stop: Berlin
Until next time,
Reed
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Read more from Reed at https://reedingatcolchester.files.wordpress.com/
To find out more about the Exchange program with University of Essex, visit http://studyabroad.uark.edu/exchange/essex
