Allison's Wonderland

You know how I was talking about not having a car creates many a problem? Well it almost made Jen and I miss the opportunity to go to where???? VENICE!! But guess what? We’re going!! We wanted to leave Sunday, but after careful consideration, and talking to quite a few people, there was not a way for us to get down the mountain from Prato Nevoso to the train station in Mondovi. So we decided to go Monday. We booked a hotel and had everything set. Jess Berg, one of the other Au Pairs has a car her family has allowed her to use and she agreed to take us to the station for 10 Euros. Sweet! After talking to Jess Sunday night though, the idea of her taking us sounded less and less likely. She wouldn’t be able to drive in the snow, and they were calling for snow that night. Also some idiot likes to park their car right behind hers in the parking garage so that she can’t get it out. So if that stupid car wasn’t there and if it didn’t snow then she could. That was too many ifs for me. I was starting to get really doubtful we would be able to make it down the mountain to catch our train at 09:05 am. So I had to find another means of reliable transportation. I messaged Anne on FB reluctantly because she was so kind to take me to the station before. I just didn’t want to keep asking her though. But I messaged her anyway. We were desperate.

After sitting and worrying for about an hour I decided to go upstairs and talk to Simona about the situation. Mattia has had a bad fever over the weekend and Simona’s parents are in town so I didn’t want to worry her with my problems. After talking to her she tells me the best news ever! She has to go to Cuneo in the morning for a meeting about a program that she’s heading up! Jen and I had a ride!! I was so happy. We actually were able to make the 07:42 train straight to Torino. That meant we had more time to explore. Even better news. Once we got to Torino Jen and I headed to a bar, got a Brioche and a Marracchino. My favorite. I think Jen liked it too. Afterwards we headed to Piazza San Carlo and went inside Chiesa Santa Cristina which was going through some serious restoration. It was pretty nonetheless and they had a beautiful painting of John the Baptist on the wall. Of course every church in Italy is covered in marble and this one was no exception.

After our little field trip, we headed back to Porta Nuova to catch our 49 Euro train to Venice. Yes! It was a Eurostar so it was pretty fast. Not like the terrible regional trains that stop at every single stop. We were able to just chill and relax on the train because it was a straight shot from Torino to Venezia Santa Lucia. Plus the bathrooms were free which was sweet! Who knew you had to pay to pee? I kind of think that’s rude. I was a little nervous about our accommodations when we arrived in Venice because I got the hotel room for 60 Euro’s on Priceline and all the reviews on Trip Advisor were WAAY negative. But it was only 60 euros a night which wa cheaper than one of the Hostels. Weird right?

We pulled into Venice at 03:40 pm not really knowing what to expect. When we got off the train there were stores with Masks everywhere. I mean it is Carnevale so I guess that is pretty normal. When we walked out of the train station we were greeted by the Grand Canal. It was absolutely beautiful. Even though the day was dreary it was still breathtaking. We headed out to find our Hotel which was called Universal & Nord. We turned the corner and there it was. Even if it was going to be crappy it was in an awesome location. Surprisingly the hotel wasn’t that bad. The guy who greeted us gave us a map and was super friendly. There was no elevator so we had to lug our bags up five flights of stairs. At least we packed light and each of us only had a backpack. You know, just backpacking our way across Italy. We got to our room where we had three beds and the room was boiling hot. I was about to die, but it was okay. We set out to see the sights and find some eats and maybe a souvenir or two along the way. The streets were way crowded and there was this amazing energy in the air. It was Carnevale in VENICE! I still can’t get over the fact that we were there. We walked and were accosted by many a vendor to buy their masks or their trinkets. Jen made me laugh because she asked one of the vendors if the mask was made of porcelain and he just looked at her like she was an idiot and answered, “Ceramic”. I mean it was only 1 euro so ya know…Jen found some seriously cool masks but I was holding out for something cheaper and better. By the time we were done shopping, the two of us were absolutely starved.

In Italy they don’t really eat dinner till around 8:30, but we were getting hungry at about 5:30. We walked around trying to find the perfect restaurant and ended up going to the first one we had passed, where the guy was super flirtatious. In all our walking we were hit on about three different times. Not trying to brag or anything, but itwas just so incredibly Italian. The restaurant boasted that there were seats on the Grand Canal, but we got stuck sitting in the front of the building with no view at all. The name of the place was Trattoria Povoledo and the guy who waited on us had some SERIOUS issues. He was pretty stinking rude. One nice thing about Italy is you don’t have to tip and even in the States where tipping is a HUGE deal, I would not have tipped thisguy. Jen got the spinach Gnocchi and I got the special which was some Pasta and Meat. Come to find out the meat was fried chicken and French fries. Oh how utterly Italian. Can’t you hear my sarcasm? I was kind of mad, but it was only 13 Euro which was better than most of the other prices. Jen’s food was out of this world though. She let me have a bite. What a good little friend.

Once we got the bill we figured out why you don’t have to tip. There’s a service charge of 2 Euro a piece just to sit at the table. I guess it’s kind of like rent. We had to pay to rent the table for an hour. I wonder what would’ve happened if we would’ve just stood? I’ll have to try that next time. After dinner we walked around some more and I bought myself a couple of pins. Gotta make my map look good ya know? Jen was also craving some gelato, so we had to satisfy that craving right away! Afterwards, we decided to just head back to the hotel and get some much needed shut eye considering we both knew we would have a long day tomorrow. We wanted to grab our computers and head down to the lobby for some internet because that was the only place you could get it. That’s when we ran into Creeper Creep. We were walking to our room and we passed this really shady dark looking guy with headphones in. After we passed him, he just stopped and stared to see which way we would turn. There was a mirror ahead of us so I could see everything the dude was doing. I grabbed Jen and told her our room was right when really it was left. She gave me a weird look and was like, “Its this way.” But I tugged her the other. I don’t want no Creeper Creep knowing where our room is! Dodged that bullet. Needless to say we did not go back down to the lobby and get on the internet. It was shower and then bed for this gill at like 10:00 at night. I’m turning into a little old bit!! Couldn't wait for the adventures to be had for the last day of Carnevale!