Europe Day 14: Travel Day and Sightseeing- Train from Florence to Venice

Hello from Venice everyone! Another new day, another new city to explore. Today was another travel day for us with an early morning train ride from Florence to Venice. We woke up early and got ready so we could get breakfast as soon as they started serving it (7am), then packed up our stuff and checked out of our hotel. Our train departed at 9:50am so we got to the Florence train station around . The ride was about 2 hours so I just relaxed and watched some more Netflix. We arrived in Venice at noon and were ready to eat lunch.

Our hotel isn’t on the water so we had to take a water taxi from the train station to the area closest to it and walk through the streets until we finally found it. It was interesting though because we got a nice view of the water and the city; it was just like a leisurely boat ride. We’re staying in Hotel Antico Panada and our room is nice enough but it seems very outdated; however, based on looks most places here are older as well. It’s very pretty here especially when on the water, there’s a lot of charm within the town. After settling in we found a restaurant to eat at near our hotel- I got a margherita pizza per usual and it was decent but not the best.

My mom wanted gelato so we walked to St. Mark’s Square and stopped at a gelato place there. I got mint chocolate chip and it tasted more like ice cream than gelato but it wasn’t bad. The square was bustling with people and it was huge (very open unlike the crowded and tiny streets) so we stayed for a while and just looked around. A nice breeze was blowing by and there were birds everywhere which was a peaceful scene. There were a lot of luxury shops and more unique shops like all the local glass vendors nearby. We looked at the church that was there which was enormous and very beautiful with the multitude of colors used in its architecture. My brother had to go to the bathroom so we made our way back to the hotel and took a rest for a while while unpacking our stuff a bit more.

We left the room again around 4pm and went more towards the water. I took some pictures on various bridges that had scenic waterfront views and we stopped into more of the local shops. My dad tried a pistachio cannoli from a bakery that he really enjoyed, and we bought some sweet treats for our family members back home. We made our way through the city and ended up back in St. Mark’s Square, so we sat and people-watched with views of the canals and the church/other buildings.

Once we started getting hungry again, we headed back towards the hotel to find a restaurant for dinner near there. There was a place that looked good right across the street so we ate there- I got a steak and it was juicy and delicious, plus I needed my daily protein fill. We stopped back at our rooms to get ready and then left for a gondola ride we had booked for 7:30.

My brother didn’t come since he gets seasick, but it was a 30 minute ride and it was a great experience. My mom, my dad and I were in a gondola with another couple as someone rowed us down the canals of Venice. We got to go under the bridges that we walked on earlier and just get a better view of the entire city while actually being on the water. It was also cool because we ran into a family that we sat next to at breakfast in our hotel in Rome, and we talked to them for a while before starting the actual ride.

After we got off, we walked back to the hotel to check on my brother and then went back to St. Mark’s square to watch the sunset and just relax outside. I had to catch up on some forms and emails for school but other than that it was just a nice time sitting and people watching. We headed back to the hotel around 9:30pm and got ready for bed. It was a successful day and we were all tired by the end.

I’m a little sad we’ll only be here in Venice for one more full day, but I think we’ll still be able to see everything we wanted to. It’s a very small city but because of the canals and lack of “normal” transportation it’s still somewhat hard to navigate. I think for this city the location of your hotel is very important to your experience here, since the streets are very narrow and crowded and the best views are obviously on the water. Tomorrow we have the full day to explore (no tours!) and it’s our last day in Europe, so I’ll make sure to update you guys with all the details on the bittersweet culmination of our trip.

-Brooke