I have so many pictures to share and stories from my trip through Italy! I just wanted to share a bit about our travels from Northern Virginia to Venice today - trust me, I have plenty of pictures from that portion of the journey alone.
We left Virginia with snow still on the ground in most spots and flew overnight from Dulles International Airport to Frankfurt - this was my first time to ever be in Germany and even though we never left the airport, I still thought it was cool to be in Germany. We grabbed some breakfast and perused some shops at the Frankfurt airport - we arrived in the early morning (very early to our bodies) and had an almost four hour layover, so we planned to grab a small lunch before boarding our next flight.
We asked an airport employee about a place to grab lunch and she directed us to a small restaurant a short walk from our gate. She told us we could "just walk over & eat something & come right back..." but what she failed to mention was that once you were done eating, the only way to get back to the Z gates was to leave the airport, go through security again and re-enter the airport! That would have been useful information and so my anxiety went through the roof when we had only about fifteen minutes to go through security and make it back to our gate to board our flight... thankfully our gate was mere steps from the exit of security!
Thanks for the heart attack Frankfurt! Eek! Any how - our flight from Frankfurt to Venice was quite a short one, just over an hour. We flew over the Austrian Alps, already covered with snow and as we began our descent I could see water...water...everywhere and then, little land masses crowded with buildings on every square space. My first view of Venice - and of Italy!
We landed and I was reunited with my little sister after four + months apart - she's been stationed in Italy for her most recent deployment and has been having a wonderful time. We all embraced and then made our way to catch a Vaporetto from the airport and into the city of Venice - and of course, a Vaporetto would be a water taxi - because long gone were all cars, trucks, vehicles of any kind! Welcome to the city of boats, bridges and water!
We rode along the water for over an hour as the water taxi made stops here and there dropping people off at their stops and it was a unique way to see the 118 islands that make up the city of Venice. The city is connected by canals and over 400 bridges and it's honestly like something from another world - and yet, the world turns there along the canals just like it does here on the streets. It's just; quite honestly, a completely different world. It's fascinating.
Our AirBnB could not have been located at a better spot - we were literally steps away from Saint Mark's Square - you could see the top of Saint Mark's Campinale from the fifth floor windows of the apartment and hear boats going along the canals. It was such an enchanting little spot! The five flights of stairs weren't necessarily as enchanting but then again - so much of Italy is old and elevators are just not a thing!
We arrived a little later in the evening - I'd say around 5:00 - and sun sets shortly before 5:00, so once we'd settled in to our AirBnB we put on coats and set out to explore. It was much cooler in Venice than we'd anticipate; locals mentioned that the weather had turned dramatically cooler just days earlier and it normally wasn't quite so brisk! We walked the alleyways, crossing bridges and peering into shop fronts filled with pasta, candies, chocolates, pastries, knick-knacks, glassworks and so much more...
Our AirBnB host had made some recommendations for dinner, so we trekked over the bridges to a wonderful little spot where we seated in the window where we could watch people walking past. I do believe that this meal may have been my favorite of the entire trip; I had a delicious filled tortellini with a cream sauce and small pieces of ham and it was to die for! Just looking at this makes my mouth water and wish for some more... *sigh* it was certainly some fine Italian food!
After our dinner, we made our way back to our apartment popping in to a couple places here and there. Our waiter had given Lindsey and I complimentary shots of Limoncello; a yummy yet potent lemon liqueur that the Italians are famous for. I stumbled onto a bar that a friend had mentioned checking out - the ceiling is adorned with bras, ha-ha! I grabbed a picture and we also went into a chocolate shop and purchased some filled cookies and dragee or confetti, which are covered almonds!
We ended the night on an interesting note - My Dad plugged multiple items into a converter to charge and when I unplugged my phone, the end of the charger hit the stove top...sparked...and the power went out completely! Oh wait - did I forget to mention that my Dad had snaked the cord plugging the converter across a stove top? Oops! We called the number provided and within about an hour, a sweet Italian gentleman came, flipped a circuit downstairs and told my Dad "No" when he showed him all his plugs and his converter! Ha-ha! Talk about starting the trip with a bang - am I right?
So - there you have it. Smooth flights, a small panic attack in the Frankfurt airport, all the bridges and canals, some delicious Italian food and a stout lemon sip to start the trip! I so enjoyed our adventures abroad but I must say I'm looking forward to my comfy couch and my toasty bed once again tonight!
No comments:
Post a Comment