So I thought I would try writing something down as I am in Venice, getting it all down as soon as possible. I found a nice little cafe on a backstreet in Venice, now when I say backstreet, its not the negative sort of backstreets you would find for example in London, which is full of bins and smells bad and houses mass murderers, rapists and terrorists, but a sort of chilled out spot away from the press of the crowds on the main streets. In Venice I suppose there is more pressure to make the most of every road, as this is a place rather limited by the lagoon around it, though of course, therein lies its charm. Last time I came to Venice I remember I didn't like it, it was too crowded and there always seemed to be someone who wanted to stand where I was standing, or walk where I was walking. I was a lot younger then though, and so I thought I should give Venice a second try.
I think I started off by making a mistake, I slept in until 11am, the first time that has happened, so I didn't get into Venice until approaching 1pm, when the crowds were already everywhere. It seems you have to pay and queue for all the cool things, like Sant Marco's Basillica and the queues were huge. I decided to follow the advice of my travel guide, which said to truly get to know Venice you have to go wandering around the back streets, which is what I've been doing, and its been a pleasant day. Its got me thinking what it is I like doing most when in a city, is it the tourist piece, checking out old buildings, muttering under my breath about all the other tourists (and I'm pretty sure they do the same) or is it chilling out a little more, wandering round without a set route and just finding my way, but also encountering all the little places that look interesting and exciting without necessarily being a historically crucial location. In the end I have to acknowledge its both, I would feel pretty disappointed if I arrived in Ankara with no photos of the coliseum or Vesuvius or the Acropolis but at the same time its enjoyable to just wander, find nice little shops which I can't buy anything from and eat ice creams while I go. Venice is not the place for the tourist act, its very expensive and very crowded and as the guide says, to truly get to know the place you have to wander the back streets. There won't be any striking photos from Venice I'm afraid, but I am enjoying it rather a lot.
In other news the French girls have found some French boys, and so are not coming to Venice but are driving home with them. I'm thinking these camping hostels are better if your travelling as a group, I had a great time in Rome and I was travelling with them, now it seems a little more difficult to get talking to other backpackers, as the place is more spread out. I'll be looking for a slightly more conventional Hostel in Athens I think.
Perfect, that took me just as long to type as it did to drink my 'speciality' coffee, which I'm confident was more than a little alcoholic.
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