Day 8: Welcome to Italy! First Stop: Pizza!
The group departed from Munich in the morning, Matt was able to get the bus right up in front of the hotel, we loaded up and were off! After a couple of hours, it was about time for lunch! We stopped at a lovely little village and ate at a great pizza place in Neumarkt, Pizzeria Lauben! After lunch, Nicole and I had a nice little stroll back to the bus and were gearing up for Venice! On the way we were given the 'if we get split-up" talk about the water busses of the Grand Canal. It seemed easy enough, no more difficult than a normal bus ride at home, but the whole floating thing was a little different! We were ready to go!
Lighten the load and lace up for Venice!
As per Colleen's advice, we dropped down to one backpack for our visit in Venice. We weren't planning on buying much, the narrow paths, bridges and a two night stay was reason enough to do so. Our other bag stayed behind on the bus and we effortlessly traveled in and out of Venice with one backpack. Here, the backpack or being able to carry a bag easily was very helpful to stay nimble through the crowds. We checked into our room with the gaudiest Morano glass chandelier we had ever seen! After a quick orientation walk we were going to have dinner as a group! Venice was bustling when we arrived, but you could quickly see the benefit of spending the night here. As the tide of tourists receded, we had Venice practically to our own to explore!
- After a delicious multi-course dinner, we recommend going to bed! Going to bed? Yes! Get up EARLY, like when the sun comes up early! Nicole and I got up early the next morning to walk the canals and watch the sun come up over the gondolas. It will make you fall in love with Venice, before the real "tourists" arrive! We did what was recommended, which was "go and get lost!". If you head over to the Rialto bridge and are craving some coffee, or even a donut, there is a cafe just on the South-East side of the bridge that is open early! A few hours of less of sleep is worth having morning coffee on the Rialto bridge all by yourself…check out the pictures on the next page!