9.16 & 17

Bolzano —> Venice…..by meself

I have really been enjoying riding the trains. They’re smooth, the scenery whizzing by, I can write, play my phone games. I’m comfy AND it means I’m going somewhere. The train out of Bolzano to Venice was LATE…..I did ask a couple near me to confirm, they looked American and then I heard them speaking to an older lady. Turns out, they are from Cary, NC. Another small world encounter. For longer trains you can reserve your seat ahead of time. When booking, I wasn’t given the option to choose this leg, the 2nd one I was. But on my ticket there was a fraction: 1/65. Train arrived almost an hour late. As it pulled in, I realized I did have a cart & seat number, Car 1 Seat 65. I was NOT near Car 1, so after waiting all that time, I had to book down to Car 1 before the doors closed. The sound came in and I had to jump on Car 2, but all is good as I just walked though the doors and found the luggage rack and my seat. Shoosh. Because the train was late meant that I had missed my 2nd train into Venice. I navigated to a someone who worked for the train company and he directed me to ‘Emergency/Last minute’ booth. Stood there for a good 20 minutes and met a American couple behind me that were in the same boat. They said there was a train leaving at 2 and it was 1:55. Finally my turn and the man in the ‘Last Minute’ Kiosk said ‘in order to change your train, I have to get my managers approval’. What? You work in a last minute kiosk and you have to get a manager’s approval. Ok….. Anywho, he change my train to the 2 o’clock and it was well, you guessed it, 2 o’clock. I raced with my luggage to the train and made it! Shoosh. Hurry up and Wait.

Pulled into Venice and once I stepped out of the train station I knew this was going to be fun. The buildings, the Grand Canal, the bustling, it was all very intriguing. I put in directions to my hotel, which on purpose, was not far. Turn left here: my introduction the narrow alleyways. The hotel was old, but super quaint, beautiful outside. Checked in, SUPER tiny room and then headed out to eat. I didn’t have to walk far, next door, was a restaurant/cafe. I had some amazing Spinach, Sage Ravioli with Cream Sauce and Walnuts.

I headed out to explore. I had many things pinned onto my Google maps from research, all things AWAY from the tourist areas, so I just plugged one in and walked. And walked. And walked. It was so much fun!

I do want to insert one thing here: It hasn’t been ALL roses and sunshine this whole trip. Because I have stayed apart from the group there has been some loneliness. Not from craving the group, but I suppose missing the familiar. For something to be easy. Not having to pour forth SO MUCH EFFORT in planning, navigating, working around the language in communication, menus, groceries, shopping etc. Yes, it is part of the adventure, but just wanted to type a bit of vulnerability here. I did choose not to dine with group a couple of nights and being alone is both great and not great. When those connections aren’t there locally and the ones at home are 6 hours away, there are hard moments. Traveling alone required some pep talks, “fixing my ponytail and reminding myself why I am here”.

So back to Venice, so when I went to walk around, it energized me, ahhhh yes, this is why I came. The textures, the culture, the stores, the canals, the alleyways, the boats, the smells, the doors……I was fascinated by the different doors, I’ll do a collage of those at some point.

I walked almost 6 miles that day just taking it all in. I would stop in stores I knew were true artisan stores. One was a printmaker. I ended up speaking to him for a while, he told me it was his passion and how he put together all the tiny letters to create his cards and posters, his fonts, about the Venetian specific dialect. I ended up buying some skinny postcards and a poster from him.

I had also pinned a couple vintage shops and visited those. I bought Gelato. I went to the famous book store Liberia Acqua Alta. I’m pretty sure I had a smile on my face the entire time. I found a Copenhagen store, ended up in one of the super tourist areas and WHOA it was crowded. I was told it would be but it took me a couple hours to stumble into it. One of the best times was when the sun was setting and the tourists started to dissipate. The colors were beautiful, the air cooler and I really took it in. I made it back to the hotel, showered and crashed.

I had a great breakfast at the hotel in the am at 8 am and headed out once again before I had to check out at 11. I bought a ticket for the waterbus, water ferry and found a seat up front. Then the bottom let out and I forgot my rain coat. Grrrrr. I got off at a stop, googled a souvenir store, bought an umbrella and continued on.

Checked out and headed out on the train to Conegliano. This is the Prosecco wine region, a small region where the grapes for Prosecco are grown due to the hills for drainage, the mild weather climate and the soil that’s just right. I had to sit at a cafe and wait until the AIrbnb was ready. I had amazing pasta with basil pesto and ‘tost’ which is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. I got into my Airbnb and there were wooden slates covering all the windows and door to the terrace. I could not figure out how to open them. It looked as if it were boarded up for the winter. Low feelings settled in again, no natural light was getting into the place, I felt confined and alone. Weird how that shifts so fast. As I was sitting there talking to Sean on the phone, I saw a flat rope beside the window and it clicked! A pulley system for the raising the wooden shades. VOILA! Much better. Now onto googling a grocery store and a restaurant for dinner.

What I thought was the closest grocery store was a 24 minute walk. It was hot. I got some supplies, creamer for coffee, I found Peanut Butter, Bread, waters, bananas, avocado and such. Carried the heavy groceries back and realized this town is a stark comparison to Venice. Many store closed, very little locals walking around hardly any tourists, which didn’t play well into my swinging emotions. [insert ponytail adjustment] and I willed myself back out to a restaurant nearby. Many were closed on Thursdays. I go in and they serve me the traditional appertivo, potato chips and an Aperol Spritz. No one was in the little mom and pop restaurant and they were not offering any food. After sitting there for quite a while I decided to pay and leave and she proceeds to tell me that she ‘had a marriage yesterday and was not cooking today, but come back tomorrow and she will’. Great. Luckily I had my leftover basil pesto pasta and half a tost. My ponytail was getting loose. So I decided to book a 2 hour horseback ride through the hills for the next morning. And good night.