Europe tour day 5: Venice

Sunset in Venice -- one of my favorite photos from our trip

Day 5, fourth region, we arrive in Venice around 2pm, and after some confusion with the instructions, we took the expensive taxi ride to our hotel.

We did not stay in Venice Island, but in Mestre, where the Venice main train station was situated, because we had an early train ride to Innsbruck the next day. That, and because it was way cheaper to stay in Mestre than in Venice itself.

We took the bus to the island, and we arrived during sunset, which seemed like the most romantic time to be in Venice. This was both good and bad. Good, because the view was ridiculously picturesque; Bad because the streets were dark already, and we weren't able to go further inland.



We didn't ride the expensive gondolas nor the slightly cheaper little yachts. We walked around the island instead and had dinner al fresco, right beside the water. Since we were right beside the water, we definitely smelled the oil from the boats. It's not as bad as Pasig river, but it certainly didn't make for appetizing eating.


What surprised me about Venice, though, is that the Italian-made leather goods are cheaper than the ones in Rome. The quality even seemed better.

We were still walking around the winding streets of Venice when it got too dark, and we became afraid, so we just walked back to the pier. I think I kind of looked European when we were there because numerous tourists and locals would come up to me and ask for directions or simply have a chat with me in their native tongue. It was fascinating.

Venice at night

A friend of mine who visited Venice a few years ago told me I should have ridden the gondola. I hope I can come back someday, and maybe this time with my future partner, and we can ride the gondolas under the numerous bridges of Venice.


I hope you'll enjoy your trip! All photos are unedited. I don't know how to use Photoshop! Please don't use my images without permission.

Read about my Eurotrip!
Rome day 1
Rome day 2
Florence day 3-4
Pisa day 4
Innsbruck day 6
Munich day 7-8

Other links you might find helpful:

Getting ready for Europe  |  Preparing your Schengen visa requirements  |  Booking your hotel and plane fare  |  Filling out the Schengen visa form  |  How to apply to the Italian embassy thru Via  |  Cross-country train travel in Europe