The Maze They Call Venice

We wanted to get an early start for Florence, so we got up early for our complimentary breakfast and quickly devoured our meals. The ride was a little chilly due to our damp clothes from the previous afternoon, but the high speeds worked well for drying us out. It would have been nice to spend the last 60+ km on the windy Tuscan roads, but we were anxious to see if our backpacks were still awaiting us at our hostel from a few days prior and wanted to get to Venice by early afternoon.

Time on the Venice bound train was filled with planning our route through Turkey and before we knew it the Venice canals surrounded us. The next hour or so was spent meandering the maze of urban planning they call Venice trying to locate our hotel. After enjoying a few minutes in our room without the weight of too much luggage on our backs, we dared to venture the streets of Venice again in search of a place to get our 2 weeks of dirty clothes cleaned.

Fortunately there was a laundry mat in close proximity and a helper on site to coach us through the process of working the industrial washing machines. While waiting for our spin cycle to complete, we found a local plaza to share a pitcher of beer and soak up the beautiful weather. By the time our clothes were ready to be dried, we were already warmed up and Sam sought out some tasty cheese, salami, and beer from a local deli to snack on to make the most of our time while waiting in the laundry mat.

The evening was spent walking through the postcard perfect streets and over the enchanting bridges that make up the world-renowned city of Venice.  We grabbed a nice meal in one of the numerous church centered piazzas, grabbed a drink in a bra covered jazz lounge and finished our evening stroll with another gelato.  Tomorrow we are looking forward to more lovely long overdue warm weather and more time spent getting lost in the Venice labyrinth of streets and canals.