Transportation Vexation

I am exhausted. It's 9:38pm, September 16th. I am lying on the bed in my hotel room in Barcelona, where I arrived about an hour ago. How I got here is basically WHY I'm exhausted.

 I spent 5 hours walking around Venice. I was fortunate to learn that there is a place at the train station that will hold your luggage for a small fee. I walked all over. Saw St. Mark's Square. Went inside a church. Saw the library from Indiana Jones, where X marked the spot.

After retrieving my luggage (I made one BIG loop back to the train station) I walked about 1/3 of a mile to the dock for the Alilaguna airport shuttle boat. In my earlier plans, I had considered taking one of these boats on a longer ride. Glad I didn't. It was essentially a speed boat, the water was choppy, and amen for not getting seasick, but ugh.

From the boat dock, it was a long hike to the terminal. Finding where to check in was challenging, because my airline, Vueling, didn't have its ticketing counter on the same floor as the other airlines. Then, even after I had my ticket, the departure screens weren't listing a gate for my flight. So I finally just sat at a random gate while waiting for that info to come up.

Finally got the gate info. We passengers had to then ride a bus to the plane. One perk was that I lucked out and had no seat companions on the flight. But this airline doesn't do free beverage service. Strange. I was glad I had bought juice at the airport.

When we landed, I got out the maps and directions I had printed before my trip ever began. These printouts had proved trustworthy and useful up to this point. But... this time, they were terrible. They led me into a parking lot. Also, the signs in the terminal for buses and such are not prominent. I felt very confused. Anyway, I finally found a bus that would take me near my hotel. The ride cost 6 euro and took 30 minutes and it was growing dark. Traffic was baddd.

At long last, I got off the bus, and began the mile walk to my hotel. Thank goodness for the new directions I'd googled. On the way, I was stopped at a crosswalk when it turned green (they have red/yellow/green crosswalks in a lot of Europe, it seems) but cars were still speeding through the crosswalk. An elderly lady had come up beside me, and she started yelling and shaking her fist at the cars. And she literally stopped traffic. Brilliant.

I'm sleeping in tomorrow.

Ah, Venice!

Venice @ Night

So if you're ever in Venice, and Google Maps has told you to turn down a particular street to get to your hotel,  keep in mind that "street" in Venice can mean "small, slightly unnerving, alley." Good to know.

And now, photos:

Castle In The Park

Tuesday, September 15th: I had no set plans, other than to catch an afternoon train to Venice, so I set out to go to a park, Parco Sempione.

I figured I could sit there and relax in the shade... Maybe watch people and pooches strolling by....

After a bit of sitting, I realized that a lot of tour groups were passing through the area. I also noticed a big brick building. A church? A college? Better go check it out... OH HI, it's a castle. But why should I be surprised? When in Europe....

I counted around a dozen cats on the castle grounds, hanging out, sleeping, stalking birds. It made me miss my own cats. These castle cats seemed indifferent to humans... orrrr just me.

Despite my lark in the park, I got to the train station way too early. There's hardly anywhere to sit. Aboard the train at last, I had a window seat. During the journey, people sat by me for a leg or two, then deboarded. The scenery was just "ok" after my Alps experience, although I did start getting super excited as we approached Venice. VENICE! 

Below, some pictures from the castle & the park. Can you spot the cats?

A Day In Milan

Two months ago, I was planning to go to Florence and see David. That changed (something about things in Florence being closed on Mondays) and instead I went to Milan to see The Last Supper. No regrets there. I want to return to Italy someday and explore it more thoroughly... visit Florence and Rome and Verona. For now, just a small taste will have to suffice.

Other than seeing TLS, I hadn't really made any solid plans for Milan. The night before, I was looking up things to do via the internet, and the Duomo popped up. The name was familiar, probably because Rick Steves gushed over it once or twice, and when I mentioned it to my cousin she said I must go.

An €11 ticket gets you into the building, into the below-ground archaeological site, into the next-door museum, and onto the roof via stairs. (For just €4 more you can ride the lift. I almost wish I had forked over the money; my poor legs.) I can't say what my favorite thing was. The rooftop was exciting, the decor and stained glass in the church was beautiful, the ancient relics in the museum were mesmerizing, and the underground tombs and baptistry were creepy/cool.

Then, in the evening, I went over to the Piazza S. Maria Delle Grazie, home to Leonardo DaVinci's masterpiece. You have to get tickets to that in advance, and they let you in in groups of about 20. You get 15 minutes to look at TLS, plus another painting on the wall opposite. There are plaques in there that tell you which apostle is which. A neat experience.

Photos from my day in Milan....