Mama Mia!

6AM flights, last minute hotel issues, pizza pasta & gelato on repeat and a beautiful scenic view…yep, it felt great to be back on the traveling grind. After two consecutive weeks in Sevilla and a program planned trip to Morocco, I forgot what it felt like to manage a trip by myself. Venice had no problem fixing this issue.

BW had mentioned he was going to Venice, Italy with CR and NB and asked if I wanted to join them, since I had nothing planned for this weekend (shocking, I know). Being the enthusiastic trotter that I am, I agreed and bought my plane tickets a few hours later. Flash forward to take off, we were all excited to visit the beautiful city situated atop water. After landing, we took a bus to Venice, as it’s an island separated from mainland Italy.  It was my first time traveling on a “water highway”…totally cool.

After BW ever so cleverly maneuvered us through the narrow streets of Venice, the four of us arrived to the Ghetto. And no this is not your typical Chicago/NYC Ghetto…Ghetto is another name Venetians use for neighbors. Ours happened to be located in the Jewish Quarter (I totally felt at home; you would too if you’re from Buffalo Grove, lol).  Once inside our hotel, we were told that there was an error with the booking and that we’d have to pay extra for the room we had originally booked.  All of our pleading and arguing fell to deaf ears and we were forced to pay the extra amount to spend the weekend at the hotel.

You live and you learn, right? Lesson learned: take care of the hotel/hostel situation yourself…and if someone else offers to do it, triple and quadruple check their work. Sometimes even the best can trip and make a mistake.

The two days spent in Venice were absolutely gorgeous. Perfect weather and picturesque landscape easily helped me forget about the hotel fiasco.  With BW as our personal Rick Steves, we were able to visit St. Mark’s Square, St. Mark’s Basilica, multiple museums and various Venetian neighborhoods while eating the most authentic Italian cuisine ever. I’m pretty sure I’ve gained 5 pounds from all the carb consumption.

I’ll for sure need to revisit Italy to explore Rome, Florence, Sicily and Naples. Hopefully I’ll return sometime next year, as my time abroad is winding down and I’ve got other countries to visit before I head back to the states.

Up next on this Globe Trotter’s agenda: London to be reunited with some of my favorite Kelleys and a special teacher who’s made a huge impact in my life.