Europe adventure. Day 22 & 23 of 34.
Written at The Bath Bun tea shoppe in Bath on day 31.
I had to wake up very early that day because I wanted to go with Elena and her friends in the boating outing she invited me to. We were getting picked up at 7:30. Thankfully, I did go to step relatively early, but I had weird dreams about being busy saving the world or something and being unable to sleep all night. Needless to say, I didn't feel particularly rested.
I tried to take a quick shower, even though I was running late. It didn't happen, though, because the shower would not get warm. I hurriedly put on my bathing suit, giving up. I quickly ate some breakfast of a coffee flavored yogurt and toast with nutella and we ran out the door. Well, tried. We were stopped multiple times by Elena's wonderful mother making sure we had hats and jackets and sun screen and sunglasses and probably a million other things. She was speaking Italian, so I have no idea.
Elena's friends picked us up along with one of the girls I had met the night before who had biked there to meet us all. We started the adventure driving to the car owner's house to meet up with the guys, one of which was her boyfriend and the other two the ones with the boats. All together (though obviously not in one car) we stopped for their breakfast, croissants and espresso drinks. I had a cappuccino so I wouldn't be too left out.
We went out on the boats after that and spent seven hours straight sunbathing, swimming, eating fruit and listening to music off the coast of Venice. At some point the other girls all took off their tops, but I didn't really participate. Too many Italian guys being guys and I had no clue what any of them were saying.
After we were all thoroughly dehydrated, overheated and headachey (the other girls more than me, since I retreated to the shade before it ever got too bad) we put clothes over our sunburned skin and went to get gelato. So much gelato. Seriously. I had a great time hanging out with everyone and spending a whole day relaxing. It was a nice change.
When I got back to the B&B the first thing I did was eat. Too much fruit and gelato all day and no real food. I took sliced turkey and mozzarella and stuffed it into my mouth with pieces of baguette. Then took the remainder of the baguette and toasted it, smothering it with nutella.
Maybe real food? I don't know, but it was so good. I also got to meet Elena's dad, who was there for the first time. He also spoke no English, but seemed very nice.
A long shower and reading were the rest of my evening and night. It is truly amazing how tired I was from just being in the sun. It was a very nice sleep that night.
It was raining when I woke up. First time I had seen rain in Italy. I thought it would be mild, at least, but no. So I spent the first couple hours of my morning lazily reading my book, not wanting to go outside. The only problem was check out was at ten. I lost track of time until a message from Elena reminded me and I rushed out the door with my luggage, eating some cottage cheese and a peach on the way out. I didn't want to stay while they needed to clean the room. I didn't even bother to shower.
Elena's mom was the only one home when I left and she made sure that I had my umbrella and sweater before I went out the door, get gesturing perfectly clear. She was right, too. I definitely would have regretted not wearing my sweater. It was chilly and the rain was so strong it almost broke my umbrella. I went straight to the Venice Saint Lucia train station where I planned on leaving my luggage and took shelter there.
I sat and read my book, eventually getting a latte and chatting with a couple who were waiting for their train. One was from Canada and one Italy, I believe. They lived outside of Rome and were visiting Venice. When they had left and the rain had stopped I set off to get lost in Venice.
I went a very different way then I had my first day, hoping to see new things. I didn't really. More mask stores, more restaurants with outdoor seating, more canals, more gelato. I did pass a restaurant that offered a pretty good deal on lunch, though, and what I asked they said they had gluten free pasta. Who knew it was so common, at least in Venice. I hadn't had to Google it once.
After a very good meal I continued to wander around, window shopping and taking pictures of the canals and buildings. I tried the egg flavored gelato, since that seemed like an odd flavor. It tastes like custard, which makes sense. I got a small piece of almond Tarrone Tenero to see what it tasted like. There was a little chain of smoothie vendors offering samples, which I gladly tried at two locations. I also remember a cute little donut shop where the girl serving them had a donut tattoo on her chest. Of course many, many masks and glass objects of all kinds. And €80 gondola rides. That made me laugh.
Then I went back to the train station and waited for my night train to Paris. It was 45 minutes late. When it finally arrived I was well into the second book of my trip. I got onto the wrong coach somehow, which was full of people from Dubai, including a very cute little Joseph who seemed to love saying "Dubai! Dubai!" Over and over again. I'm not sure if he knew very many other words.
When I was directed to the right coach it was much quieter and I found myself getting sleepy. By the time they came to check my ticket I was all curled up with blankets and drifting off rather easily with the lurching motion of the train. The next morning was not so comfortable, but I will talk about that later.
