Venice

On our over-night Inferno train of Death from Rome to Venice, I managed to catch about an hour of sleep (because I can sleep anywhere, thank ya very much) while Emily and Aubrey secretly (or not) despised me for it hahaha. But we made it to Venice as the sun was rising and it was glorious!

Thankfully, the train station let us off straight on the island so we took our baggage and attempted to follow the hotel's directions. If you want to be in a real-life maze then Venice is the place for you. No streets, just paths to walk, and bridges and canals and walls that create dead ends....that's a brain twister! We even attempted to look at a souvenir shop's map but then got in trouble because he said "we sell the maps, not let them be used for free". Geez buddy, it's 7 in the morning and we are lost!

Alas, we back tracked (almost entirely) and finally stumbled upon Iris hotel. It was wonderfully inexpensive and was a hotel not a hostel! While there was no wifi in the room, there was a very nice receptionist guy, a private shower, and a prime location. Happy campers, we were!

Forgoing the nap we all wanted, we took to the streets...uh, sidewalks... of Venice and soaked in the beauty of it. Most unique city I think I will ever go to and it was so beautiful. The buildings were jolie colors, the people were nice, and most importantly, there was Nico.

Let me introduce you: Nico of #NicoVeniceTour was an Italian man that every single girl dreams of. Charming to say the least, smokin' looks, best smile and eyes in the world (!!!), and so funny! While Emily and Aubrey were physically battling it out for his love, I was sitting back and falling in love more and more over the course of our free Venice tour. Ya, and I was the only one who actually LISTENED to what he was saying! Hahahaha. Highlight of Venice for suuuure.

After leaving the tour, we asked for a bakery recommendation and after eating some bomb Tiramisu from the corner bakery, we ran into him again!! That bridge will be famous in our minds. Since we were in need of dinner, he took us to an awesome homemade pasta joint that was only 5 euros where we continued to talk and giggle like the three American girls that we were and where Nico adamantly made it clear that he was straight after pointing out the gorgeous sunset behind us. Oh Nico. *hearts*

So ya, we all loooved Venice.
 Ems found the best gelato that we'd had in Italy while wandering the streets and Aubrey proved her super power is real (again!). Earlier that morning, she had said, "I wonder if there are missionaries on the island." What the heck, guess who we saw weaving through the crowd in Venice. Two missionaries! Ya we ran after them and said 'hello' and they were super awkward but seriously, when Aubrey mentions missionaries, they ACTUALLY APPEAR! Proof in Italy, Paris, and even Belgium. I just can't explain it. It's a super power I wish I had. Although I have seen them on almost every trip now; Ireland twice, Italy twice, Spain...

Looking back on Italy, I cannot decide what my favorite city is now. I loved Rome so much but Venice definitely had its perks. I just love Italy!