Venturing Through Venice

Desperate to head to Venice and start our day, we had an early start and soon found ourselves on the train, speeding through northern Italy towards the coast. As we made our way out of the train station and into the bright sunny morning, we were instantly captivated by the scene before us.

As Venice has been depicted in media throughout the world, we had an idea of what to expect of this canal filled metropolis. However as we crossed our first bridge into the city, we were immediately impressed with the beauty and oddity of this flooded wonder.

As we crossed countless bridges and canals into the city, it was surreal being in a place completely absent of cars and roads and instead replaced by rows of tight alleyways and gondolas commanding the blue/green waterways. Each passing canal seemed to present a more picturesque view than the last.

After slipping down a maze of canals and alleyways, it wasn’t long before we found ourselves in the historic St. Mark’s Square. Dominated by the Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Basilica, and St. Mark’s Clocktower, we were soon in the midst of crowds of bustling tourists and vendors alike. During our initial planning for this trip, we knew we wouldn’t have an abundance of time in Venice. However, what we didn’t account for was the massive winding lines in front of Venice’s top attractions. If you are planning a trip with Venice as a stop, it is crucial to give yourself a full day to account for the seemingly endless lines.

Not wishing to spend hours waiting in the long twisting lines throughout the square, we decided to push onwards through the crowds and venture further into Venice. As we rounded the corner to continue our exploration, we came upon a bridge potentially on the verge of collapse due to the sheer amount of selfie-taking tourists currently occupying the small stone platform. As we looked past the superficial smile laden faces, we managed to catch a small glimpse of the famous Bridge of Sighs. Gaining its name from the numerous prisoners who once crossed this bridge and sighed at their last view of Venice, this has now become a major tourist destination.

Moving onwards past the Bridge of Sighs, our journey soon had us at the footsteps of the San Lorenzo church, notable for being the final resting place of famed explorer Marco Polo. Feeling as somewhat adventurers and explorers ourselves, it was a nice moment standing in the courtyard directly in front of this church reflecting on where we had come from and everything we had seen.

With the majority of our Venice sites now checked off, we decided it was time to continue our journey and depart. We meandered through the maze of flooded streets, stopping every so often to look over a bridge’s railing down to the canals below.

As we made our way to the bus stop to head to Venice’s airport, we had a brief stop at the iconic Rialto Bridge. Famed for its multitude of shops along its railings, this bridge was truly overflowing with people trying to get the perfect Venice picture.

We were able to worm our way across the bridge and eventually found ourselves on a bus heading to the nearby Venice airport. Arriving early, we spent the time enjoying our moment of rest with overpriced airport food and recounting tales from our past few days. Once it was time to board, it wasn’t long until we found ourselves overlooking the snow capped alps below and soaring back across the English Channel.

It was rather somber landing back down in Ireland as this signified the dreaded ending of our journey was near. After making our way through the airport and onto the street, we just briefly missed a bus to Malahide (our final destination) and would have to wait another hour for the next one. As we stood outside in the dying light of the evening, we filled the void by reminiscing about everything we had seen and done during the whirlwind of the last few days. Once the bus finally rolled up to our stop, disaster struck. Unbeknownst to us, Irish buses only accept fare in exact change, something we did not have. With the driver taking pity on us, he accepted a reduced fare and we were finally on our way to Malahide. A silent bus ride later, we were soon dropped off and walking down the dark empty coastal streets of Malahide. A brief walk later and we were soon standing in the midst of our magnificent hotel, The Grand Hotel.

Though the hotel was extremely elegant, it was lacking something we desperately craved. Much to our dismay, their restaurant had closed for the night by the time we had arrived. After checking in and dropping off our bags, we set off back into the night on a new hunt for dinner. Desperation began to grow as we bypassed closed restaurant after closed restaurant. After some torturous minutes, we finally stumbled into a small pub and slid up to the bar. Failing to be served or acknowledged, we slipped back out into the dark streets, searching for a new alternative. A short walk down the road led us into the midst of a group of vocal and obnoxious teenagers. As we gingerly pushed through the crowd, we stumbled into the small fish and chips shop that they had been guarding. A tiring experience later, we were soon back on the dark streets bound to our hotel with our newly acquired fried meals in tow. Back in our room, we enjoyed our greasy food while spending the rest of the night continuing to recap our trip and sad to see it coming to an end.

To see the previous day’s adventure, click here.

To move onwards with us along our journey, click here.