Venice Day 2 & 3

 DAY TWO
Early Morning for us!! The breakfast that was provider was soooooooooooooo yummy!! Fruit, cereal, cappucinos, lots of pastries...great way to start off our first full day! We ended up sneaking some food into our purses that we brought with us in order to cut down on food costs for lunch!

Our plan for the morning was to take the vaporetto (NOT the water taxi like I have been saying =p) to the old jewish ghetto which is the original ghetto. I loved this =] We just walked around all morning seeing different things (most of the shops were closed on Sundays!) but just the feeling of getting lost and exploring was perfect. A few times we forgot that most of the 'roads'consit of water as we found ourselves almost going face first into the little canals!! It is just soo much fun, walking around having no idea where u are going but then coming across different plazas! We always managed to find ourselves at St. Mark's Square or the Rialto Bridge.

So turns out that my fav jewellery store in spain is also in Italy! I got 2 nice rings for myself =] Afterwards Heidi and I decided to sit down with some yummy gelati (gelato). We headed back to the hostel since thats where our food was stored for lunch! On our way back I decided that it was time for me to invest in some art! I looked at all the stalls but nothing seemed to catch my eye. Then, when we were almost back to our hostel, there was a stall with a guy who was painting with watercolors. HIS WERE AMAZING! We started talking to him and turns out he has been to canada twice (Quebec and Vancouver). I told him that I want to do interior design and I also love to paint and draw so we chatted about that also. I knew this was the artist I wanted to buy from! It is always nice to get to know the artist before hand =]. So, I now own my first piece of art!!

For the afternoon Heidi and I decided to go our seperate ways haha it's always a good idea to venture off on your own (as long as you stay in public places and are smart!) so you can take time to just enjoy the things you want to see! I went to St. Mark's square to go into the Basilica. AMAZING!! Everything is decorated in little tiny tiles! Apparently the roof spread out would be the same size as a football field and then imagine the field being paved with contact lenses (aka tiles). I managed to take one picture without being caught! =] Oops I forgot to mention that before coming here I quickly did a sketch of the Rialto Bridge for my artist friend to say how much I appreciated his work and to encourage him to keep on painting!! He was honored and will put my picture up in his place (least that is what he said =P). Okay so after the Basilica I found a nice garden (Ex Gardini Reali) and sat down to finish off reading Psalms. I finally finished it! =] Now on to Job =P

It was starting to get chilly and so I headed back to the hostel for a quick email check and nap!! I ended up discovering  that our TV in our room had sound! So that was lovely =P We never watched it though other than the weather channel. Heidi came back at 6:30 pm and we got ready for a nice dinner! Guess where we ate!??!? well, after 1 hr of wandering and getting lost (ended up at St. Mark's square once again =p) we took the vaporetta to Rialto bridge. We found a cute place along the grand canal! sooo nice. and even better....I HAD MY FIRST LEGIT TIRAMISU!!! After 30 min of eating and an hour of girl chatting we headed back and went straight to bed!!

One thing I have noticed is that you can actually feel Venice floating up and down on the water...I noticed it when I lay down in bed or when I am sitting. It is such a weird feeling! Not a fan =P Also, the night life here is a lot better than Spain! It is soo quite and relaxful =] so nice just to walk around the empty streets and see all the lights.

Differences between Spain and Italy...
-Dogs are actual pets...and not guards!
-No more sandy feet!
-Buenos Dias / buon giorno
-Buenos Noches / Buona sera
-Gracias / grazie
-Denada / prego
...there are probably a lot more!! just haven't taken the time to make note of them =P


DAY THREE
Today is a rainy day! Good thing is a train day as well! So we learned that the office in the Florence Hostel closes at 7 pm...problem! The train we previously booked would get us there at 8:30! Oh the things you learn during your first time traveling....no Heidi and I both know what details to pay attention too haha. So our plan of action was just to take the vaporetto for the last time to the train station and see if we could work something out. We couldnt change our ticket since it was the day of our departure and so we just ended up buying an earlier and really cheap train ticket! This actually turned out perfectly =]. So we sat around and waited for 1.5 hours and then finally got on the train. HOW EXCITING! My first train ride ever =] haha. We ended up meeting 2 americans (one lives in the UK now) and talked to them for an hour about the american government,tim hortons, travels, their occupations, our future plans...it was wicked. Finally we arrived in Florence but had to take the local train one stop further! The hostel is a 20 min walk from the train station so it wasn't too bad except that my suitcase is a piece of junk now haha instead of rolling it just drags so I am off to get a new suitcase tomorrow! Anyways, we arrived safe and sound (thank you God! He is always protecting us =] ), freshened up and then headed out for some night time sight seeing! We basically walked for 2 hours and saw all the major sights and got a feel for Florence. Tomorrow we are getting up at 6:30 to repack and then head out to the Uffizi and the Academia to see the David! =] I am so excited for this!! Then we will come back, store our luggage at the office since we have to check out and then finish up what we want to see then off to Rome at 4:40!!!

THANKS FOR ALL THE PRAYERS! God has been soo good to us!!

The trip is half over!!! Canada in T-3 days (Timmies here I come).

PS check facebook for pictures! They are slowly getting up there =]