I had to wake up very early that day because I wanted to go with Elena and her friends in the boating outing she invited me to. We were getting picked up at 7:30. Thankfully, I did go to step relatively early, but I had weird dreams about being busy saving the world or something and being unable to sleep all night. Needless to say, I didn't feel particularly rested.
I tried to take a quick shower, even though I was running late. It didn't happen, though, because the shower would not get warm. I hurriedly put on my bathing suit, giving up. I quickly ate some breakfast of a coffee flavored yogurt and toast with nutella and we ran out the door. Well, tried. We were stopped multiple times by Elena's wonderful mother making sure we had hats and jackets and sun screen and sunglasses and probably a million other things. She was speaking Italian, so I have no idea.
Elena's friends picked us up along with one of the girls I had met the night before who had biked there to meet us all. We started the adventure driving to the car owner's house to meet up with the guys, one of which was her boyfriend and the other two the ones with the boats. All together (though obviously not in one car) we stopped for their breakfast, croissants and espresso drinks. I had a cappuccino so I wouldn't be too left out.We went out on the boats after that and spent seven hours straight sunbathing, swimming, eating fruit and listening to music off the coast of Venice. At some point the other girls all took off their tops, but I didn't really participate. Too many Italian guys being guys and I had no clue what any of them were saying.
After we were all thoroughly dehydrated, overheated and headachey (the other girls more than me, since I retreated to the shade before it ever got too bad) we put clothes over our sunburned skin and went to get gelato. So much gelato. Seriously. I had a great time hanging out with everyone and spending a whole day relaxing. It was a nice change.When I got back to the B&B the first thing I did was eat. Too much fruit and gelato all day and no real food. I took sliced turkey and mozzarella and stuffed it into my mouth with pieces of baguette. Then took the remainder of the baguette and toasted it, smothering it with nutella.
Maybe real food? I don't know, but it was so good. I also got to meet Elena's dad, who was there for the first time. He also spoke no English, but seemed very nice.
A long shower and reading were the rest of my evening and night. It is truly amazing how tired I was from just being in the sun. It was a very nice sleep that night.
It was raining when I woke up. First time I had seen rain in Italy. I thought it would be mild, at least, but no. So I spent the first couple hours of my morning lazily reading my book, not wanting to go outside. The only problem was check out was at ten. I lost track of time until a message from Elena reminded me and I rushed out the door with my luggage, eating some cottage cheese and a peach on the way out. I didn't want to stay while they needed to clean the room. I didn't even bother to shower.Elena's mom was the only one home when I left and she made sure that I had my umbrella and sweater before I went out the door, get gesturing perfectly clear. She was right, too. I definitely would have regretted not wearing my sweater. It was chilly and the rain was so strong it almost broke my umbrella. I went straight to the Venice Saint Lucia train station where I planned on leaving my luggage and took shelter there.
I sat and read my book, eventually getting a latte and chatting with a couple who were waiting for their train. One was from Canada and one Italy, I believe. They lived outside of Rome and were visiting Venice. When they had left and the rain had stopped I set off to get lost in Venice.
I went a very different way then I had my first day, hoping to see new things. I didn't really. More mask stores, more restaurants with outdoor seating, more canals, more gelato. I did pass a restaurant that offered a pretty good deal on lunch, though, and what I asked they said they had gluten free pasta. Who knew it was so common, at least in Venice. I hadn't had to Google it once.After a very good meal I continued to wander around, window shopping and taking pictures of the canals and buildings. I tried the egg flavored gelato, since that seemed like an odd flavor. It tastes like custard, which makes sense. I got a small piece of almond Tarrone Tenero to see what it tasted like. There was a little chain of smoothie vendors offering samples, which I gladly tried at two locations. I also remember a cute little donut shop where the girl serving them had a donut tattoo on her chest. Of course many, many masks and glass objects of all kinds. And €80 gondola rides. That made me laugh.
Then I went back to the train station and waited for my night train to Paris. It was 45 minutes late. When it finally arrived I was well into the second book of my trip. I got onto the wrong coach somehow, which was full of people from Dubai, including a very cute little Joseph who seemed to love saying "Dubai! Dubai!" Over and over again. I'm not sure if he knew very many other words.When I was directed to the right coach it was much quieter and I found myself getting sleepy. By the time they came to check my ticket I was all curled up with blankets and drifting off rather easily with the lurching motion of the train. The next morning was not so comfortable, but I will talk about that later.
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